Release Date: 08 January 2002
Label: Naxos - Historical / Naxos Historical
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 2
Barcode: 636943121429
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: OFFENBACH
Description
Jacques OFFENBACH (1819-1880)Les Contes d’HoffmannIn the realm of the opérette, or more specifically its more effervescent hybrid the opéra-bouffe, Offenbach was the greatest of innovators. Ensconced from 1855 until 1870 at the Bouffes-Parisiens, he presented annually inventive essays in his new style which, with the "triumphantly extrovert" Orphée aux enfers (1858) as a prototype, distilled the musical essence of the Second Empire for world consumption: the first of its genre and a transatlantic hit soon after its première, this firm favourite still holds its place in the repertoire after more than 150 years. When he died, in Paris on 3rd October, 1880, Offenbach was Europe’s undisputed master of French frivolity: a double-edged sword, this, for universal acclaim as a purveyor of froth made him by definition a less-than-serious composer and denied him full and unqualified critical recognition at the time of his passing, during rehearsals of his swan-song, the ‘grand opera’ which he had hoped would redress the balance, but left in an unfinished state. Now long regarded as Offenbach’s masterpiece, Les contes d’Hoffmann was first produced at the Opéra-Comique on 10th February, 1881, in a version tastefully edited and orchestrated by Ernest Guiraud (1837-1892), based on Der Sandmann, Geschichte vom verlorenen Spiegelbilde and Rat Krespel, stories selected from E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822), which its librettists Jules Barbier (1822-1901) and Michel Carré (1819-1872) had presented three decades earlier as a comédie at the Paris Odéon, in 1851. Instead of their original spoken dialogue Guiraud added sung recitatives to this "fanciful opera" which, Gustav Kobbé reminds us, "offers an excellent frame for the music, bringing on the stage in their fantastic form three of the prettiest tales of the German story-teller, connected with each other in an ingenious fashion, with the contrasts which present themselves". The narrative structure of Les contes d’Hoffmann is contrived by a Prologue and Epilogue. These provide a frame for three inter-connected vignettes in which Hoffmann pursues different incarnations of his beloved and is thwarted by his own evil genius : the first act object of his affections is the beautiful Olympia, a mechanical doll who finally falls to pieces at the whim of her creator; in Act 2 he is rejected by the courtesan Giulietta, and in Act 3 he falls for Antonia, a singer whose compulsive vocalising only hastens her impending death. The company on this 1948 recording comprises leading singers of the inter-war and immediate post-war French opera scene, Opéra-Comique regulars many of whom also enjoyed illustrious international careers. After study in his native Canada, Quebec-born tenor Raoul Jobin (1906-1974) began singing there in concert in 1929 before embarking on further study at the Paris Conservatoire. After his ope
Tracklisting
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Tullio Serafin
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