”The Dance of Life” by Edvard Munch (1900)

 

Hoffmann’s  Delirium in Oslo

The dream-opera of Jacques Offenbach becomes a turbulent nightmare in the hands of the Spanish director Calixto Bieito.

 

 

Review by Torkil Baden

Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Jules Barbier and Jacques Offenbach (1881)

Hoffmann: Evan Bowers

In different roles: Mari Eriksmoen, Nina Gravrok, Randi Stene, Ingeborg Gillebo, Alex Esposito

and others.

Director: Calixto Bieito.

Musical direction: Stefan Blunier

The Norwegian Opera and Ballet, Oslo.

Playing Dec. 4^th– 31^st 2013

 

Introduction video: http://www.operaen.no/Forestillinger/Hoffmanns-eventyr/#section39515598

Director Calixto Bieito, dramatic adviser Bettina Auer, set designer Rebecca Ringst, mezzo-soprano Randi Stene and Opera Director Per Boye Hansen talk about the ideas behind the production.

  

The Spanish, or Catalan, director Calixto Bieito has already earlier made a lasting impression on the Norwegian audience
. In the Bergen Festival Per Boye Hansen in 2006 proudly presented the director with his “Peer Gynt”. Two years later he followed up with Ibsen’s “Brand”. Both productions stand out as theatrical highlights at the Bergen Festival from the last decade with their innovative and engaging style. Traditional visual taboos proved frontiers to be crossed for this daring personality.

Now the Bergen Festival director, also former opera director at Komische Oper in Berlin, has changed position and is residing at the Oslo Opera. There he uses his network to bring exciting artists to the Norwegian capital.

 

Original

The Bieito-version of  “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” has lots of original treats. Fortunately he cuts the spoken dialogues. Unfortunately he does not keep the original conception of one single mezzo-soprano soloist as all the three (or four, Stella was omitted) women.  The basic idea in this last masterpiece of Offenbach is that the doll, the singer and the prostitute are various sides of a complex personality. However, with using different soloists Bietito follows in the footsteps of many other recent directors. And he gives the audience the benefit of listening to a whole group of wonderful female soloists.

In this year of celebrating Edvard Munch is feels relevant to remember his conception of the woman. Also he portrayed her as a triptych (“Woman in three Stages” and “The Dance of Life”).

But the most overwhelming aspect of this production is how he takes it literally that the composer, who wanted to get rid of the label as an operetta composer, called his opus ultimum an “opéra fantastique”.

Bietio’s starting point is that Hoffmann in the opening is called a drunkard. Then we are travelling from the back streets and empty theatre stages of Oslo into a delirium, a nightmarish dream, where the advanced technical resources of the new opera house (2008) are fully explored.  And in the dream anything can happen.

 

Hardhitting

During the later performances in December (I saw it on Dec 17^th) interest fell on the title role since Evan Bowers was sick in the beginning of the month
. The demands are high to this tenor part, but the American guest Bowers, though sounding some tired towards the end, impressed both with a French, lyrical softness and a Verdi-like heroism. Impressive was also Italian Alex Esposito, the true incarnation of a bass coming straight from hell.

Both added a quality to the resident cast that is missing in these vocal registers.

The Swiss conductor Stefan Blunier had a firm grip of the wonderful score, but could have gripped  even more firmly.

The chorus, first of all the men’s chorus, was hardhitting and transformed their personalities into the grotesque universe on stage.

The production is a visual feast, Freudian in its sexual exploring.

But first of all it is an extreme, but honest declaration about the troubles of life in to-day’s world and about the mystery of art, pain and love.