Stefano Secco (Hoffmann) in the middle, Foto: Ian Patrick

PARIS: Robert Carsen´s staging of The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach opened the Paris opera season at Opera Bastille, Friday 7th. September 2012

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Stefano Secco was singing the titelrole. He is a stabil and well singing tenor, that we have had the pleasure of listening to several time. – In the role as Hoffmann, which is very demanding, he is doing a good job. Every thing works out, all his arias, and participating is in its correct place, and several times it is extraordinary. The only thing I am missing with mr Secco´s voice is the little extra lightnes in his voice which could lift it up on the world famouse niveau.

France Ferrari is another stabil singer (baryton) that is being a lot used in the Opera de Paris repertoire her in the four roles as Lindorf, Copåelius, Dapertutto and Miracle. It works allwasy well, and his trio with Antonia, sung very beautiful by the outstanding soprano Ana Maria Maryinez and her mother, Qiu Lin Zhang was billiant.   Ana Maria Maryinez was first class as Antonia. The audience loved Jane Atchibald, who sung and performed the role as Olympia with great, musically and with amusing details

. – Moderniced in a special way. Kate Aldrich was good as The Muse and special as Nicklausse. Eric Huchet is also this time a hit as Franz, in addition he is also doing three other roles. But Franz is a hit. Musically has Thomas Netopil good tempi and a good coordination with the singers, orchestre and choir, which as allways are well prepared.

Franck Ferrari (Dr
. Miracle) et Ana Maria Martinez (Antonia). Foto: Ian Patrick

DECOR and COSTUMES

– Michael Levine is responsable for the decor and costumes, that I dont like. For me it is wrong to modernice it so much as done here. The strange idea of letting the second act be going on in an orchestra grave, which is only is receiving a lot of applause because of that this stage  orchester grave is being filled up with 60 statists, who is looking like they are playing the last tunes of the finale. The famouse Bacarole duet, which opens third act , played like in the theatre roads, are opening nicely, where the chairs are moving like we are out on the sea, but then, when it is being filled up with the choir and statists, it is being spoiled. I would prefere an old fashion version with a  Gondola in Venezia in third act. The pub scenes, – the prologue and epilogue, which is made in an  overcrowded stage along a bar in all the stage widenes, is boring, not elegant, and dont give atmosphaere. As far as I understand, It shall look like it is the audience from a peformance, coming out in the break. That Idea is in away OK, but the participating people are dressed up like to a carneval with bad taste.

MODERNISATON

Barcarole: Kate Aldrich (Nicklausse) et Sophie Koch (Giulietta). Foto: Ian Patrick

The modernisation is doing that the costumes – by Michael Levine, is not adding any thing extra to this production, of course I do see that the big Spanish group is OK, and colourful, else, ordinary, dresses, and dressing up, long, not spcially nice dresses for The Muse and Antonia and Giuliettea – Sophie Koch, who looked alegant on stage and a nice outfit for Stella. But for the gentlemans, it was bohring and too for the choire wimens.

STAGING

Spite in that Robert Carsen is having a good taste for the small details in the staging and also for the choir. I dont find this staging extraordinary. It is, to me, ordinary. But the biggest problem with this performance is that The Bastille Opera house is too large for The Tales of Hoffmann. It need more intimity, so the audience can see the mimic, and getting the history closer in to them, In this case, it was not romantic, it was only amusing in the ending of the  Olympia scene, thanks to the solois Jane Archibald, who did a good job, in performing it, so everybody in the house could understand what she was doing.

Les Contes d’Hoffmann (1881) Opéra fantastique in a prologue, trois actes and an épilogue by Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)

10 performances between 7 septembre and 3 octobre 2012 at ‘Opéra Bastille

Direction musicale : Tomas Netopil – Mise en scène : Robert Carsen – Décors et costumes : Michael Levine –Lumières : Jean Kalman – Mouvements chorégraphiques : Philippe Giraudeau – Chef du Choeur : Patrick Marie Aubert