Title   Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) Composer   Jacques Offenbach (1819 - 1880) Librettist   Jules Barbier (1825 - 1901) Genre   Opera (4 acts, 5 tableaus). First performance   Théâtre de l'Opéra-Comique, Paris, 10 February, 1881. Time of action   About 1800. Place of action   Lutter's inn, Berlin (Olympia act) The physicist Spalanzani's house. (Antonia act) Krespel's house, Munich. a. (Giulietta act) A Venetian palazzo. b. As in act I. Main parts   Olympia soprano     Giulietta soprano     Antonia soprano     Stella soprano     Niklaus mezzo-soprano     A voice mezzo-soprano     Hoffmann tenor     Spalanzani tenor     Cochenille tenor     Pitichinaccio tenor     Lindorf bass or baritone     Coppelius bass or baritone     Dapertutto bass or baritone     Doctor Miracle bass or baritone Prominence of chorus   Considerable. The (relatively short) Antonia act has no chorus. Orchestra   2 flutes, 2 oboe, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns,              2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 harp, kettle-drums, percussion, strings. Special demands   Large orchestra, including harp. Many soloists. Full score and orchestral parts   Available. Level   The work puts high demands on soloists. The part of Hoffmann is particularly taxing. The parts of Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta and Stella may be sung by one soprano, as intended by the composer. The same applies to the four satanic parts (Lindorf, Coppelius, Dapertutto and Doctor Mirakel): one baritone; and to the four comic tenor parts (Andreas, Franz, Cochenille and Pitichinaccio). Length   About 2½ hours, four acts. Music   The opera is one of Offenbach's last works, and a very popular item in the French repertoire. It contains a wealth of wellknown music, such as the students'  songs, the Klein-Zack song, the puppet Olympia's coloraturas, Dapertutto's diamond aria, and, of course, the barcarole. Story   In a Berlin beer-cellar the Muse makes her appearance among the spirits of beer and wine. She feels neglected by her protégé, the poet E.T.A. Hoffmann, who has a rendezvous with the opera-singer Stella. While waiting for the latter, he tells his student-friends about his three great loves: Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta. In his audience is councillor Lindorf, also in love with Stella and Hoffmann's evil genius. In each act one of Hoffmann's tales is told. His first love, Olympia, turns out to be a puppet, which is destroyed by the optician Coppelius (i.e. Lindorf). The second, the talented singer Antonia, is driven to her death by the hypnotist Dr. Miracle (again: Lindorf). The third, Giulietta, is a courtesan who is unfaithful and robs Hoffmann of his mirror image, induced by Lindorf's third incarnation, the devilish Dapertutto. Stella is clearly a combination of Hoffmann's three idols. In the end she turns up, but by then Hoffmann is hopelessly drunk: Lindorf offers her his arm and takes her away. But all is not lost for Hoffmann. His Muse, who has faithfully followed him through three acts in the guise of Niklaus, a student, consoles him and makes him realize that art is higher than love. Costumes   Men: students, well-dressed gentlemen. Women: well-dressed ladies, courtesans.