Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) [Region 2] | Plácido Domingo, Luciana Serra |...

Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) [Region 2] | Plácido Domingo, Luciana Serra | Offenbach - Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) / Pretre, Domingo, Royal Opera Covent Garden

DVDs:

Les Contes d'Hoffm...

	Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) [Region 2] Plácido Domingo, Luciana Serra average customer review:based on 15 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

This is as good a video of the traditional Tales of Hoffmann as we are ever likely to see. It alters the material Offenbach left when he died, but it is the Hoffmann that audiences have loved for decades in a brilliant all-star production. Plácido Domingo is vocally resplendent and theatrically convincing as the poet Hoffmann enduring one amorous disappointment after another. He is supported by a large, expert, international cast, alert to the opera's wit, horror, and pathos.

Particularly outstanding are Luciana Serra, vocally flawless and visually mechanical as the singing robot Olympia; Ileana Cotrubas as Antonia, who sings herself to death; Claire Powell as Hoffmann's partner Niklausse; and all four of the deep-voiced villains. This production departs from Offenbach's evident intentions particularly in the Venetian act, which it places second rather than last and pads out with material Offenbach never included. These additions, however, include some of the best-loved material in the opera. --Joe McLellan

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intoxicating!

Mr. Placido Domingo is perhaps the most exciting operatic actor-singer
of our generation and once again he proves it in this wonderful opera; his three great loves (Baltsa, Cotrubas, Serra), his rivals and the rest
of the crew--unforgettable!

Offenbach - Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) / Pretre, Domingo, Royal Opera Covent Garden

This is one of my son's favorite opera. He thinks it is sooo funny. The Hoffman (played by Domingo)character falls in love with a doll. Only, he doesn't know it's a doll. He thinks he's falling in love with a beautiful young lady with a beautiful voice. Great opera! You will not be disappointed.

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great production

I first saw this video when I bought a performance on Beta-HiFi many years ago. The production was very good, but the sound was pretty dim. Some years later, I up-graded to a Pioneer LaserDisc (remember them, anyone?) which had such bad sound that I wrote a nasty-gram to Pioneer about it. I am very happy to report that the abysmal sound of the earlier incarnations of this video has finally been corrected on the Kultur DVD, making the performance a pleasure to listen to as well as watch. For those only interested in the latest, scholarly thoughts on "Hoffmann", you won't get them here, since it's a traditional reading (e.g., the order of the acts has Giuletta before Antonia), but I still found it very compelling.

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Good Performance of Standard Version

I'm no critic of voice. My favorite singer has always been Fischer-Deskau, though I like Domingo. So, when it comes to opera, I usually focus on the conductor and his (or her) performance of the work and hope that the singers know what they're doing, too, which they usually do if the conductor does, at least it seems so. George Pretre is a renowned conductor of French music, especially Offenbach and Ravel, etc., so the present performance of Hoffmann's tales is very good, indeed. He uses the standard version which switches the last two acts around, and I can't really see that it matters that much which version is used, as long as everything is done as well as it is here by the British Royals of Covent Garden. Domingo seems to be in good voice, and his acting is fine, as are all the supporting cast. Again, I can't comment on the singing per se, but it sounds good to me. In sum, a very entertaining, no, exciting, interesting performance. Good sound, decent video quality.

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No better than adequate peformance

Tales of Hoffman is an opera that even a mediocre performance is enjoyable. I have seen much better performances than this DVD, although for the most part I would rate this one "adequate". Nobody seemed inspired except Domingo, the audio from the 1981 production is not up to todays standards (or even the standards of the 1980s), and some of the "creative" ideas of this production didn't work.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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