Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Hoffmann – Benjamin Bernheim (tenor)
Stella/Olympia/Antonia/Giulietta – Kathryn Lewek (soprano)
Lindorf/Coppélius/Miracle/Dapertutto – Christian Van Horn (bass-baritone)
Muse/Nicklausse – Kate Lindsey (mezzo)
Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor
Wiener Philharmoniker/Marc Minkowski
Mariame Clément, stage director
rec. live, 2024, Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg, Austria
Unitel Editions 811808 [2 DVDs: 182]

The most important thing to say about this Tales of Hoffmann from the 2024 Salzburg Festival is that that the singing is sensational. Repeatedly, I found myself wondering whether there was anybody in the world today who could match the four principals in their roles. The most remarkable thing is that all four heroines are sung by the same soprano. This should always happen, but almost never does, because the four characters need such different technique and a single soprano finds it almost impossible to do them all well. Kathryn Lewek does it pretty brilliantly, however. Her coloratura has diamantine shine in the Olympia act, and she manages both poignancy and humane beauty as Antonia. True, her Giulietta is a bit too reminiscent of her Olympia, with too much twinkle and not enough dark seductiveness, but it’s still a magnificent achievement, and she oozes contempt during her brief appearances as Stella.

Christian Van Horn brings devilish brilliance to all four villains, singing them with a streak of dark energy that gives them all a hint of seductiveness which works very well. He also looks great: it helps that he’s a large individual and thus commands the stage, and his costumes range from businesslike to outlandish. Benjamin Bernheim brings all of Hoffmann’s facets to life beautifully, singing all of them with lyrical flow and impassioned energy. He’s beguiling in the love music, and he hits the dramatic highlights with real fire. All of the opera’s recordings score highly in the role of Nicklausse, but Kate Lindsey would give any of them a run for their money. Her mezzo has a sensationally rich core, but she can stretch to a glittering top and to soulful low notes. Furthermore, she acts her socks off.

In addition to this, the Vienna Philharmonic play with all their customary brilliance and then some. This isn’t exactly their core repertoire, but they bring Germanic heft and ballast to what can sometimes sound (entirely wrongly!) like a French fancy. In that they are helped by Marc Minkowski on the podium, who conducts the score like the psychological thriller it is. He, presumably, chose the edition they’re using. I’m no expert in that – and the booklet note will give you zero help if you’re interested in knowing more – but there are several musical numbers I’d never heard before, so that carries an attractive air of discovery. Furthermore, the chorus revel in their music, not only as the drinkers in Luther’s tavern but as the onlookers for all of Hoffmann’s lovelorn miseries.

Mariame Clément’s production provoked strong feelings in the critics who saw it on stage. She reimagines Hoffmann as a film director who has fallen on hard times, and the opera tells the story of how he got there. The Prologue and Epilogue take place behind the scenes on a movie set where Stella is starring: Roman centurions, rococo maidens and space aliens can be seen coming off set to get stuck into lunch. Filling in Hoffmann’s backstory, we see a younger him directing Olympia in a ghastly sci-fi B-movie, but her career is ruined when past indiscretions, presumably as a porn actress, are brought to light. Antonia signs a contract to work with another director at the end of her act, and the different scenes blend together in a drug-and-alcohol-fuelled Giulietta act. Finally, Hoffmann decides to draw upon his experiences to start writing and directing again with a new passion.

So we’re a long way from ETA Hoffmann’s magical world, and most critics that I read hated it on stage, but I really liked it. Sure, it all gets a bit wonky in the Giulietta act and the Epilogue, where it’s often not at all clear what’s going on, but I loved the way Clément sets up her concept, and several moments in the first half had me laughing out loud. Even if you hate the concept, you have to salute her attention to detail. Wigs, costumes and props are deployed very carefully so that the viewer can always figure out where we are in Hoffmann’s timeline, and I loved little touches like the massive bottle of mayonnaise at the cast party that’s labelled Hoffmann’s instead of Hellmann’s.

You can decide for yourself whether a radical approach like this is for you, and if it isn’t then there’s always John Schlesinger’s wonderfully successful (and ultra-traditional) production for Covent Garden, starring Domingo at his peak, and with lovers including Agnes Baltsa, Ileana Cotrubas and Luciana Serra, no less (see review). But if you’re up for a challenge then this one can be heartily recommended, and you’ll have to travel a lot further than Salzburg to hear these roles better sung.

Simon Thompson

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Technical details
Picture format: NTSC,16:9; Sound format: PCM Stereo/DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Sung in German; Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese