The Tales of Hoffmann
'What distinguishes the music of Hoffmann from that of the operettas is that Offenbach finally believes in himself as a serious composer. There is no parody. The dramatic passages are no longer.... pseudo-anybody: they are Offenbach.'
(ALEXANDER FARIS)
In the last of the present series, Alan Blyth considers Offenbach's final work, its characters and the different styles of singing that some of its most celebrated interpreters have brought to it, with illustrations on record by RITA STREICH , EIDE NORENA. LEOPOLD SIMONEAU, JULIUS PATZAK, RICHARD TAUBER. GABRIEL BACQUIER and others.
Producer GRAHAM SHEFFIELD