The great storyteller ETA Hoffmann ran a tiny theatre in Bamberg. He fell in love with his pupil Julia, daughter of prosperous merchants whose huge house still stands in the town centre. This unattainable love finds its way into many of Hoffmann's tales, including those used by Offenbach in his ever-popular fantasy opera, in which a poet, Hoffmann, suffers for the love of Olympia, a singing doll; Antonia, who is ill and locked away by her father; and Giuletta, who is locked up at night - three personifications of the same unattainable woman.

Chorus and Orchestra of the New York Metropolitan Opera, conductor James Levine

Act 1

7.50 Tales of Terfel
During the interval Garrick Utley talks to Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel, who sings the four villains in tonight's performance.

8.15 Act 2

9.10 The Met Opera Quiz
Cori Ellison puts listeners' questions to Carolyn Abbate, Louise Guinther and Sarah Bryan Miller.

9.35 Act 3