Of Love Lost and Lost Love: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
review By
spatick
16 Mar
18 comments |
The Tales of Hoffman is, first and foremost, a story of love lost, of what might have been. In the prologue, the protagonist is drowning his sorrows in the tavern and begins to recount his past loves to whomever who cares to listen. The tales of the protagonist are interwoven as “flashbacks” as Hoffman recounts his past loves. The classical “good versus evil” theme is the mainstay of the opera. Each Act has within itself an incarnation of “evil”, conspiring against the lovelorn Hoffman’s “good” sincere love for his subject. As operas would go, the unfortunate Hoffman does not get to enjoy a typical Hollywood happy ending, as each tragic encounter spirals him downwards towards the ending which may be best described as “abject tragedy”.
The first Act, which is also by far the most impressive Act, tells of Olympia, the daughter of his scientist friend whom Hoffman falls in love with. Most unfortunately for Hoffman, it turns out that this “daughter” turns out to be a robot, and despite the Muse’s subtle warnings, he is tricked into thinking she is real, courtesy of donning glasses which were probably “rose-tinted”. He eventually realizes he has been taken for a fool when his glasses break during a struggle.
The second Act is of his love for the singing prodigy named Antonia, who is unfortunately plagued with a curious disease that may prove fatal if she sings. Hoffman, in genuinely concern for her wellbeing, tells her never to sing again, for the sake of her health. Unfortunately, under the machinations of the original Doctor Evil, she is tricked into believing that she has seen an apparition of her mother (who was also her inspiration) and she ultimately sings to her own demise.
The third Act introduces Giuletta, the courtesan, who contrives to steal Hoffman’s reflection by seducing him, upon instigation by Hoffman’s nemesis in exchange for diamonds. This proves to be the final straw for Hoffman in relation to love as we are brought back to “present day” in the tavern..
Hoffman is by now, and understandably so, quite drunk. It turns out that the 3 girls each symbolized the aspects of his one love, the unattainable prima donna Stella, and consequently his unrequited love manifested itself in poetry (as most modern day bards would know, angst from unrequited love is the number one fuel for inspiration). True to the spirit of operas, there is no happy ending and it ends with Hoffman dead drunk, and apparently not in a figurative way, either.
While the overall thematic nature of the show is one of tragic unrequited love, it is not quite as downright depressing as I had first envisioned. In fact, it retains a predominant distinct flavour of whimsicality and light heartedness throughout, only momentarily detracting towards the darker instances. Particularly, the animated aria "Va pour Kleinzach" in the early stages of the prologue and repeated again towards the closing, and of course, the enjoyable visual and aural spectacle of Zhao’s coloratura passage of the Doll Song a.k.a. “Les oiseaux dans la charmille” which embodies the “winding down” of Olympia the robot, in what is probably the most inspired and creative moment in the entire show. Another gem is the famous Barcarolle duet in Act 3, which was always shaping to be a crowd favourite.
Overall, the score is brilliantly written, elegant yet amusing, with a well talented cast performing adeptly and convincingly. Offenbach’s classic masterpiece is a difficult piece to cover and indubitably, this is a credible and impressive showpiece by the Singapore Lyric Opera. Minor gripes would include the setting which I felt was rather spartan (a result of the recession perhaps?) which would have definitely helped the audience to warm up faster to the mood and setting of the era and the characters in play.
The first Act, which is also by far the most impressive Act, tells of Olympia, the daughter of his scientist friend whom Hoffman falls in love with. Most unfortunately for Hoffman, it turns out that this “daughter” turns out to be a robot, and despite the Muse’s subtle warnings, he is tricked into thinking she is real, courtesy of donning glasses which were probably “rose-tinted”. He eventually realizes he has been taken for a fool when his glasses break during a struggle.
The second Act is of his love for the singing prodigy named Antonia, who is unfortunately plagued with a curious disease that may prove fatal if she sings. Hoffman, in genuinely concern for her wellbeing, tells her never to sing again, for the sake of her health. Unfortunately, under the machinations of the original Doctor Evil, she is tricked into believing that she has seen an apparition of her mother (who was also her inspiration) and she ultimately sings to her own demise.
The third Act introduces Giuletta, the courtesan, who contrives to steal Hoffman’s reflection by seducing him, upon instigation by Hoffman’s nemesis in exchange for diamonds. This proves to be the final straw for Hoffman in relation to love as we are brought back to “present day” in the tavern..
Hoffman is by now, and understandably so, quite drunk. It turns out that the 3 girls each symbolized the aspects of his one love, the unattainable prima donna Stella, and consequently his unrequited love manifested itself in poetry (as most modern day bards would know, angst from unrequited love is the number one fuel for inspiration). True to the spirit of operas, there is no happy ending and it ends with Hoffman dead drunk, and apparently not in a figurative way, either.
While the overall thematic nature of the show is one of tragic unrequited love, it is not quite as downright depressing as I had first envisioned. In fact, it retains a predominant distinct flavour of whimsicality and light heartedness throughout, only momentarily detracting towards the darker instances. Particularly, the animated aria "Va pour Kleinzach" in the early stages of the prologue and repeated again towards the closing, and of course, the enjoyable visual and aural spectacle of Zhao’s coloratura passage of the Doll Song a.k.a. “Les oiseaux dans la charmille” which embodies the “winding down” of Olympia the robot, in what is probably the most inspired and creative moment in the entire show. Another gem is the famous Barcarolle duet in Act 3, which was always shaping to be a crowd favourite.
Overall, the score is brilliantly written, elegant yet amusing, with a well talented cast performing adeptly and convincingly. Offenbach’s classic masterpiece is a difficult piece to cover and indubitably, this is a credible and impressive showpiece by the Singapore Lyric Opera. Minor gripes would include the setting which I felt was rather spartan (a result of the recession perhaps?) which would have definitely helped the audience to warm up faster to the mood and setting of the era and the characters in play.