{"product_id":"the-real-tales-of-hoffmann-9781442260849","title":"The Real Tales of Hoffmann","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf all operas in the standard repertory, none has had a more complicated genesis and textual history than Offenbach's Tales of Hoffmann. Based on a highly successful 1851 play inspired by the short stories by the German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, the work occupied the last decade of Offenbach's life. When he died in October 1880, the work was being rehearsed at the Opéra-Comique. At once cut and rearranged, the work was performed from the start in versions that ignored the composer's final intentions. Only a few decades ago, when previously unavailable manuscripts came to light, it became possible to reconstitute the score in its real form. Vincent Giroud and Michael Kaye's The Real ''Tales of Hoffmann'' tells the full story for the first time in English. After discussing how the work of Hoffmann became known and influential in France, the book includes little-known sources for the opera, especially the complete Barbier and Carré play, in French and English. It describes the gene\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Real ‘Tales of Hoffmann’ is a commendable collaboration of the opera historian par excellence, Vincent Giroud and Michael Kaye, who is something of a genius—a tireless researcher, an original thinker, a musicological historian unencumbered with prefabricated aesthetic prejudices—who has given the world rare, often revisionary, always profoundly valuable insights into the mind of Jacques Offenbach and the circuitous creation (also re-creation over time) of Les contes d’Hoffmann. They have earned unbridled admiration and gratitude from all who seek broadened horizons regarding the universal presentation of conventional, also unconventional, music and theater. -- Martin Bernheimer, Pulitzer Prize winning critic and New York correspondent for the Financial Times and Opera Magazine., New York correspondent for the Financial Times, editorial board member of Opera Magazine, and Pulitzer Prize-winning former music critic of the Los Angeles Times\u003cbr\u003eThis scrupulously historical reconstitution of the origins and destiny of Les contes d’Hoffmann, perhaps the most misunderstood work in the operatic repertory, and certainly one of my favorite operas, will be a revelation to musicians and to everyone who has ever fallen under the spell of Offenbach’s immortal masterpiece. -- Neil Shicoff, internationally renowned star-tenor and one of the 20th century’s foremost interpreters of Hoffmann\u003cbr\u003eThe authors of The Real 'Tales of Hoffmann' have performed an invaluable service to all opera theaters, audiences, and scholars by presenting in one volume so much information about Offenbach’s masterpiece and important source material that is not readily available. Stage directors, designers, dramaturgs, conductors, and singers will also find the advice on choosing a version particularly illuminating. -- Ronny Dietrich, Dramaturg and Director of Publications of the Salzburg Festival (2012–2016)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of Abbreviations Foreword by Plácido Domingo Introduction Acknowledgments  Chronology Part 1 – Essays 1.The Awareness and Influence of E.T.A. Hoffmann in France Before Les contes d’Hoffmann, Vincent Giroud 2.The Librettists of Les contes d’Hoffmann, Vincent Giroud 3.“Hallucinations in the Tavern”: Barbier’s Scenario of the Play, Michael Kaye 4.The Barbier and Carré Play and its Reception, Michael Kaye 5.The Birth of the Opera, Michael Kaye The Revision for the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin Hector Salomon: Le rêve d’Hoffmann (1875–1881) The Unrealized Opéra-féerie Version of Les contes d’Hoffmann 6.Les contes d’Hoffmann, From Play to Opera Libretto, Charlie Richards 7.Barbier as Versifier, Vincent Giroud 8.Hoffmann after Offenbach, Michael Kaye Summary of Performances at the Opéra-Comique Prior to 1911 and the First Performances of the Opera in Other Countries The Brussels Version of the Opera (1887) The Surprising Tale of Raoul Gunsbourg’s Version of the Opera for Monte-Carlo (1904) Albert Carré’s revival of Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Opéra-Comique (1911) 9.Les Contes d’Hoffmann on the Stage: From Felsentein to the Present, George Loomis 10.“Elle est sur la scène”: Arriving at and Choosing a Version, Vincent Giroud and Michael Kaye  Part 2 – The Play and the Libretto 11.Les contes d’Hoffmann: The Complete 1851 Barbier and Carré Play, Edited by Michael Kaye, English translation by Vincent Giroud 12.The Libretto of Les contes d’Hoffmann, Edited and translated by Michael Kaye 13.Literary Annotations for the Play and the Opera, Michael Kaye and Charlie Richards  Appendices A. Comparative Table of Venues in the Opera in Early Sources B. Descriptions of E. T. A. Hoffmann by Adolphe François Loève-Veimars (1799–1854)     English translation by Vincent Giroud C. Little-Known Response to E.T.A. Hoffmann Prior to the Barbier and Carré Play     Michael Kaye \tGaetano Donizetti (1797–1848): “Le violon de Crémone d’Hoffmann” \tJuliette Godillon: A Forgotten French Composer Inspired by E.T.A Hoffmann D. A Weimar-Era Example of the Opera’s Popularization: „Laß’ dir nix von Hoffmann erzählen“ (1929),    Michael Kaye  Select Discography, Videography, and Filmography,  Charlie Richards","brand":"Rowman \u0026 Littlefield","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51039968133463,"sku":"9781442260849","price":67.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781442260849.jpg?v=1750945387","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-real-tales-of-hoffmann-9781442260849","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}