Offenbach - Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Patrick Davin) [2009]
NTSC 16:9 (720x480) VBR Auto Pan&Scan | Francais (LPCM, 2 ch); (Dolby AC3, 6 ch); (DTS, 6 ch) | 6,0+6,15Gb (2*DVD9)
Classical | Label: Bel Air | Sub: Francais, English, Deutsch, Espanol | 171 min (opera) + 26 min (bonus) | Filesonic, Wupload, Fileserve
NTSC 16:9 (720x480) VBR Auto Pan&Scan | Francais (LPCM, 2 ch); (Dolby AC3, 6 ch); (DTS, 6 ch) | 6,0+6,15Gb (2*DVD9)
Classical | Label: Bel Air | Sub: Francais, English, Deutsch, Espanol | 171 min (opera) + 26 min (bonus) | Filesonic, Wupload, Fileserve
Offenbach's masterpiece, based on three stories by the German author E.T.A. Hoffmann, is both a three-act opera and a trilogy of taut, individual dramas, all rolled into one.This Geneva production from 2002 features baritone Marc Laho in the tour-de-force triple villain roles, with three different standout sopranos as the tales' three heroines. French producer Olivier Py caused an uproar among Geneva operagoers with a staging of Tales of Hoffmann that features full-frontal male and female nudity and simulated on-stage lesbian and heterosexual sex.
Audiences were left "gasping, giggling or reduced to stunned silence" by the production, which interprets the popular opera as an indictment of capitalist society. Py adds several simulated sex acts, including one between the poet Hoffman and the life-sized doll Olympia as she sings her main aria. Soprano Patricia Petitbon is a major tour de force as she sings Olympia wearing only a transparent body stocking in a Venetian bordello.
Performer:
Hoffmann - Marc Laho
La Muse / Nicklausse - Stella Doufexis
Lindorf / Coppélius / Miracle / Dapertutto - Nicolas Cavallier
Andrès / Cochenille / Frantz / Pitichinaccio - Eric Huchet
Olympia - Patricia Petibon
Antonia - Rachel Harnisch
Giulietta - Maria Riccarda Wesseling
La Voix de la mère d’Antonia - Nadine Denize
Spalanzani - Francisco Vas
Schlemil - Bernard Deletré
Luther - René Schirrer
Crespel - Gilles Cachemaille
Nathanaël - Bisser Terziyski
Hermann - Romaric Braun
Stella - Delphine Beaulieu
Chœur du Grand Théâtre de Genève
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Musical direction - Patrick Davin
Stage direction - Olivier Py
Grand Théâtre de Genève, 10/2008
OLCDHD