Il riflesso perduto; ossia la barcarola di Giulietta

Speranza

The first public performance of Offenbachʼs opera, "I racconti di Hoffmann" was at the Opera Comica in Paris, on February 10, 1881.

But the stories that inspired the opera were thrilling readers long before singers ever took to the stage.

In 1851, Offenbach attended a performance of a play written by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré called Les

contes fantastiques d'Hoffmann at the Odéon Theatre in Paris.

Later, Barbiere was invited to return to the material to pen the libretto for Offenbachʼs opera, which is based on mainly three short stories by Hoffmann, each one based on a female character: Olimpia, Giulietta and Antonia -- counterparts of the Stella of the prologo and epilogo.

The opera, with a prologue and an epilogue, and three-acts centres around Hoffmann the poet and his relationships with three different women: Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta.

The stories used in the opera are:

1) Der Sandmann (The Sandman), written in 1816.

2) Rath Krespel (Councillor Krespel, also known in English as "The Cremona Violin"), written in 1818.

3) Das verlorene Spiegelbild (The Lost Reflection) from Die Abendteuer der Sylvester-Nacht (The Adventures of New Year's Eve), 1814.

The aria, Chanson de Kleinzach (Song of Little Zaches), in the Prologue is based on the short story Klein Zaches, genannt Zinnober (Little Zaches, called cinnabar), 1819.

Ernst Thomas Amadeus Hoffmann, better known by his pen name, E.T.A. Hoffmann, was born in on January

24, 1776 in Königsberg, Prussia (now known as Kaliningrad, Russia).

Hoffmann was one of the major authors

of the Romantic movement, but he was also a composer, orchestral conductor, music critic, draftsman painter,

caricaturist, law officer and jurist.

Even though he was not well-recognized for his musical compositions, his

literary work influenced scores of composers, including Robert Schumann, Léo Delibes and of course, Pyotr

Illyich Tchaikovsky, whose music for the well-loved ballet, The Nutcraker, is based on a Hoffmann tale.

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The Sandman, a short story written in German, was first published in an 1817 book of stories titled Die

Nachtstücke (The Night Pieces).

The protagonist of the story, Nathanael, encounters Olimpia, the "daughter"

of Nathaniel's professor, Spalanzani, who is later revealed to be an automaton, or robot.

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Rath Krespel or The Cremona Violin, also known as "Antonia's Song," "Councillor Krespel," and "The Story of

Krespel."

The story follows a musician who tries to keep his daughter from singing out of fear that, if she sings

she will die. Soon, an unexpected visitor arrives and the young lady is persuaded to sing.

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Finally, Das verlorene Spiegelbild (The Lost Reflection) tells the story of a German named Erasmus Spikher, who, forgetting his wife and child, falls passionately in love with an Venetian courtesan named Giulietta, who steals Spikher's reflection.

The 1881 Offenbach opera in turn inspired a 1951 film version of The Tales of Hoffmann by the British

filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, directors of the classic 1948 film, The Red Shoes.

The

great American film director Martin Scorsese has spoken of the filmʼs influence as a breakthrough example of

"dance as narrative."

From the printed page to music and dance, The Tales of Hoffman continue to welcome

new audiences to enter a world of dreams and nightmares, and weave a powerful spell through masterful storytelling.