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LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN
(The Tales of Hoffmann)
By Jacques Offenbach
VIDEO: A) Temporarily withdrawn Video from
the Metropolitan Opera under Charles Dutoit, stars Neil Shicoff,
James Morris, and others; preferred choice over all the other VIDEOs
when/if it's reissued. [G.R.]
B) Alfredo Kraus, Ruth Welting, Barbara Hendricks, Nicola
Ghiuselev, Guingal conducting, 1988; Bel Canto Society #675; best
VIDEO currently available. [G.R.]
C-1) Robert Rounseville, Moira Shearer [only on screen
-- of course], Robert Helpman [oonly on screen], Sir
Thomas Beecham conducting, with Frederick Ashton's choreography; a
Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger production, 1951; Home Vision TAZ
060; performed in English, this film is long on inspired fantasy
(some of Beecham's conducting sure doesn't hurt either), short on
musical accuracy, though a less heavy-handed editing job than many
similar films; Rounseville's accomplished music-making is superior to
most of his off-screen colleagues. [G.R.]
C-2) Placido Domingo, Luciana Serra, Agnes Baltsa, Anne
Evans, Pretre conducting; Covent Garden, 1981; (?)CVI(?) 2045 A much
more solid musical presentation than C-1, more faithful to the
score but less suitably "fantastic," more earthbound, in some of the
conducting; performed in the original French, but, unfortunately,
only the Laserdisc version (?PIO? 23440) has the subtitles.
[G.R.]
AUDIO: A) ENTERPRISE: Raoul Jobin, Lucille Browning,
Patrice Munsel, Jarmila Novotna, Lily Djanel, Mack Harrell, Ezio
Pinza, Martial Singher, Beecham conducting ("live," Metropolitan
Opera, 1944); Despite so-so sound and the usual inauthentic
performing edition, Sir Thomas Beecham's unerring gift at conveying
the aura of the supernatural in Offenbach's score with such
unflagging energy and style places this broadcast in a class all its
own; already setting the standard on disk for both Carmen and
Faust, Sir Thomas's Hoffmann is a worthy entry in his
triple crown for the French repertoire; features a star in
practically every role and is one of those rare off-the-air
recordings where almost all are heard to advantage -- a palpable
sense of occasion; fair Mono [G.R.]
B) EMI: Neil Shicoff, Ann Murray, Jessye Norman,
Jose Van Dam, Cambreling conducting; Also uses a somewhat
controversial performing edition, but is probably closer to something
Offenbach would have recoognized as his own than either of the
editions used in A or C; Shicoff's interpretation of
the title role is the only one, IMO, to surpass the ubiquitous Jobin;
Shicoff's contribution is worth the entire set; superb Stereo
[G.R]
C) CBS--LP label (on LP only): Raoul Jobin, Fanely
Revoil, Renee Doria, Vena Bovy, Andre Pernet, Charles Soix, Cluytens
conducting; A consistently more stylish and idiomatic performance
than B, though with slightly less opulent voices performing a
much less careful and conscientious edition--unfortunately, the
traditional version for nearly a century; even so, consistency of
involvement and of musical presentation in this renowned studio
product is a byword among collectors; Mono [G.R.]
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