What is Les contes d'Hoffmann?
{{italictitle}} [[File:Pierre-Auguste Lamy (?) - Les contes d'Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, prologue - Original.jpg|thumb|Prologue ]] '''''Les contes d'Hoffmann''''' (''The Tales of Hoffmann'') is a [[France|French]] [[opera]]. It has a [[prologue]], three acts and an [[epilogue]]. The [[music]] was written by [[Jacques Offenbach]]. The [[libretto]] was written by Jules Berbier and Michel Carré. It is based on E.T.A Hoffmann's ''Dr Sandmann, Geschichte von Verloreren Spiegelbilde''. The opera was first [[performance|performed]] in [[Paris]], on 10 February 1881. The opera was the last and perhaps greatest work of Offenbach. It was not quite finished when he died. The final score was completed by Ernest Guiraud. Guiraud also wrote the [[recitative]]s, though at first it was meant to have spoken-[[dialogue]]. The work was an immediate success and has remained so since its creation. ==Principal characters== * Hoffmann - [[tenor]] * Olympia - [[soprano]] * Antonia - soprano * Giuletta - soprano * Stella - soprano * Dr Miracle - [[bass (vocal range)|bass]] * Dapertutto - bass * Coppélius - bass * Lindorf - bass * Nicklaus - [[mezzo-soprano]] * Spalanzani - [[tenor]] * Ideally, the four [[soprano]] roles should be sung by the same [[singer]] as well as the four bass roles as they represent different aspects of two [[fictional character|characters]]. ==Sources== * ''The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta'', James Anderson, Wings Books, 1993. {{DEFAULTSORT:Contes d'Hoffmann, Les}} [[Category:1880s operas]]