The Metropolitan Opera: The Tales of Hoffmann (2024)
After a celebrated career as a composer of lighthearted operetta, Jacques Offenbach turned his hand to more serious fare—only to die before his one true opera was completed. That work, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, was based on a play that strung together a collection of stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann and cast the famed poet as the protagonist of his own tales. In this performance from the 2024–25 Live in HD season, French tenor Benjamin Bernheim stars as Hoffmann, four times unlucky in love. Alongside him as the objects of his affections, soprano Erin Morley is the high-flying automaton Olympia, mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine is the Venetian courtesan Giulietta, and soprano Pretty Yende is both the diva Stella and the ill-fated songstress Antonia. Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn portrays the four nefarious Villains who outwit Hoffmann at every turn, and mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya is Hoffmann’s Muse and his companion Nicklausse, conducted by Marco Armiliato.
Director: Bartlett Sher
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Benjamin Bernheim as Hoffmann |
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Erin Morley as Olympia |
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Pretty Yende as Antonia / Stella |
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Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta |
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Christian van Horn as Lindorf / Coppélius / Dr. Miracle / Dapertutto |
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Vasilisa Berzhanskaya as Muse / Nicklausse |
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Aaron Blake as Andrès / Cochenille / Frantz / Pitichinaccio |
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Tony Stevenson as Nathanaël / Spalanzani |
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Bradley Garvin as Luther / Crespel |
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Jeongcheol Cha as Hermann / Schlémil |
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Marco Armiliato as Conductor |
| Directing | Bartlett Sher | Director |
| Sound | Marco Armiliato | Conductor |
| Writing | Jules Barbier | Writer |
| Sound | Jacques Offenbach | Music |
| Art | Michael Yeargan | Set Designer |
| Costume & Make-Up | Catherine Zuber | Costume Design |
| Lighting | James F. Ingalls | Lighting Design |
