Posts Tagged: hoffmann

The Many Tale(nt)s of E.T.A. Hoffmann: Tonight!

As we did research for this season’s Tales of Hoffmann for this season, I was repeatedly amazed and inspired by the real-life hero of Offenbach’s opera. I kicked the challenge over to WTOC coach/pianist Jeremy Frank and a quartet of singers, and tonight they’ll present a free talk and concert that includes vocal music written

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The Path to the Tales

I’ve been remiss in not shouting from the Blogging Rooftops how thrilled we are to be working from Schott’s Kaye/Keck edition for our Tales of Hoffmann. Producing this opera is like being presented with a wealth of confusing riches, not all of which can (or should) be piled into one evening at the theatre. Musicologists

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Hoffmann Is Here

Such empty promises. In spite of such good intentions. I would have loved nothing more than to take you along with me on the ride that is Hoffmann at The Barns. But, as too often happens, it came down to managing the week or writing about it. I chose to try to keep the train

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SitzWandelProbe

We’ve wrestled this fantastical, sprawling opera into 3 beautifully tight hours. But you’d never know it from the look of our directing intern’s score. :) SitzWandelProbe tonight. Some standing, little sitting, a fair amount of wandering, and some jaw-dropping singing. Welcome to The Barns, E.T.A. Hoffmann.  

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Don’t Make Me Sing…

Tonight’s task: final editing of supertitles for the Antonia Act of The Tales of Hoffmann. In short, the heroine of this act is a sensitive artiste, a former singer who has become so weak that she may not survive the physical exertion required to sing again. The villain is determined to make her sing, and

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Hoffmann’s Ladies

The Tales of Hoffmann enjoyed an exhilarating final run-through in the rehearsal room. Full set of photos on Flickr. At left, our hero (sung by Nathaniel Peake) tries to resist the allure of the three ladies who moved through his life: The eerily perfect Olympia (Jamie-Rose Guarrine)… The sensitive Antonia (Marcy Stonikas)… And the earthy

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2011 Season On Sale Tomorrow! (Saturday 3/12/11)

Wolf-Ferrari Le donne curiose June 17, 19 & 25 at The Barns Including a fabulous preshow chat by yours truly one hour before curtain Written near the beginning of Wolf-Ferrari’s career, The Curious Women is a charming chamber opera. We discovered it a few years ago, and I’ve been carrying around a score for a

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