Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann at St. Petersburg Opera Company

Hoffmann, the poet hero of The Tales of Hoffmann, has four love affairs that haunt him in Offenbach’s grand and final opera. The opera fantastique begins with Hoffmann waiting in a tavern for his current passion, an opera diva appropriately named Stella. To pass the time, Hoffmann tells the other students stories about three of his previous loves, each of which ends in disaster. For example, Olympia turns out to be a mechanical doll! Each of his loves gets wonderful music to sing before breaking Hoffmann’s heart.