The Tales of Hoffman at The Palladium

THE TALES OF HOFFMAN. Hoffmann, the poet hero of The Tales of Hoffman, has four that haunt him in Offenbach’s grand final opera. The opera 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. Each of his loves gets wonderful music to sing before breaking Hoffman’s heart. The demanding role of Hoffman will be sung by tenor John Kaneklides (Lt. Cable in SPO’s South Pacific). His muse will be Kathleen Shelton, who will also sing the role of Nicklausse; the three loves will be Kelly Curtin as Olympia, Lara CottrillMcGill as Antonia, and Susan Hellman Spatafora as Giulietta. Todd Donovan will sing the three villains.