Recorded on 17 and 20 February 2013 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Spain) Les contes d'Hoffmann (Paris, 1881) testifies to Offenbach's desire to go beyond his successful operettas and enter the world of grand opera. This is a highly ...See moreRecorded on 17 and 20 February 2013 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Spain) Les contes d'Hoffmann (Paris, 1881) testifies to Offenbach's desire to go beyond his successful operettas and enter the world of grand opera. This is a highly inspired work in which fantasy, emotion and the supernatural blend gently with satire and the grotesque. Hoffmann, the narrator and protagonist, tells his drinking companions three tales, each illustrating a facet of his stormy romance with the singer Stella. The tales tell of Olympia, a mechanical doll, Antonia, a singer who sings herself to death, and Giulietta, a courtesan who steals people's thoughts.
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