Tales of Hoffmann [DVD] [1993] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

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  • Total New: 0
  • Total Used: 0
  • Total Collectible: 0
  • Total Refurbished: 0
  • Actor : Daniel Galvez-Vallejo
  • Actor : José van Dam
  • Actor : Natalie Dessay
  • Actor : Barbara Hendricks
  • Actor : Isabelle Vernet
  • Aspect Ratio : 4:3 - 1.33:1
  • Binding : DVD
  • Creator : Daniel Galvez-Vallejo
  • Creator : José van Dam
  • Director : Pierre Cavassilas
  • EAN : 0014381578126
  • Format : Classical
  • Format : Colour
  • Format : DVD-Video
  • Format : NTSC
  • Label : Image Entertainment
  • Languages : Subtitled: English, Original Language: French
  • Manufacturer : Image Entertainment
  • Number Of Discs : 1
  • Number Of Items : 1
  • Package Dimensions : 0.50 inches (Height) x 7.40 inches (Length) x 0.20 pounds (Weight) x 5.30 inches (Width)
  • Product Group : DVD
  • Publisher : Image Entertainment
  • Region Code : 1
  • Release Date : 1999-10-26
  • Running Time : 120
  • SKU : 014381578126
  • Studio : Image Entertainment
  • UPC : 014381578126

Unfortunately the qualities that make Jacques Offenbach's operetta The Tales of Hoffmann an irresistible melodic profusion of wit, dash and unfailing high spirits are only in evidence in the playing of the Lyon Opera Orchestra under Kent Nagano: operetta, more than its serious cousin, continues to be fair game for the whims of producers and designers. In this case an excellent cast including Daniel Galvez-Vallejo as Hoffmann, Natalie Dessay as Olympia, Brigitte Balley as Nicklausse and Isabelle Vernet as Giulietta, as well as Gabriel Bacquier who sings three roles, are obliged to perform Offenbach's operetta in a lunatic asylum designed by Philippe Starck as a three-dimensional grey set, topped with barbed wire. The production by Louis Erlo adapts and cuts scenes to fit this concept, so the tavern scene where Hoffmann sings his celebrated number "The Legend of Kleinzack" disappears, as do the chorus who are banished to the wings. In this environment there's no room for charm or even a kind of mad-hatter behaviour. The cast are reduced to stereotypes and of necessity singularly unlovable ones. What a wasted opportunity. The sound is excellent as it is on two fillers: a short film of Penderecki conducting his choral work, The Seven Gates to Jerusalem from the Midem festival at Cannes and a trailer for a Lyon Opera House production of Berlioz's Damnation of Faust. --Adrian Edwards

- Amazon.co.uk Review

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