Real Tales of Hoffmann (eBook)

Vincent Giroud is professor at the University of Franche-Comté, Besançon (France), former curator of modern books and manuscripts, Beinecke Library, Yale University, author of French Opera: A Short History, Nicolas Nabokov: A Life in Freedom and Music, and contributor to the Oxford Handbook of Opera and the Oxford Handbook of Faust in Music.Michael Kaye, eminent American musicologist, author of The Unknown Puccini, translator of Giacomo Puccini Catalogue of the Works, editor of works by numerous composers performed and recorded by major artists and orchestras, lecturer, educator, radio commentator, producer and opera administrator, annotator for major recordings, former member of the musical and artistic staffs of opera companies in the United States and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera.

List of AbbreviationsForeword by Plácido DomingoIntroductionAcknowledgments ChronologyPart 1 – EssaysThe Awareness and Influence of E.T.A. Hoffmann in France Before Les contes d’Hoffmann, Vincent GiroudThe Librettists of Les contes d’Hoffmann, Vincent Giroud“Hallucinations in the Tavern”: Barbier’s Scenario of the Play, Michael KayeThe Barbier and Carré Play and its Reception, Michael KayeThe Birth of the Opera, Michael KayeThe Revision for the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-MartinHector Salomon: Le rêve d’Hoffmann (1875–1881)The Unrealized Opéra-féerie Version of Les contes d’HoffmannLes contes d’Hoffmann, From Play to Opera Libretto, Charlie RichardsBarbier as Versifier, Vincent GiroudHoffmann after Offenbach, Michael KayeSummary of Performances at the Opéra-Comique Prior to 1911 and the First Performances of the Opera in Other CountriesThe Brussels Version of the Opera (1887)The Surprising Tale of Raoul Gunsbourg’s Version of the Opera for Monte-Carlo (1904)Albert Carré’s revival of Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Opéra-Comique (1911)Les Contes d’Hoffmann on the Stage: From Felsentein to the Present, George Loomis“Elle est sur la scène”: Arriving at and Choosing a Version, Vincent Giroud and Michael KayePart 2 – The Play and the LibrettoLes contes d’Hoffmann: The Complete 1851 Barbier and Carré Play, Edited by Michael Kaye, English translation by Vincent GiroudThe Libretto of Les contes d’Hoffmann, Edited and translated by Michael KayeLiterary Annotations for the Play and the Opera,Michael Kaye and Charlie RichardsAppendicesA. Comparative Table of Venues in the Opera in Early SourcesB. Descriptions of E. T. A. Hoffmann by Adolphe François Loève-Veimars (1799–1854) English translation by Vincent GiroudC. Little-Known Response to E.T.A. Hoffmann Prior to the Barbier and Carré Play Michael KayeGaetano Donizetti (1797–1848): “Le violon de Crémone d’Hoffmann”Juliette Godillon: A Forgotten French Composer Inspired by E.T.A HoffmannD. A Weimar-Era Example of the Opera’s Popularization: „Laß’ dir nix von Hoffmann erzählen“ (1929), Michael KayeSelect Discography, Videography, and Filmography, Charlie Richards