The Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach, Dg. 23 Gen. 2022, De (2022/2022), Dirigit per Johannes Erath, Director musical Marc Minkowski, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Valencia, Spain

Jacques Offenbach wanted to compose an opera before his death based on some tales by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, a writer, musician and one of the foremost exponents of German Romanticism. The work features a libretto by Jules Barbier, who, together with Offenbach's music, create a fascinating polyhedron of souls moving in the romantic play of portraiture and its negative. A multitude of characters in appearance that are essentially reduced to three: the protagonist Hoffmann, his beloved presented in the form of Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta, Stella; and the diabolical antagonist of the poet, embodied by Lindorf, Coppelius, Miracle, and Dapertutto. The lineup of repertoire expansion under the presence of the first international beats started by Les Arts from 2019 continues with the incorporation of Hoffmann's Tales directed by Marc Minkowski and performed by a stellar cast led by John Osborn, Pretty Yende and Alex Esposito, who make their debut in the Calatrava building. After the splendid Mitridate in concert given by Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre last season, the Parisian master is conducting the orchestra and choir headliners of the theater, according to the critical edition of Les contes d'Hoffmannby Michael Kaye and Jean-Christophe Keck, who is most faithful to the composer's intentions. German stage director Johannes Erath recreates the real and dreamlike experiences that Hoffmann experiences - a writer of our time - as a result of his insecurities, lovelessness and alcohol, in a modern production that generates tension, emotion, and abounds in visually striking moments that stimulate the viewer’s imagination. American tenor John Osborn once again tackles the role of Hoffmann, alongside South African soprano Pretty Yende, who for the first time in her career embodies Hoffmann's four idyllic muses, a vocal feat that in the past they have performed sopranos such as Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills, Edita Gruberová and Catherine Malfitano.