Les Contes d'Hoffmann (the Tales of Hoffmann): Fantastic Opera in Four Acts

by Jules Barbier

Excerpt from Les Contes D'hoffmann (the Tales of Hoffmann): Fantastic Opera in Four Acts

Drig, drig, drig, bring us thy beer, Bring us thy wine, Till morning dawns, Fill up my glass, Till morning dawns.

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Genres: Music, Fiction, Classics

70 pages, Paperback

First published February 10, 1881

About the author

Paul Jules Barbier was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. He was a noted Parisian bon vivant and man of letters.

Reviews

[Manybooks]

Jacques Offenbach’s 1880 and somewhat incomplete Les Contes d’Hoffmann (which is based on three of E.T.A. Hofmann’s short stories, Der Sandmann, Rat Krespel and Das verlorene Spiegelbild) is one of my absolute and all time favourite operas. So therefore, I was of course really looking forward to reading Jules Barbier’s libretto (and also to comparing the latter to Hoffmann’s original German language texts).

And yes, generally speaking, Jules Barbier has certainly managed to very much keep to the spirit of E.T.A. Hoffmann with his Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Opéra Fantastique en 4 Actes, and with especially his rendition of Hoffmann’s Der Sandmann wonderfully retaining the story’s inherent creepiness (even if in my opinion Der Sandmann is actually even more chilling than how Jules Barbier’s libretto presents itself on paper).

But as much as I have enjoyed reading Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Opèra Fantastique en 4 Actes (and still absolutely do totally adore the opera, the combination of Jacques Offenbach’s music and Jules Barbier’s libretto), I also have to say that the episode in Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Opéra Fantastique en 4 Actes which is based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Rat Krespel kind of really misses the mark so to speak in so far that there is no deliberate murder through music contained in Rat Krespel, and the fact that Jules Barbier has Antonie die because Dr. Miracle deliberately and diabolically kills her by forcing her to sing until she fatally collapses, I for one do find that this veers much too far from Hoffmann’s original text for me to simply ignore and consider this unproblematic.

And yes indeed, the above is also why for me, Jules Barbier’s libretto for Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann opera is only a three star ranking and most certainly also kind of a trifle disappointing (as I really did expect Les Contes d’Hoffmann: Opéra Fantastique en 4 Actes to be in its entirety more closely based on Hoffmann’s actual printed words than it is).

[Sammy]

In a crowded field, this may just be my favourite opera. Exquisite, heartbreaking, cheeky, beautifully scored. Hoffmann forever!

[Mike]

Barbier’s libretto is remarkable for its economy of storytelling and emotional truth, working as both an adaptation of three Hoffmann tales and an imaginative reinvention of a fictionalized Hoffmann as the everyman, the wounded lover, and the tragic poet, all rolled into one. Offenbach’s score is versatile enough to keep the atmosphere playful/lighthearted or somber, depending on the scene or the overall direction of any specific adaptation. As I just begin my exploration of opera, this libretto is a wonderful introduction, especially considering my longtime affinity for Hoffmann’s fiction, which this opera manages to capture in its offbeat charm and macabre undertones.

[Javier Fernandez]

From the ashes of a heart burned by love (three times!), the creative genius of our lovelorn poet, Hoffman is kindled. I love how even after experiencing these sad tales, Hoffman is able to make lemonade out of lemons. Instead of being mired in thoughts of death, he is able to redirect his passion to giving life to new art. In the end, after being buried in an avalanche of sorrow, the light of creation is able to poke through the rubble. In opera, such happy endings are rare.

[John Yelverton]

This play was truly awful as the protagonist is emotionally and physically tortured in matters of the heart from truly despicable characters. I cannot imagine actually seeing this in a production, but I would probably walk out, because this play was just awful.

[Nate Light]

That staccato hits hard. G notes are you kidding me?!?

https://youtu.be/3dlGDNoliH0

[Elliott Bignell]

Reviewing in English for consistency with my review stream.

This is my first attempt at reading opera, an artistic genre with which I am also generally unfamiliar, and I must admit that I will probably not repeat the exercise. This is a short read, and not challenging for a reasonably fluent German reader. It yields a general familiarity with the events of the opera's story. Beyond that, there is little to recommend it to the general reader, and it would be better left for those already very familiar with the musical work or required to perform it. While musical in conception, it is not, for the most part, metred verse in the same sense as an epic poem. This makes it rather disjointed to read. The literary content is also, in my opinion, rather banal.

My advice would be to visit the opera at least once or twice to anchor the content to concrete experiences, or at least be familiar with the music. To deepen an existing understanding is probably the real point of reading this work.

Probably serves me right for reaching into culture above my natural trophic level!