Jacques OFFENBACH (1819-1880)
Hoffmanns Erzählungen/Les Contes d’Hoffmann - Opéra in three acts with Prologue and Epilogue (1882)
Hanns Nocker (tenor) - Hoffmann; Melitta Muszely (soprano) - Olympia/Antonia/Giulietta/Stella; Rudolf Asmus (baritone) - Lindorf/ Coppélius/ Doktor Mirakel/ Dapertutto ; Sylvia Kuziemski (mezzo) – Nicklausse/Muse; Werner Enders (baritone) – Andreas/ Cochenille/ Frantz/ Pitichinaccio; Valdimir Bauer (baritone)- Spalanzani; Alfred Wroblewski (bass) - Crespel; Horst-Dieter Kaschel (actor)- Schlemil ; Uwe Kreyssig (actor) - Nathanael; Heinz Kögel (actor) - Luther
Berlin Komische Oper Chorus and Orchestra/Karl-Fritz Voigtmann
rec. 1970, DEFA Studios Babelsberg, Potsdam, Berlin
Direction: Walter Felsenstein
Scripts: Walter Felsenstein, Georg Mielke
Sets: Reinhart Zimmermann after designs by Rudolf Heinrich
Costumes: Helga Scherff
Blu-Ray region code A,B,C;
Picture Format: 1080i HD;
Sound Format: PCM Stereo;
Sung in German; Subtitles in English, German, French, Spanish
ARTHAUS MUSIK Blu-ray 109435 [131:00]
Recently I had occasion to enthusiastically welcome the arrival of Walter Felsenstein’s delightful production of Ritter Blaubart in a new 4k Blu-ray transfer that brought the old film to life with stunning clarity (review). For this simultaneous release of I must offer a more reserved welcome.
Walter Felsenstein‘s Berlin production of Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann was considered quite revelatory and controversial when it first appeared in 1958. It was one of the first attempts to try to bring the opera closer to what Offenbach had originally intended before he died. These days we are have grown accustomed to the different musicological tinkering of people such as Fritz Oeser and Michael Kaye, which have made broad-scale changes to the structure of the work with varying degrees of success. Felsenstein consulted copies of the original 1882 rehearsal material held in the Bibliothèque Nationale, and made the decision to remove all of the recitatives composed by Ernest Guiraud. To replace them he decided to go back to the much darker dialogue of the original 1851 stage play by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, which had served as the inspiration for the libretto Barbier provided to Offenbach. Felsenstein’s new version also involved the trimming of many of the customary numbers of the opera, while those that are left are usually heard incomplete or reduced to a single verse. What we get in compensation is a great deal of the original dialogue, albeit in a German translation, which turns the opera into a rather dark and sinister phantasmagoria that is quite gripping even if it is not the full score that was intended. As an example, the “Trio diabolique” in the Antonia act is mostly a dialogue scene although it is truly eerie nonetheless. The atmospheric sets and costumes go a long way to add to the dark and somewhat eerie atmosphere of Felsenstein’s production. At times he seems to be paying homage to the surreal visuals of the 1951 film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
With the caveat that much of Offenbach’s music is either truncated or missing, how does the cast of singers fare in this scenario? On the whole they do quite well, especially with regards to the dialogue, which is so well rehearsed and delivered that one would never guess that opera singers aren’t usually known for their stage acting chops. There isn’t a single one who for whom acting and line delivery need to have apologies made for them. As the poet Hoffmann Hanns Nocker plays the disillusioned drunkard very well. His attractive, clear tenor is both musical and passionately expressive but his voice does not really expand in the upper reaches in the way that one would hope. It is worth noting that Nocker was the Hoffmann of the production’s premiere in 1958; the fact that he was still singing the role with such command after 12 years is grounds for applause. He has been given an extra aria to sing in the Olympia act that I cannot identify and the booklet makes no mention of it; it doesn’t really sound like Offenbach to my ears. Rudolf Asmus as the four villains is a strong and sinister presence throughout the opera and his acting does stand out as among the best of the cast. Vocally he has all of the notes but his tone has worn rather thin and in any case his music is so truncated that there is little left for him to sing. Melitta Muszely as the four heroines possibly has the greatest challenge to represent the different personalities of the ladies, with so much of her music changed, moved about, or eliminated altogether. She makes accurate sounds as Olympia but is not really exceptional. Her slightly bottled-up tone helps her to become a decent enough Antonia, but it is as Giulietta in the Venice Act that she really seems to come alive and give her best portrayal. Werner Enders as the four servants makes a better impression than he did in the Bluebeard film but he is still a little over-the-top at times. His Pitichinaccio is riveting for being both pathetic and creepy. Felsenstein’s direction is really the driving force behind everything here and it does make for truly interesting viewing for just over two hours. Again, his work with the chorus in particular really stands out as an achievement as it did in Bluebeard.
This Blu-ray release comes with a huge 4K remastering logo on the front cover which might lead one to think that it would only be playable with a 4K player and monitor. This is not the case as the Blu-ray has been released in a format compatible with standard Blu-ray equipment. The restoration of this film was sponsored by the German Federal Film Board (FFA) with the participation of the director’s son, Christoph Felsenstein. Happily this was preserved on film stock rather than the more common video tape that was used at the time. The original 1970 film elements have been restored with care to achieve an absolutely pristine appearance that places the visual quality of film on par with similar cinematic restorations of big budget musicals from the 1960s. The sound elements of the film are clear and listed as being in stereo although I could not detect much separation between the two channels. There is an accompanying booklet with an excellent essay about the making of Felsenstein’s film which is accompanied by images of a handful of the original set and costume designs.
Mike Parr
