Les Contes d’Hoffmann

The title role of "Les contes d’Hoffmann", Jacques Offenbach’s most ambitious opera, requires an exceptional tenor. The Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam found him in John Osborn. He beautifully shows the sufferings of Hoffmann, the prototype of the German romantic period artist, in the "enormously clever production" (Concerti) by Tobias Kratzer. Among the top vocal cast are Nina Minasyan, Ermonela Jaho and Christine Rice as the three women in Hoffmann’s "tales". Vocal powerhouse Erwin Schrott sparkles with devilish charisma and Carlo Rizzi excels on the rostrum of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. "Unanimous applause for all!" (NMZ)