Search - Jacques Offenbach, Jeffrey Tate, Francisco Araiza :: Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann / Araiza, Ramey, Lind, Norman, Studer, von Otter; Tate [Highlights]

On paper, this Hoffmann looks close to ideal, though all sorts of problems take it out of the running for all but the most dedicated Hoffmann scholars. It's the first recording of the Michael Kaye edition, based on recently discovered sketches of the unfinished opera. However, the cast often sounds like it's learning it in the studio. Just hearing all these voices in the same cast might be a treat. But one can't listen very long without encountering Francisco Araiza in the title role, who sounds like he's had a few too many lessons with a bad voice teacher: His sound is pinched and eccentric, quite unlike his vocal production before or since. Even the normally stylish conductor Jeffrey Tate seems at a loss to liven things up. --David Patrick Stearns