Search - Bruce Dargavel, Owen Brannigan, Jacques Offenbach :: Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffman

Beecham Objected

Walter P. Sheppard | Arlington, VA United States | 01/11/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I have not heard this release of the recording, but potential purchasers should be aware that it is the soundtrack of the ballet version film of the opera. They should also be aware that when it was first released on LP 40-odd years ago, Beecham sued to try to stop it. He said it was performed for a specific purpose - - to accompany dancers - - and misrepresented how he would conduct it for a regular opera performance.



The film is excellent, butI have heard the soundtrack recording and have to agree with Sir Thomas. It makes for strange listening. Folks looking for a good recording of the opera as an opera, not a ballet, should look elsewhere."

This is the soundtrack from the 1951 film

Deborah Grassi | Fayetteville, AR USA | 11/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For years, I have always wanted a copy of the soundtrack of The Tales of Hoffman. I had the LP from the 50's and it was badly scratched. When I heard that this was finally available on CD, I was overjoyed. And true to form, it exceeded my expectations as I now have a portable soundtrack which I can play in the car, in the plane, in my home. If you saw this movie and always wanted a copy of the soundtrack...this is it!!!! Enjoy it as I have."

Not Authentic But Gripping !!!

James S. Eisenberg | 05/13/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As great a conductor as Sir Thomas Beecham was, he couldn't help himself when it came to mucking about with operatic scores. His performance version of HOFFMANN for the Pressburger/Powell film preserves most of the corruptions that attached themselves to this score since its premiere and throws in some unique cutting, chopping and dicing(Probably for the needs of the film). That is the bad news. The good news is that this is a gripping performance. (The film set impossibly high standards for the live staging of the opera. I remember how disappointed I was the first time I saw the opera live. The production had none of the magic conjured by the film.)

Denis Arundel's translation is superb. It is remarkably apt and clear. Every word "tells".

Cuts aside, Beecham controls the score beautifully. The singing of all but one of the principals is first rate. Robert Rounsville is a soulfully involved Hoffmann, Dorothy Bond a dazzling Olympia and Anne Ayers a beautifully voiced, grandly tragic Antonia, a very young Monica Sinclair,a perky Nicklausse. Bruce Dargaviel and Owen Brannigan make a feast of the lower voiced roles. The problem here is Margehrita Grandi as Giulietta. She is very much past her prime. While she is still very "grand", she also scoops and bellows. (Just two and three years before she had recorded superb Verdi arias.)

The sound quality is more than passable. This is an excellent transfer.

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