Real Tales of Hoffmann

Giroud and Kayetell the full story of The Tales of Hoffman for the first time. After discussing the work's influences and history, the book details sources for the opera, including the complete Barbier and Carré play. The annotated libretto is published in full, with the variants, and essays explain the enduring evolution of the opera.

Vincent Giroud is professor at the University of Franche-Comté, Besançon (France), former curator of modern books and manuscripts, Beinecke Library, Yale University, author of French Opera: A Short History, Nicolas Nabokov: A Life in Freedom and Music, and contributor to the Oxford Handbook of Opera and the Oxford Handbook of Faust in Music.

List of Abbreviations Foreword by Plácido Domingo Introduction Acknowledgments Chronology Part 1 - Essays The Awareness and Influence of E.T.A. Hoffmann in France Before Les contes d'Hoffmann, Vincent GiroudThe Librettists of Les contes d'Hoffmann, Vincent Giroud"Hallucinations in the Tavern": Barbier's Scenario of the Play, Michael KayeThe Barbier and Carré Play and its Reception, Michael KayeThe Birth of the Opera, Michael KayeThe Revision for the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin Hector Salomon: Le rêve d'Hoffmann (1875-1881) The Unrealized Opéra-féerie Version of Les contes d'Hoffmann Les contes d'Hoffmann, From Play to Opera Libretto, Charlie RichardsBarbier as Versifier, Vincent GiroudHoffmann after Offenbach, Michael KayeSummary of Performances at the Opéra-Comique Prior to 1911 and the First Performances of the Opera in Other Countries The Brussels Version of the Opera (1887) The Surprising Tale of Raoul Gunsbourg's Version of the Opera for Monte-Carlo (1904) Albert Carré's revival of Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Opéra-Comique (1911) Les Contes d'Hoffmann on the Stage: From Felsentein to the Present, George Loomis"Elle est sur la scène": Arriving at and Choosing a Version, Vincent Giroud and Michael Kaye Part 2 - The Play and the Libretto Les contes d'Hoffmann: The Complete 1851 Barbier and Carré Play, Edited by Michael Kaye, English translation by Vincent GiroudThe Libretto of Les contes d'Hoffmann, Edited and translated by Michael KayeLiterary Annotations for the Play and the Opera,Michael Kaye and Charlie Richards Appendices A. Comparative Table of Venues in the Opera in Early Sources B. Descriptions of E. T. A. Hoffmann by Adolphe François Loève-Veimars (1799-1854) English translation by Vincent Giroud C. Little-Known Response to E.T.A. Hoffmann Prior to the Barbier and Carré Play Michael Kaye Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848): "Le violon de Crémone d'Hoffmann" Juliette Godillon: A Forgotten French Composer Inspired by E.T.A Hoffmann D. A Weimar-Era Example of the Opera's Popularization: "Laß' dir nix von Hoffmann erzählen" (1929), Michael Kaye Select Discography, Videography, and Filmography, Charlie Richards