Tales Of Hoffmann: The Writer's Eternal Struggle

My Opera Program

A week ago last Sunday, my husband and I went to a first-rate production of Jacques Offenbach's Tales Of Hoffman, staged by the Canadian Opera Company. If you're not familiar with this opera, see this article on Wikipedia.

Coloratura soprano Adriana Chuchman, who played an automaton named Olympia, gave an outstanding performance. Her characterization was very funny and her voice was so perfect it brought tears to my eyes. 

Although "Tales" has closed, COC is finishing up runs for two other operas this month; so if you like opera at all, check out http://www.coc.ca/. It's worth a trip to Toronto. (Plus there's a Picasso exhibition on now at the AGO.)

Although I greatly enjoyed the beautiful voices and first class orchestra, that's not why I'm writing about Tales Of Hoffmann. At heart, this opera is an exploration of whether an artist - in this case, a poet - can be involved in a relationship or not.