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Paphos Aphrodite Festival 2011
Τ
he Paphos Aphrodite Festival raised its
curtain for the 13
th
consecutive year at the
Medieval Castle in Paphos, where the National
Theatre of Prague performed the popular opera
The Tales of Hoffmann
by Jacques Offenbach
on the 2
nd
, 3
rd
and 4
th
of September. As it has
for more than a decade, the Paphos Aphrodite
Festival brought its music-loving audience an
unforgettable experience, presenting an inter-
nationally acclaimed performance in a one-
of-a-kind setting that satisfied the artistic and
organizational expectations of the friends of the
Festival. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry
and Tourism and the Ministry of Education and
Culture sponsor the Paphos Aphrodite Festival.
Jacques Offenbach was one of 19th-century
Europe’s greatest composers of popular music;
he was a master of the operetta and a pioneer
in contemporary musical comedy.
The Tales of
Hoffmann
, Offenbach’s masterpiece, premiered
in Paris in 1881, a few months after the com-
poser’s death. It remains popular today.
The character of Hoffmann was inspired by
a real person, writer Ernst Hoffmann, whose
imaginary stories form the core of the opera’s
libretto, which was adapted in French by Jules
Barbier. Hoffman, a German poet whose gro-
tesque imagination springs to life in his fai-
rytales, provided amazing material for Offen-
bach, whose masterpiece takes audiences on a
journey between imagination and reality.
The Tales of Hoffmann: Synopsis
Act 1,
Prologue
– The Muse of the poet Hoff-
mann is suffering because her beloved has fall-
en for the opera diva, Stella. So as to be closer
to him, the Muse takes on the appearance of
Hoffmann’s closest friend, Nicklausse. Coun-
cillor Lindorf arrives at the theatre where Stella
is performing in a production of
Don Giovanni
– he wants to win the prima donna’s favour.
Lindorf acquires a letter from Stella’s servant
in which he reads that Hoffmann is now among
Stella’s minions, yet Lindorf is confident Stella
will become his.
During intermission a group of travellers meet
in a tavern, and Hoffmann and Nicklausse
join them. Hoffmann has come to drown his
sorrows, since he feels Stella is giving him
the cold shoulder. To entertain the travellers,
he sings a mocking song about Kleinzach the
dwarf, but his thoughts constantly run to im-
ages of his dream woman, a woman he perhaps
once loved. Hoffmann catches sight of Lindorf,
whom he resents as the reason for all of his
misfortunes. He then turns his attention to the
mistresses of his friends; in Hoffmann’s fever-
Jacques Offenbach