Word: hoffmann
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...lest this critic sound completely dismissive of the holiday honoring a third-century martyr with a penchant for matchmaking, something actually did go sublimely right this Valentine's: the rousing production of "The Tales of Hoffmann" by the Dunster House Opera...
Recalling his German roots, Offenbach combines Oktoberfest-inspired scenes of tavern life and male-bonding-over-beer with the equally Teutonic theme of sensitive young men pining over that special Fraulein. (Think Goethe.) In this opera, the eponymous character Hoffmann (Jerry Shuman) dreams of not just one Fraulein, but a trinity of them who together form that elusive ideal--the perfect woman...
...poet Hoffmann is protected by his Muse, in the form of his sidekick Nicklausse (Caprice Corona). As he stumbles into the beer hall, he is cajoled into singing about the disfigured "Kleinzach" and then into recounting the stories of these past three loves, now embodied in his present love interest, the opera diva Stella (played alternately by Hilary Snow and K.T. Lawson), who will later be stolen by his enemy Lindorf (Joshua Benaim...
...first of Hoffmann's loves is an alluring Little Bo Peep-esque automaton named Olympia (Jennifer Little), the "daughter" of the wacky Dr. Spalanzani (Joel Pollack). Hoffmann tries to romance her, but as he dances with this red-cheeked robot sexpot, she spins out of control, and the protagonist becomes painfully aware of how unnatural his lust is. Little sang some breathtaking runs, imbuing her vocal acrobatics with a fine coloratura and marvelous control...
...Hoffmann's second failure at love is with the delicate, aria-singing, harpsichord-playing Antonia (Sarita Cannon), the damsel with a voice as clear and melodic as that of her dead mother, whose enormous portrait looms in the family's salon. The only problem is that Antonia's gift is killing her: if she continues to sing, the strain will destroy her. Benaim fills the role of the malevolent physician Dr. Miracle who also arranged the demise of Antonia's mother, urging the daughter to sing and sing until she is prostrate, dying on the davenport, still belting out Hoffmann...