On March 30, 2017 I had the pleasure to experience Jacques Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann” at the LA Opera. I was quite surprised to realize that the conductor was none other than Plácido Domingo, an artist I have admired for most of my life. The opera was amazing, from the singers to the stage scenery. The audience was one of the most enthusiastic audiences I had ever seen at an opera, which was in part due to Mr. Domingo being the conductor and also due to the incredibly powerful voices of the performers. While the audience always clapped with vigor after every incredible performance, they were also gasping with wonder after the curtains revealed each of the beautiful and well-crafted scenery. While I did love Vittorio Grigòlo—who played Hoffmann—neither of my favorite pieces from the opera actually involve him. They are the Doll’s Song, “Les oiseaux dans la charmille,” the duet Barcarolle “Belle nuit, o nuit d’amour,” and the trio song “Tu ne chanteras plus?”

The piece I admired the most out of the entire opera was actually one that was in Act I called “Les oiseaux dans la charmille.” It is of no surprise to anyone that the piece sung by Hoffmann’s first love Olympia—the doll—was my favorite song. This song perfectly reflects the nature of the doll as a cheery and aloof creature. Throughout the entire song, we hear the harp accompany her by playing simple arpeggios. The light and florid melody is representative of a bird’s singing. Her voice reaches and surpasses many different octaves while remaining light and airy. The intricate and difficult coloratura phrases are reminiscent of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” and “Il Barbiere di Siviglia.” The moments when the “doll” is losing its charge, she keeps hitting these obnoxiously high notes on and on like she is accenting them, which is quite a comical moment in the song. Once she is recharged, she once again begins her happy and flighty tune with its beautiful and soft accompaniment. As I do to anyone who manages to sing this song eloquently and flawlessly, I sincerely congratulate So Young Park for her beautiful work as Olympia. It is of no surprise that her performance garnered the most fervent applause that would go unparalleled throughout the rest of the performances.

Act II begins with a beautiful duet Barcarolle sung by Hoffmann’s best friend, Nicklausse and—Hoffmann’s second love—the courtesan, Giulietta titled “Belle nuit, o nuit d’amour.” I am enamored of this song for many reasons and one of them is how well the soprano and mezzo voices meld together in such beautiful harmonies. During this scene they are at Giulietta’s New Years Eve party and are lavishing in the beautiful night that surrounds them. This is a laid back scene and the song reflects that beautifully. It is light and airy and it sways like water. The strings play a slow and soft harmonic accompaniment throughout the entire song, letting the two women’s voices carry out into the stars. The song begins with Nicklausse singing the main tune with her low, mezzo chest voice, which helps fill each note with a special richness. Once Giulietta joins her, they embark on a journey of beautiful harmonies. Throughout the song there are moments when Giulietta dominates the melody and Nicklausse supports her and then moments when the opposite occurs. The song begins and finishes on the same slow and mellow tempo and tone, with the exception of a few systems before the end when Giulietta crescendos as she reaches the climax, which is, in this case, the highest note of the melody. This still remains one of my favorite duets in opera.

Act III is centered on Hoffmann’s third love, Antonia and the reality of death looming in the atmosphere. My third and final favorite piece in the opera was the trio song sung by Dr. Miracle, Antonia and Antonia’s mother. The song, “Tu ne chanteras plus” is the climactic scene of Antonia’s death, and the audience is able to pick up on this fairly quickly not because of the words but because of the urgency in the music itself. The song begins with only the cellos and percussions playing the “theme” of the antagonist, Dr. Miracle. It is a moderate tempo, but the urgency is felt in each beat of the drums. The woodwinds replace the cellos when he begins to sing, all the while ensuring there is a minimal amount of instruments playing still. At first as he begins his process of convincing Antonia to sing, his notes are elongated and slow; however, as he begins to paint the picture of Antonia’s future as a singer, his words become urgent, the tempo becomes faster and the texture of the music becomes richer as more and more instruments join him. Once Antonia begins to sing, however, the tempo is much slower since she is confused, but soon begins to pick up as she tries to fight the battle within her. Her melody becomes faster with more accented notes as she tries to refuse him and his devilish plans. Miracle then conjures the voice of Antonia’s mother, who—with a sultry mezzo voice—slowly drags out Antonia’s name. Before the music was primarily in minor, but now as Antonia listens to her mother’s voice, it is in major and at a lovely moderate tempo that seems to suggest a happy time with Antonia and her mother. Once Dr. Miracle joins in, the music begins to build up towards a climax that was not evident before, since he is now certain that he has succeeded in persuading Antonia to sing. As the song reaches its climactic point, all three voices join together in singing the melody and the texture becomes rich with the sounds of the instruments. The song finishes with them all joining together in the final note in which Antonia sings the highest note and then falls to her death.