Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.classica.mod
Titolo: I racconti di Hoffmann - mi date una mano?

Salve a tutti,
mi hanno invitato a vedere la prova generale dell'opera in subject.
Ho fatto una minima ricerca sulla trama e la cosa più chiara l'ho trovata,
in inglese, su un penguin.
Ci ho capito nulla.
Qualcuno mi aiuta a fare una figura meno da bestia, e mi racconta la trama?
Grazie in anticipo.
<:3)~~~ maisele

 e mi racconta la trama?
l' ho trovata solo in inglese, spero ti serva...
 
PROLOGUE: In Luther's deserted tavern, a chorus of spirits of wine and
beer is heard, while inside the adjoining opera house Don Giovanni is
being performed. Guests are expected to arrive later in the evening,
among them the poet Hoffmann and the Milanese opera singer Stella, but
it is Hoffmann's Muse who first appears. Knowing that fate decrees
Hoffmann must choose this evening between his love for the Muse and
his love for her rival, Stella, the Muse calls upon the spirits for
help. Then she disappears to assume the guise of Nicklausse,
Hoffmann's friend. Councilor Lindorf bribes Andrès, a servant of
Stella, to intercept a note she has written to Hoffmann; it contains
the key to her dressing room. Lindorf, confident of his power to
achieve any goal, plans to keep that appointment himself. A crowd of
noisy students fills the tavern. Hoffmann appears, accompanied by
Nicklausse, and Lindorf spies them at a distance. Hoffmann is
troubled; the students urge him to drink and sing, and he responds by
starting the ballad of a grotesque dwarf named Kleinzach, only to
digress into recollections of love. The punchbowl is lit, but the
cheerful mood is broken by Lindorf, who goads Hoffmann into an
exchange of sarcastic insults. Nicklausse finally interrupts, breaking
the tension, yet the encounter leaves Hoffmann with a sense of
foreboding. When the students tease him about his current infatuation
with Stella, he offers to tell the story of three past loves.... 
ACT I: Awaiting the arrival of his party guests, the inventor
Spalanzani admires his most recent invention, the mechanical doll
Olympia, with which he hopes to recover money he lost in the collapse
of the banking house of Élias. Hoffmann, the first guest to arrive,
discovers Olympia and falls in love with her. Nicklausse gently teases
him. The mad scientist Coppélius arrives and sells Hoffmann a pair of
magic glasses through which he alone perceives Olympia as human.
Spalanzani and Coppélius haggle over their share of the doll's
profits, the latter claiming he owns her eyes. When Coppélius agrees
to sell his rights to Spalanzani for 500 ducats, the inventor gives
him a check drawn against the house of Élias. Coppélius jokingly
suggests that Olympia be married off to Hoffmann. After other guests
arrive, Olympia captivates the crowd with a dazzling aria, accompanied
by Spalanzani at the harp. Oblivious to the periodic running down of
the doll's mechanism, Hoffmann is enchanted. When everyone goes to
dinner, leaving the two alone, Hoffmann pours out his heart to
Olympia. Believing she loves him as well, he kisses her; she whirls
into motion and out of the room. Nicklausse suggests that Olympia
might not be alive, but the poet refuses to listen. Coppélius returns
in a fury, having discovered that Spalanzani's bank draft is
worthless, and hides as the guests return from dinner for a waltz.
They are joined by Hoffmann and Olympia, who whirl faster and faster,
until Hoffmann falls and breaks his magic glasses. Seizing his chance
for revenge, Coppélius grabs Olympia and tears her apart. 
ACT II: Crespel has fled with his daughter, Antonia, to Munich to end
her love affair with Hoffmann. Sitting at the harpsichord, she sings a
plaintive love song. Crespel begs her to give up singing: she has a
weak heart, and the effort will endanger her life. He instructs his
hard-of-hearing servant, Frantz, to allow no one into the house while
he is gone. Left alone, Frantz tries to sing and dance. Hoffmann
arrives, and Nicklausse, citing his past experience with love, tries
to persuade him to devote himself solely to art. But Hoffmann resists,
swearing eternal love to Antonia. Though she says her father has
forbidden her to sing, she cannot resist asking if Hoffmann wishes to
hear her. They join in a love song until Antonia nearly faints.
Crespel returns and is alarmed by the arrival of the charlatan Dr.
Miracle, whom he recognizes as an omen of doom: it was Miracle who
treated Crespel's wife the day she died. While Hoffmann watches from a
hiding place, the evil doctor inquires after Antonia and her
overpowering love of music. Miracle questions the absent girl and
describes her irregular pulse; when he commands her to sing, her voice
is heard. The doctor offers medicines to save the girl, but Crespel,
knowing this means death for his daughter, forces Miracle out. When
Antonia returns, Hoffmann begs her not to sing. She reluctantly
agrees, and he leaves, promising to return the next day. Miracle
suddenly reappears, taunting Antonia with prospects of fame as a
singer. The girl cries out to the portrait of her Mother, a famous
singer, to help her resist temptation. Conjuring the portrait to life,
Miracle declares that the Mother, speaking through him, wants Antonia
to equal the glory of her own fame. As Miracle fiddles wildly on his
violin, Antonia sings more and more feverishly until she collapses.
Hoffmann rushes in, only to find her dead. 
ACT III: In a Venetian palace on the Grand Canal, the courtesan
Giulietta joins Nicklausse in a languid barcarole. Hoffmann abruptly
changes the mood as he mockingly praises the pleasures of the flesh.
Giulietta's current lover, Schlemil, jealously acknowledges her
apparent affection for Hoffmann. Giulietta invites her guests to the
gaming tables, but Nicklausse remains behind to warn Hoffmann against
forming any attachment to the courtesan. The poet denies interest in
her, declaring that should he fall in love with her, the devil may
have his soul. Dappertutto, overhearing them, produces a large diamond
with which he will bribe Giulietta to steal Hoffmann's reflection,
just as she already has stolen Schlemil's shadow. Lured by the
diamond, Giulietta agrees. She seduces Hoffmann, who is about to
depart, and he falls in love instantly; during a passionate duet, she
carries out Dappertutto's command. Schlemil returns, accusing
Giulietta of having left him for Hoffmann. When Dappertutto comments
on the poet's pallor, Hoffmann asks for a mirror and realizes with
horror that he has lost his reflection, but he is trapped by his
infatuation. As the guests depart, Hoffmann demands that Schlemil give
him the key to Giulietta's room; when Schlemil refuses, Hoffmann kills
him in a duel, with a sword proffered by Dappertutto. Taking the key
from his rival, Hoffmann rushes to Giulietta's room, only to find it
empty. Returning, he finds her leaving the palace with yet another
admirer, the dwarf Pitichinaccio, whom she embraces.... 
EPILOGUE: Hoffmann has finished his tales and wants only to get drunk
and forget. Nicklausse reveals that each story described a different
aspect of one woman, Stella. Arriving in the tavern after her
performance, the opera singer finds the poet confused and sneering;
Stella prepares to leave with the triumphant Lindorf. Hoffmann
interrupts their departure to sing one last verse of "Kleinzach," then
collapses. Only the Muse remains behind with Hoffmann, who belongs to
her at last. 
 
by John W. Freeman
-- courtesy of Opera News 


Grazie!
<:3)~~~maisele