The Poet’s Death

If you’re planning a trip to the Komische Oper for Les Contes d’Hoffmann – their first new production of the 2015/16 season – you should be aware of one thing: this is not Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Rather it is a work of theatre based (loosely, some would say) on the opera of the same name by Jacques Offenbach and Jules Barbier. This is in no way intended to disparage what is in fact a visually and conceptually fascinating production; however, rather than follow the time-honoured route of simply staging the opera as written, director Barrie Kosky has instead assembled a fantasia on the themes of Hoffmann’s writings and Offenbach’s music, with a healthy dose of Mozart’s Don Giovanni thrown in for good measure. 

One’s appreciation of this hybrid work will thus depend to a great extent on how far one is willing to indulge Mr Kosky’s vision.…