'Tales of Hoffmann' Comes to Stage With Vocal Fireworks

Promo for "The Tales of Hoffmann." Video courtesy of UK Opera Theatre. 

UK OPERA THEATRE'S MARCH 5 PERFORMANCE OF "THE TALES OF HOFFMANN" HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO 7:30 P.M. SUNDAY, MARCH 8. THURSDAY'S TALK BY DIANA HALLMAN IS RESCHEDULED FOR 6:30 P.M. SATURDAY, MARCH 7, BEFORE THE SATURDAY EVENING PERFORMANCE. 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 3, 2015) — If you adore sword fights, sopranos with high, high notes, mezzos in pants, sexy courtesans, evil villains and great death scenes (there are several)…you must see University of Kentucky Opera Theatre’s "The Tales of Hoffmann" running March 6-8, at the Lexington Opera House.

Paris was the place to be between 1852 and 1870. Plays and operettas mixed lavish settings and sensual themes with political and social satire. Wealthy men from high society were often seen at opening nights with actresses, young dancers and elegant courtesans on their arms.

Jacques Offenbach embodied the spirit of this era, in his opera, "The Tales of Hoffmann." This opera (sung in French with English supertitles) is based on the stories by the German romantic E.T.A. Hoffmann, who appears as the main character. He pursues three doomed loves while his muse, disguised as an old friend, tries to persuade him to devote himself to his art. Each act has a villain to hiss at and beautiful arias to enjoy. Some of the music will be so familiar that you may leave the Opera House humming. Hoffmann dons a pair of magical glasses which turns his reality into something dreamlike.

Gabrielle Barker, UK senior, gives a reading and then a performance of the "Doll Aria" from "The Tales of Hoffmann." Video courtesy of UK Opera Theatre.

Hoffmann is sung by tenors, Gregory Turay, alumnus and artist-in-residence, and Jonathan Parham, a graduate student studying with Everett McCorvey, director of UK Opera Theatre. All the principal roles are double cast with UK Opera Theatre’s award-winning singers, including Wanessa Campelo and Holly Nicole Dodson as Nicklausse/The Muse; Gabrielle Barker and Mary Catherine Wright as Olympia; Whitney Myers and Brittany Jones as Giulietta; and Ashley Jackson and Dianna Vetter as Antonia. The casts perform on alternate days, March 5 – 8.

Andrew Miller, UK senior, gives a reading and then a performance of  "Jour et nuit" from "The Tales of Hoffmann." Video courtesy of UK Opera Theatre. 

Members of the UK Symphony Orchestra bring the beautiful melodies of this opera to life, under the baton of Maestro John Nardolillo. UK Opera Theatre is honored to have as guest director, David Lefkowich, who has worked in major opera houses around the world. Lefkowich and Turay last worked together in the premiere of Julie Taymor’s "The Magic Flute" at the Metropolitan Opera. They are delighted to work together again in this production in Lexington.

"The Tales of Hoffmann" will take the stage 7:30 p.m.Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 6-8, and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 8. Tickets range from $38.40 to $54.75 based on location of seating. To purchase tickets, contact the Lexington Center box office – in person, by calling 859-233-3535 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. Student ticket rates are available in person at Lexington Center box office only with a valid student ID.

UK Opera Theatre is one of a select group of U.S. opera training programs recommended by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation. The Tucker Foundation is a nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to the support and advancement of the careers of talented American opera singers by bringing opera into the community and heightening appreciation for opera by supporting music education enrichment programs.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu