Indulgence
I saw the Criterion DVD of the Sadler's Wells/ London Philharmonic production of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffman last night.
It is a periodic indulgence of mine. The restored print is immaculate and brilliantly coloured and the music is back to its full throated glory. But, ah, it is the dancers who mime the action who are my loves. Robert Helpmann is teh sexy, particularly in the Prologue. What a wonderfully mobile face! I am appalled to realize that this year marks the centenary of his birth. Well, he is forever preserved on film and now on disc. He is eternally young, lithe and beautiful.
I amused myself during the third act. I was silently singing along with the great duet between Antonia and her mother when I suddenly noticed that the words coming from the speakers were not the words I was singing. You see, I learned the love that opera in French and was blithely, if mutely, caroling the French words: Chere enfant ...
Instead of the English translation which the singers were using. I shut up then because I do not know the English words to that duet. In any event, the wonder of the music filled me like a balloon and I was content.
Great music even, or maybe especially, from a minor composer has the capacity to smooth the soul and make everything sweeter.
It is a periodic indulgence of mine. The restored print is immaculate and brilliantly coloured and the music is back to its full throated glory. But, ah, it is the dancers who mime the action who are my loves. Robert Helpmann is teh sexy, particularly in the Prologue. What a wonderfully mobile face! I am appalled to realize that this year marks the centenary of his birth. Well, he is forever preserved on film and now on disc. He is eternally young, lithe and beautiful.
I amused myself during the third act. I was silently singing along with the great duet between Antonia and her mother when I suddenly noticed that the words coming from the speakers were not the words I was singing. You see, I learned the love that opera in French and was blithely, if mutely, caroling the French words: Chere enfant ...
Instead of the English translation which the singers were using. I shut up then because I do not know the English words to that duet. In any event, the wonder of the music filled me like a balloon and I was content.
Great music even, or maybe especially, from a minor composer has the capacity to smooth the soul and make everything sweeter.