Offenbach in Life is Beautiful
Ko Ko Puff
the theater (the one with the soprano duet; I think Guido played the same
tune on the LP later)?
I thought it was Barcarolle, but I didn't know it was part of an opera...
thanks
Ko Ko Puff
Matthew B. Tepper
pondered what I'm pondering as follows...
The first three or four times this question was asked here in
rec.music.classical.recordings, the answer was the Barcarolle from
Offenbach's opera _Les contes d'Hoffmann_ (_The Tales of Hoffman_).
I think it still is.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
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Bill O'Connell
wrote:
>Does anybody know the title of the Offenbach tune/opera that was playing at
>the theater (the one with the soprano duet; I think Guido played the same
>tune on the LP later)?
>
>I thought it was Barcarolle, but I didn't know it was part of an opera...
It _is_ the Barcarolle, from the "Venetian" Act (IV?) of "The Tales of
Hoffmann." It is most famous in its incarnation as an orchestral
piece in Gaite Parisienne, but the original is the duet you heard in
Life is Beautiful.
Bill O'Connell
Jeffrey Friedman
Actually, the original original was from another Offenbach work and
was lifted for Tales of Hoffman. (Die Rheinnixen? my memory fails).
Jeffrey F. Friedman
je...@friedman.com
j...@ix.netcom.co
Mary
"Ko Ko Puff" <kk...@cornell.edu> wrote:
> Does anybody know the title of the Offenbach tune/opera that was playing at
> the theater (the one with the soprano duet; I think Guido played the same
> tune on the LP later)?
>
> I thought it was Barcarolle, but I didn't know it was part of an opera...
>
>
>
It is Barcarolle, from "The Tales of Hoffman"
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Hanns KREHBIEL
>
> The first three or four times this question was asked here in
> rec.music.classical.recordings, the answer was the Barcarolle from
> Offenbach's opera _Les contes d'Hoffmann_ (_The Tales of Hoffman_).
>
> I think it still is.
>
The Barcarole became famous through _Les contes d'Hoffmann_, but there
it is a recycled object. It appeared first in the operetta
"Die Rheinnixen" (the mermaids of the Rhine river, if this is not a
contradiction). In the later opera the duet makes little sense except
being a good musical introduction of Act 3. Why should Giulietta and
Niklas sing a duet with Hoffmann silent?
krehbiel
Matthew B. Tepper
>
I'm not *absolutely* positive about the plot of _Hoffmann_, but doesn't
a character named Schlémil get killed and dumped into the river to that
music? (Or am I confusing him with another character?)
Offenbach, of course, was Jewish; and Schlémil is presumably the French
spelling of a very familiar Yiddish word. So I wonder if there's some
sort of subtext going on with the plot of the movie here.
Mario De Angelis
"Matthew B. Tepper" wrote:
> In article <36DD64...@vxdesy.desy.de>, Kreh...@vxdesy.desy.de
> pondered what I'm pondering as follows...
> >
> >Matthew B. Tepper wrote:
> >
> >> The first three or four times this question was asked here in
> >> rec.music.classical.recordings, the answer was the Barcarolle from
> >> Offenbach's opera _Les contes d'Hoffmann_ (_The Tales of Hoffman_).
> >>
> >> I think it still is.
> >
> >The Barcarole became famous through _Les contes d'Hoffmann_, but there
> >it is a recycled object. It appeared first in the operetta
> >"Die Rheinnixen" (the mermaids of the Rhine river, if this is not a
> >contradiction). In the later opera the duet makes little sense except
> >being a good musical introduction of Act 3. Why should Giulietta and
> >Niklas sing a duet with Hoffmann silent?
> >
> >krehbiel
>
> I'm not *absolutely* positive about the plot of _Hoffmann_, but doesn't
> a character named Schlémil get killed and dumped into the river to that
> music? (Or am I confusing him with another character?)
That is correct Matthew, the barcarolle is also used in that scene where
Schlémil gets
killed by Hoffmann in a duel. However, if you happen to listen to the
recording of the
complete opera made by Richard Bonynge in the 70's, you will notice that
the music
used for this scene is completely different. It is much more sinister and
macabre.
Bonynge mentions that this music is the one originally intended by
Offenbach for
this scene, not the barcarolle.
- Mario De Angelis
Koala Bear
and haven't been able to find it and the complete libretto doesn't
appear to be online.
thanks in advance,
Clara
Hanns KREHBIEL
>
> I'm not *absolutely* positive about the plot of _Hoffmann_, but doesn't
> a character named Schlémil get killed and dumped into the river to that
> music? (Or am I confusing him with another character?)
>
> Offenbach, of course, was Jewish; and Schlémil is presumably the French
> spelling of a very familiar Yiddish word. So I wonder if there's some
> sort of subtext going on with the plot of the movie here.
A short reminder: The plot of "Contes de Hoffmann" is a free adaption and
connection of several short stories by the early 19th ctry German writer
E.T.A. Hoffmann. Look him up in the EB; Malgorzata will certainly like him:
To honour Mozart he included Amadeus into his full name.
Peter Schlemihl is a figure from a novel by another early-romantic writer.
The full title is:
"Peter Schlemihls wundersame Geschichte" by Adelbert von Chamisso, 1814
Chamisso was, quite an exception, a born Frenchman turned into a German poet.
I cannot say who was first: the title figure of the novel, or the Yiddish
eponym. Anyhow: It is this Peter Schlemihl who appears in Offenbach's
opera. His central fate in the novel is that he has sold his shadow to
some mysterious figure. In the opera this is Dapertutto, who also robs
Hoffmann of his mirror image.
krehbiel
Mau...@yahoo.com
"Ko Ko Puff" <kk...@cornell.edu> wrote:
> Does anybody know the title of the Offenbach tune/opera that was playing at
> the theater (the one with the soprano duet; I think Guido played the same
> tune on the LP later)?
>
> I thought it was Barcarolle, but I didn't know it was part of an opera...
>
> thanks
>
original. He was just nominated for an Oscar for that music. I am told that
he will be releasing a compilation of his best works next week called "Music
from the Cinema" and it is supposed to be wonderful.
Ivan Watson
Margaret Mikulska
>
> A short reminder: The plot of "Contes de Hoffmann" is a free adaption and
> connection of several short stories by the early 19th ctry German writer
> E.T.A. Hoffmann. Look him up in the EB; Malgorzata will certainly like him:
> To honour Mozart he included Amadeus into his full name.
I certainly do, and of course I read several of his works. It's not
just that he added Amadeus to his name; I just like his fantastic prose.
But he was also a composer, and I've been meaning to order CDs with two
of his operas (Undine and Aurora). There is also a CD with his sacred
music.
-Margaret