Of all operas in the standard repertory, none has had a more complicated genesis and textual history than Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann. Based on a highly successful 1851 play inspired by the short stories by the German Romantic writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, the work occupied the last decade of Offenbach’s life. When he died in October 1880, the work was being rehearsed at the Opéra-Comique. At once cut and rearranged, the work was performed from the start in versions that ignored the composer’s final intentions. Only a few decades ago, when previously unavailable manuscripts came to light, it became possible to reconstitute the score in its real form. Vincent Giroud and Michael Kaye’s The Real 'Tales of Hoffmann' tells the full story for the first time in English. After discussing how the work of Hoffmann became known and influential in France, the book includes little-known sources for the opera, especially the complete Barbier and Carré play, in French and English. It describes the genesis of the opera. The annotated libretto is published in full, with the variants, for the two versions of the opera: with spoken dialogue or recitatives. Essays explain what was done to the opera after Offenbach’s death, from the 1881 Opéra-Comique production to more recent restoration attempts. There is also a survey of Les contes d’Hoffmann in performance from the 1970s to the present, and supplementary information, including discography, filmography, and videography. The Real 'Tales of Hoffmann' is intended to appeal to anyone interested in the work, specialists or non-specialists. Audiences, musicologists and students of French opera and opéra-comique will find it of particular interest, as will opera houses, conductors, singers, directors, and dramaturgs involved in performances of the opera.

Table of Contents:
List of Abbreviations Foreword by Plácido Domingo Introduction Acknowledgments Chronology Part 1 – Essays 1.The Awareness and Influence of E.T.A. Hoffmann in France Before Les contes d’Hoffmann, Vincent Giroud 2.The Librettists of Les contes d’Hoffmann, Vincent Giroud 3.“Hallucinations in the Tavern”: Barbier’s Scenario of the Play, Michael Kaye 4.The Barbier and Carré Play and its Reception, Michael Kaye 5.The Birth of the Opera, Michael Kaye The Revision for the Théâtre de la Porte-Saint-Martin Hector Salomon: Le rêve d’Hoffmann (1875–1881) The Unrealized Opéra-féerie Version of Les contes d’Hoffmann 6.Les contes d’Hoffmann, From Play to Opera Libretto, Charlie Richards 7.Barbier as Versifier, Vincent Giroud 8.Hoffmann after Offenbach, Michael Kaye Summary of Performances at the Opéra-Comique Prior to 1911 and the First Performances of the Opera in Other Countries The Brussels Version of the Opera (1887) The Surprising Tale of Raoul Gunsbourg’s Version of the Opera for Monte-Carlo (1904) Albert Carré’s revival of Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Opéra-Comique (1911) 9.Les Contes d’Hoffmann on the Stage: From Felsentein to the Present, George Loomis 10.“Elle est sur la scène”: Arriving at and Choosing a Version, Vincent Giroud and Michael Kaye Part 2 – The Play and the Libretto 11.Les contes d’Hoffmann: The Complete 1851 Barbier and Carré Play, Edited by Michael Kaye, English translation by Vincent Giroud 12.The Libretto of Les contes d’Hoffmann, Edited and translated by Michael Kaye 13.Literary Annotations for the Play and the Opera, Michael Kaye and Charlie Richards Appendices A. Comparative Table of Venues in the Opera in Early Sources B. Descriptions of E. T. A. Hoffmann by Adolphe François Loève-Veimars (1799–1854)     English translation by Vincent Giroud C. Little-Known Response to E.T.A. Hoffmann Prior to the Barbier and Carré Play     Michael Kaye Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848): “Le violon de Crémone d’Hoffmann” Juliette Godillon: A Forgotten French Composer Inspired by E.T.A Hoffmann D. A Weimar-Era Example of the Opera’s Popularization: „Laß’ dir nix von Hoffmann erzählen“ (1929),    Michael Kaye Select Discography, Videography, and Filmography,  Charlie Richards