The MET Live in HD: Les Contes D’Hoffmann (Offenbach) – With Pre-Opera Talk
October 5
Showtime:
1 PM
Pre-Opera Talk by Dr. Morton Achter @ 11:45 AM
Following each performance, there will be a brief “post-opera” discussion
Offenbach’s fantastical opera kicks off the Metropolitan Opera’s season of Live in HD performance transmissions, starring French tenor Benjamin Bernheim in the title role of the tormented poet. Joining Bernheim is American soprano Erin Morley as Olympia, South African soprano Pretty Yende as Antonia, and French mezzo-soprano Clémentine Margaine as Giulietta to complete Hoffmann’s trio of lovers. Marco Armiliato conducts Bartlett Sher’s evocative production, which also features American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as the Four Villains and Russian mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in her company debut as Nicklausse.
Approx. runtime: 4 hours and 6 minutes with two intermissions
Pre-Opera Talk:
Better known for his approximately one hundred comic operas, Offenbach attempted this more serious work at the very end of his career. Hoffmann is a fine example of opéra-lyrique, one of the major formats of nineteenth-century French opera and which will be explained.
Dr. Morton Achter:
This is the fifteenth season of The Met: Live in HD for which Morton Achter, a resident of Topsham and formerly of New Harbor, will present a series of pre-opera talks prior to selected broadcasts at the Lincoln Theater. A retired professor, Dr. Achter has taught about, produced, and directed opera and other stage genres for over sixty-five years at the professional, college and community levels. Educated at the Eastman School of Music and M.I.T., and holding a Ph.D. in music and theater history from the University of Michigan, locally he has directed productions for the Lincoln County Community Theater, River Company, Round Top Center for the Arts, and Bath’s Chocolate Church Arts Center. He has served on the Board of Directors for Midcoast Senior College in Brunswick, and has offered music- and theater-related courses for the organization since 2010.
This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.
The 2024-25 Schedule is subject to change per The Met Live in HD
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