Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffman/The Tales of Hoffmann (Domingo, Gruberova, Eder, Bacquier, Diaz, Morris; Ozawa) [Import]

Jacques Offenbach (Artist), Plácido Domingo (Artist), Edita Gruberova (Artist), Seiji Ozawa (Artist), Orchestre National de France (Artist), Choeurs de Radio France (Artist), Gabriel Bacquier (Artist), Justino Diaz (Artist), James Morris (Artist), Claudia Eder (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 15, 1989)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: Dg Imports
• ASIN: B000001GBB
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #85,495 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #21 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Ludwig, Christa
  • #66 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Featured Performers, A-Z > H to L
  • #73 in Music > Imports > Opera & Vocal

Editorial Reviews

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not nearly as good as it should have been, December 23, 1999

By 

J. Luis Juarez Echenique "pepechenique" (Mexico City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffman/The Tales of Hoffmann (Domingo, Gruberova, Eder, Bacquier, Diaz, Morris; Ozawa) (Audio CD)

Domingo was unlucky with Hoffmann on records. When he recorded in 1972 his first Hoffmann with Bonynge, he was still too young to do this role justice. By the late 80's when this recording was made, he was no longer on top form, or at least was caught in a bad day or two. I was lucky to have heard him in this opera back in 1980 at the Salzburg Festival, when he just gave an unforgettable account of the role. I really hope someday tapes of those performances will be available. Gruberova is good, but as expected better as Olympia than as Giulietta. Justino Diaz as Dapertutto quite simply ruins this recording. You just will not believe the noises he makes in the diamond aria. For a general Hoffmann recommendation, I will urge you to investigate the Sylvain Cambreling recording in EMI, or the Kent Nagano in ERATO.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting "Tales", November 28, 1999

By 

BunnyHugger (Lansing, Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffman/The Tales of Hoffmann (Domingo, Gruberova, Eder, Bacquier, Diaz, Morris; Ozawa) (Audio CD)

"The Tales of Hoffmann" was the first opera I ever saw, and what a perfect one to start with. It has everything -- romance, humor, fantasy, tragedy. First chance I got, I ran to the record store to get a copy. This is the version I chose. Although I am not a connoisseur of opera, to my untrained ears the performances sound beautiful. Placido Domingo infuses his rendition of Hoffmann with the appropriate angst. One very nice feature of this edition is that it comes with a complete libretto in four languages. It also includes essays on the real-life Hoffmann and the various ways this unfinished work has been reconstructed through the years. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes good music and a good story. It has borne many, many repeated listenings in my house.

4.0 out of 5 stars Tales Of Hoffmann, February 18, 2010

By 

Ivan Fisher (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffman/The Tales of Hoffmann (Domingo, Gruberova, Eder, Bacquier, Diaz, Morris; Ozawa) (Audio CD)

I was very pleased to hear this version.
I thoroughly enjoy the Sutherland-Bonynge CDs, but it was nice to hear a slightly different version.