The Tales of Hoffmann

Moira Shearer in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s THE TALES OF HOFFMANN (1951). Courtesy: Rialto Pictures/StudiocanalFriday 20th November, 2015
Sponsored by Val & Rob Sargent

134 mins.
Dirs: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
UK 1951
Cert U
Starring: Moira Shearer, Robert Rounseville, Ludmilla Tchérina

This season’s classic is the dazzling Powell and Pressburger musical extravaganza, based on Jacques Offenbach’s opera of 1881. A poet remembers the three women he has loved. The first he recalls is Olympia, a beautiful automaton with whom he falls in love, unaware that she is not a real woman. In the second story he is seduced by Giulietta, a Venetian courtesan, who harbours secret and very weird intentions! Finally, there is the tragic tale of Antonia, an exquisite soprano who, because of a cruel illness, will die if she sings. A lavish production, beautifully restored, “The Tales of Hoffmann” remains a real treat for the senses.

Download the full show notes here

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN82DTbamkA?rel=0&w=560&h=315]