The eternal optimist: Grigolo’s Hoffmann

By Robert Levine, 14 January 2015

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Lincoln Center: Metropolitan Opera House, New York City on 12 January 2015

Offenbach, Les Contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann)

Metropolitan Opera

Yves Abel, Conductor

Bartlett Sher, Director

Catherine Zuber, Costume Designer

Michael Yeargan, Set Designer

Hibla Gerzmava, Antonia

Erin Morley, Olympia

Christine Rice, Giulietta

Vittorio Grigolo, Hoffmann

Thomas Hampson, Lindorf

Kate Lindsey, The Muse

Tony Stevenson, Frantz

David Pittsinger, Luther, Crespel

Asmik Grigorian strengthens the Met’s revival of Eugene Onegin

Susan Stempleski, 20th April

The Lithuanian soprano’s riveting performance as the central character in Tchaikovsky’s operatic masterpiece lights up Deborah Warner’s mostly bland production.

****1

Innocence: Saariaho’s final opera receives New York premiere

Kurt Gottschalk, 6th April

At the Metropolitan Opera, Innocence proves a gripping and perhaps divisive piece which feels real because it is a reflection of our reality, with no realistic hope of finding peace.

*****

Tristan und Isolde at the Met: staging gets in the way of the music

No’a L. bat Miri, 9th March

Michael Spyres shines in his debut as Tristan alongside powerhouse soprano Lise Davidsen as Isolde in Yuval Sharon's new, beguiling production at the Metropolitan Opera.

***11

Ailyn Pérez is the perfect Butterfly in the Met’s revival

Robert Levine, 13th January

Good Butterflys are not that difficult to come by but great ones are very very rare. Ailyn Pérez fits the bill in this revival of Anthony Minghella’s classic staging.

*****

Vocal thrills in Met’s traditional staging of Bellini’s I puritani

Susan Stempleski, 31st December

Marco Armiliato conducts a finely balanced rendition of Bellini's final masterpiece with a stellar cast headed by Lisette Oropesa and Lawrence Brownlee.

*****

Porgy and Bess returns stronger than ever at the Met

Robert Levine, 7th December

Back to Catfish Row for another revival of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and James Robinson’s show continue to wow our writer.

*****

More reviews...

Robert Levine

Robert T. Levine is a New York born-and-bred music writer with a particular interest in music for the voice. His work has appeared in many periodicals and newspapers. He is the author of many books, including The Story of the Orchestra, four volumes in the Black Dog & Leventhal Opera Library, and, most recently, Maria Callas: A Musical Biography.

The eternal optimist: Grigolo’s Hoffmann at The Met is simply spectacular