The Opera Institute will present a tale that is centered around a man retelling the story of his three great loves. The story is interwoven with love, trickery, jealousy and death.
“The Tales of Hoffmann,” directed by Stephanie Vlahos and David Anglin, will be presented at the William Link Theater at Cal State Long Beach this weekend. The opera, which was first presented in 1881, will be performed in French with English subtitles.
Juan Castaneda, who plays the title character of Hoffmann, said, “This is definitely the largest and heaviest role I’ve taken on … The program here prepares you in other languages. With Dr. Anglin, I’m in safe hands. I feel truly prepared by these faculty members.”
Anglin, director of opera studies at CSULB, takes a small steps approach to learning languages.
“We just work one-on-one,” Anglin said. “We speak the lyrics like they’re dialogue. The director speaks French and most of [the students] are fairly experienced.”
While CSULB performs an opera every year, this will be the first time they will perform a variation of a grand opera, which includes singing, dancing, acting and video, according to executive producer Jonathan Talberg.
“Grand opera is a bigger scale with more chorus and is a little longer — well in excess of two hours,” Talberg said.
While the pressure for this performance is high, actors are confident in the show and their own abilities.
Tyler Alessi, who plays three villains in the opera, said, “To do [an opera] in one semester is a lot of work. Right now it feels like it’s going to pay off. It’s a really great opera with a lot of great music.”
Vlahos, who graduated from Yale University and Julliard with degrees in music and theater, attempted to focus the opera on the character of Hoffmann and what he goes through as a person.
“We’re looking at the story of Hoffmann and the character of Hoffmann in a psychological way,” Vlahos said. “Hoffmann is in a therapist office and he goes into his head … In many ways, it justifies the opera … Most of the inspiration is not from compartmentalizing but how the head puts things together.”
Vlahos’ confidence comes from a personal knowledge of the opera and trust in the students.
“[Hoffmann is] a show that I’ve been connected to for years,” she said. “It was my first show as a professional singer. [This opera is] a big step but I think these students are miraculous — house is quite small but quite live, and the voices are quite capable.”
Showtimes for “The Tales of Hoffmann” are Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25 for general admission and $15 with a valid student ID. There is a $50 ticket for the Saturday evening show with reserved seating and artist reception afterward. To order tickets call 562-985-7000 or visit www.csulb.edu/music.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for comments made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for comments made on this Web site. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech.
