Sexy "Belle Nuiit, O Nuit d'Amour"

[Guest]

I was looking for a nice rendition after hearing a beautiful performance of Tales of Hoffmann at the SF Opera last night, and this performance (not the one I saw, unfortunately) is as much a feast for the eyes as for the ears!

http://youtu.be/ke_xbzDDneU

[Diverdan]

Thanks, Unicorn... was the SF Opera production as sexy as this one on the utube you posted? I guess from some of the notes, that it was a production from somewhere in Europe... it is certainly erotic, IMHO... thanks again for sharing.

[Guest]

No, the SF Opera wasn't as sexy. But the singing was great!

[bostonman]

I wonder if the Giulietta act was the last of the 3 in this production? Though I (and many of us, I'm sure) grew up used to it being Act II, I do think it makes more sense for it to be last - making Hoffmann's descent more devastating. Realizing, of course, that this site is the last place I'd want to talk about a courtesan being a lowlife, lol -- but even so, putting Giulietta last makes a clear journey from Hoffmann loving an idealized girl (the mechanical doll Olympia) to a genuine but sickly young woman (Antonia) to a literally soulless courtesan (Giulietta). And seeing this production portraying a dark, "dangerous" sexual world (instead of a rather benign, pretty Venice as is sometimes seen) is fitting. I'm not usually all for the graphic nature of contemporary productions - sometimes for me the concepts seem gratuitous and against the nature of the music - but here I see a seductive but nightmare Venice that makes perfect sense in Hoffmann's lonely, tortured world. I'd love to see the rest of this!

[Guest]

Giulietta was the last act in the SF Opera production...