The performances take place next week

 

The Auditorio de Tenerife is a cultural venue linked to the Department of Culture of Tenerife Island's Council that is managed by its island's Minister of Culture, Enrique Arriaga. Now, it presents Les contes d'Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann). The Symphony Hall will be transformed into a large and colourful circus, offering two performances of this opera by Jacques Offenbach on the 23rd and 24th of April. It is adapted for all audiences and is ideal for those adults who want to get introduced to the world of opera. 

This adapted version for all audiences transforms Hoffmann into a circus ringmaster who looks back at all the far-fetched stories he has experienced in the past and that have led him to consider closing the business. A bewitched witch, a doll that is out of control and an unsteady tightrope walker star in these stories where an evil force is working to torment Mr Hoffmann. This fun experience is completed by three-dimensional glasses that will be handed out to the audience.

Les contes d’Hoffmann is a revival of this production by the Auditorio de Tenerife which premièred in 2017. It returns with the musical direction of Rubén Díez, conducting the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and Raúl Vázquez in charge of staging and scene design. The equipment to craft this adaptation is completed with colourful costumes by Leo Martínez and magical lighting provided by Miguel Ponce.

The prolific composer Offenbach wrote 102 stage works, notably including “The Tales of Hoffmann”, which he spent the last years of his life working on without being able to see the finished work. To do so, he based the project on the work Les contes fantastiques d'Hoffmann which was written by the man who would go on to become an opera librettist, Jules Barbier, and the writer with whom he wrote many librettos together, Michel Carré. 

Hoffmann is none other than Ernst Theodore Amadeus, E. T. A., Hoffmann, one of the leading exponents of romanticism in German literature. Barbier and Carré chose three of the fairy tales by the Prussian writer relating to the pursuit of impossible love for the representation of work in the Odéon Theatre in Paris in 1851, which Offenbach had seen and which he drew inspiration from. 

The cast will be led by the tenor David Astorga as Hoffmann. The sopranos Maria Rita Combattelli, Elvira Padrino and Inés Lorans, the mezzo-soprano Daniela Prado, the tenor César Arrieta and the baritone Jacobo Ochoa complete the list of singers who bring to life the fun characters surrounding the story of the protagonist.

Saturday's performance (23 April) takes place at 6:00 p.m., while Sunday's performance (24 April) is a morning session that starts at 12:00 noon. The tickets are sold at a general price of 10 Euro, a price to which special discounts for the unemployed (50%), large families (25%), season ticket holders (15%) and audience under 30 years of age (5 Euro) are applicable. 

The tickets available on the website are already sold out. The last available tickets are on sale at the ticket office from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m or by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 during the same schedules. By purchasing tickets, you accept the measures implemented by the cultural centre to combat COVID-19, such as the correct use of masks. All of the measures, as well as the contingency plan certified by AENOR, can be consulted on the Auditorium's website.