25 - 27 - 29 September, 1 - 3 - 5 October 2025

While his mistress Stella triumphs in Don Giovanni by Mozart, the poet Hoffman drinks himself into a stupor in the tavern adjacent to the theatre. Stirred by the presence of his rival Lindorf, he delights the assembly with a wild recounting of his romantic misadventures. Only his friend Nicklauss is anxious to restore his clarity of mind…

A master of comic opera genre under the Second Empire, Offenbach revealed his romantic soul in this fantastical opera, which stands as his most ambitious creation. As satirical as it is poignant, it is based on an excellent libretto that brings together several tales and paints a portrait of the leading figure of European Romanticism, E. T. A. Hoffman. The posthumous creation of The Tales of Hoffman at the Opéra-Comique received the triumph that Offenbach had dreamt of all his life.

A stalwart of the Opéra-Comique since its beginnings, the formidable Michael Spyres embodies the role that every tenor dreams of. Lotte de Beer and Pierre Dumoussaud revisit this masterpiece, signing a dizzying plunge into the psyche and fantasies of an artist whose inspiration battles with his inner demons.

Fantastic opera in five acts or a prologue, three acts and an epilogue,
Inspired by E. T. A. Hoffmann | Adapted by Jules Barbier based on the play co-written with Michel Carré in 1851 | Created at the Opéra-Comique on 10th February 1881.

Conductor Pierre Dumoussaud
Stage direction Lotte De Beer
Set Design Christof Hetzer
Costumes Jorine van Beek
Lights Alex Brok
Rewriting of dialogues and dramaturgy Peter te Nuyl
Collaboration to the dramaturgy Christian Longchamp
French translation of the dialogues Frank Harders
Stage artistic collaborator Frédéric Buhr
Assistant set designer Alice Dal Bello
Musical Studies Direction Nathalie Steinberg

Hoffmann Michael Spyres
La muse / Nicklausse Héloïse Mas
Stella / Olympia / Antonia / Giulietta Amina Edris
Lindorf / Coppélius / Miracle / Dapertutto Jean-Sébastien Bou
Andrès / Cochenille / Frantz / Pitichinaccio Raphaël Brémard
Luther / Crespel Nicolas Cavallier
Nathanaël / Spalanzani Matthieu Justine
Herrmann / Schlémil Matthieu Walendzik
The mother's Voice Marie-Ange Todorovitch
Figuration Luc Cers, Arnaud Richard, Nicolas Umbdenstock

Orchestre Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg
Choeur Ensemble Aedes