UGA Opera Theater to present Jacques Offenbach’s "The Tales of Hoffmann"

The University of Georgia Opera Theater will present “The Tales of Hoffmann,” Jacques Offenbach’s supernatural tale of unrequited love, in a two-night presentation on Oct. 11 and 13 at 8 p.m. in the Hodgson Concert Hall.

Joseph Brent

The UGA Opera Theater, under the direction of UGA professor Frederick Burchinal, will present highlights of “The Tales of Hoffmann” and will be joined by the UGA Symphony Orchestra and the Hodgson Singers conducted by Mark Cedel. The opera will be performed in French with surtitles provided by Chadwick Creative Arts. Offenbach, long known for his lightweight operettas, died shortly before Hoffmann’s 1881 Parisian premiere.

“This is his greatest work,” said Burchinal, who is the Wyatt and Margaret Anderson Professor in the Arts in the UGA Hodgson School of Music. “Audience members will recognize much of the music, even though it isn’t the most famous of operas, and the opportunity to see something new will leave the audience enriched, both musically and dramatically."

The production features UGA students Joseph Brent as Hoffmann, Victoria Fox as Hoffmann’s companion Nicklausse, Evelyn Shreves as mechanical doll Olympia and Richard Block in the villainous dual roles of Dr. Miracle and Coppéllius. The story follows a fictionalized version of real life German poet E.T.A. Hoffmann as he recounts his wildly fanciful—though failed—romances to Nicklausse, who has a secret of his own.

Tickets for the program, part of the 2012-2013 2nd Thursday Scholarship Concert Series in the school of music, are $18 for the general public and $5 for students. For tickets, call the UGA Performing Arts Center box office at 706/542-4400 or see www.uga.edu/pac.

The next concert in the series will be Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. in Hodgson Concert Hall, when the Georgia Woodwind Quintet will join Florida State University faculty members in “A Southern Wind Serenade,” presented as part of the Spotlight on the Arts at UGA. For more information on the 2nd Thursday Series or the Hodgson School of Music, see www.music.uga.edu. For more information on the Spotlight on the Arts, see arts.uga.edu.

Established in 1980, the 2nd Thursday Scholarship Series offers showcase performances by UGA students and faculty the second Thursday of each month throughout the academic year. Proceeds from individual ticket sales and season subscriptions allow for year-long academic scholarships and assistantships for students and presents donors the opportunity to sponsor individual students of the music school at several levels of giving.

In 2011, the 2nd Thursday series provided scholarships to 30 students based on faculty recommendations, academic achievement and performance ability.