OFFENBACH Beverly SILLS TALES OF HOFFMANN three Cassettes EMI Angel Vols 1, 2, & 3 Sealed 1972



Here's something you don't see everyday three volume set of Offenbach the Tales of Hoffman featuring Beverly Sills on cassette, two of them are still sealed. Cassette one has been opened does not look like it has been played it is still in mint condition and actually has two J cards. Volumes two and three are still sealed and in excellent near mint condition never been played.


I posted a little bit of a history of the play below, so look down there to read about it but here is the specifics of this specific recording:

1972 recording by Julius Rudel with the London Symphony Orchestra, Stuart Burrows, Beverly Sills, Norman Treigle, and Susanne Marsee.



See the photos for all of the details I can only show the inside of volume 1 because that is the only one that is open volumes two and three are sealed. However if you require any additional photographs of something that I might have missed please message me I'm happy to help. Or if you have any questions at all please get in touch.


Shipping is USA only and these will be shipped via USPS Media Mail.


I take very good care in shipping the few items I sell safely and quickly, as I'm mainly a buyer here who buys random stuff impulsively on eBay and I know what it's like to have a seller that doesn't pack something well, or doesn't communicate, or waits a week or more to ship something you've purchased. So while this isn't a job for me, and I don't sell much, I do take it seriously and will make sure your item has lots of photos, is described very truthfully and accurately, is packed well, and shipped fast and safely.


I'm pretty open to offers, so if it's an option, send one!

Or, put it on your watched items list and I'll send you an offer.



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The Tales of Hoffmann (French: Les contes d'Hoffmann) is an opéra fantastique by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in October 1880, four months before the premiere.

Offenbach saw a play, Les contes fantastiques d'Hoffmann, written by Barbier and Michel Carré and produced at the Odéon Theatre in Paris in 1851.


After returning from America in 1876, Offenbach learned that Barbier had adapted the play, which Hector Salomon [fr] had now set to music at the Opéra. Salomon handed the project to Offenbach. Work proceeded slowly, interrupted by the composition of profitable lighter works. Offenbach had a premonition, like Antonia, the heroine of Act 2, that he would die prior to its completion.


Offenbach continued working on the opera throughout 1880, attending some rehearsals. On 5 October 1880, he died with the manuscript in his hand, just four months before the opening. Shortly before he died, he wrote to Léon Carvalho:



"Hâtez-vous de monter mon opéra. Il ne me reste plus longtemps à vivre et mon seul désir est d'assister à la première."

("Hurry up and stage my opera. I have not much time left, and my only wish is to attend the opening night.")



The stories in the opera include:





The opera was first performed in a public venue at the Opéra-Comique on 10 February 1881, without the third (Venice) act.  It was presented in an abridged form at Offenbach's house, 8 Boulevard des Capucines, on 18 May 1879, with Madame Franck-Duvernoy in the soprano roles, Auguez as Hoffmann (baritone) and Émile-Alexandre Taskin in the four villain roles, with Edmond Duvernoy at the piano and a chorus directed by Albert Vizentini. Besides Léon Carvalho, director of the Opéra-Comique, the director of the Ringtheater in Vienna, Franz von Jauner, was also present. Both men requested the rights, but Offenbach granted them to Carvalho.


A four-act version with recitatives was staged at the Ringtheater on 7 December 1881, conducted by Joseph Hellmesberger Jr., although a gas explosion and fire occurred at the theatre after the second performance.


The opera reached its hundredth performance at the Salle Favart on 15 December 1881.  The fire at the Opéra-Comique in 1887 destroyed the orchestral parts, and it was not seen again in Paris until 1893, at the Salle de la Renaissance du Théâtre-Lyrique, when it received 20 performances.  A new production by Albert Carré (including the Venice act) was mounted at the Opéra-Comique in 1911, with Léon Beyle in the title role and Albert Wolff conducting. This production remained in the repertoire until World War II, receiving 700 performances.  Following a recording by Opéra-Comique forces in March 1948, Louis Musy created the first post-war production in Paris, conducted by André Cluytens.  The Paris Opera first staged the work in October 1974, directed by Patrice Chéreau with Nicolai Gedda in the title role.


Outside France, the piece was performed in Geneva, Budapest, Hamburg, New York, and Mexico in 1882, Vienna (Theater an der Wien), Prague, and Antwerp in 1883, and Lvov and Berlin in 1884. Local premieres included Buenos Aires in 1894, St Petersburg in 1899, Barcelona in 1905, and London in 1910.



The opera is frequently recorded. Well-regarded recordings include: