THE TALES OF HOFFMANN

Unrealized Studio Project Director: Chas Rader-Shieber

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Jacques Offenbach with French libretto by Jules Barbier (1881)

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The Tales of Hoffmann follow the misogynistic title character as he chases three different versions of his unattainable lover through three drunkenly told stories of his past. My design focuses on the self-destructive creative and amorous impulse by identifying the antagonist, Lindorf, as Hoffmann's self-sabotaging alter-ego. I've drawn attention to the lack of agency of each version of Stella, Hoffmann's love interest, by identifying her with objects of desire established in each of his stories.