Los cuentos de Hoffmann: Estudio sobre la producción de Giancarlo del Monaco

In a German tavern, the poet Hoffmann recounts his three defeated love stories to his friend Nicklausse. In the first act, Hoffmann falls in love with the mechanical doll Olympia, he sees as a human. The second act is a tragic love story with the singer Antonia who dies of too much singing besides her poor heart condition. The third woman of his life is Giulietta, the Venetian courtesan who tempts Hoffmann and steals his reflection. At the end of the opera, Hoffmann declares he only want to get drunk and forget his sorrows. The impersonation of the Muse visits the tavern and brings a new inspiration.

In this version of Offenbach's opera, Aquiles Machado is Hoffmann and sees his character as the personification of the real misery of the tortured and accursed poet. The character of Antonia is a key role in María Bayo's carreer. She explains that Giancarlo del Monaco's staging is one of the most interesting version in which she played. It presents a very profound, "almost Freudian" and original vision of the characters.