Walter Felsenstein: Les Contes D'Hoffmann (1970)

Les Contes d'Hoffmann is Jacques Offenbach's unfinished fantastic opera, popular with directors who are inspired to complete it in many different ways. They often stage it again and again to try and discover the composer's original intentions. In the Biblio-theque National in Paris Felsenstein obtained the piano excerpt of the controversial premiere which took place after Offenbachs death (1880). Using it, as well as the libretto and play by Jules Barbier and Michel Carre, he created his own five-act rendition in German which caused furore during it's run of 19 years in the Komische Oper repertoire.