It is always impressive to see a full blown opera in our small town, at the aptly-named Lebanon Opera House in this case.
I tried to read to read the synopsis from the program, but didn’t really understand. Fortunately it wasn’t too important, and the story became clearer as it unfolded. The prologe and epilogue framed three independent acts focussing on a past love of the German poet Hoffmann.
The singing was beautiful, with the duets and trios in particular as highlights. Even though I was sitting right next to the orchestra (on the front left side of the theater), the voices were strong and clear. All the leads were great singers, and the campy villain was quite amusing, especially as Doctor Miracle in the second act.
An unusual touch was the admonition by Evans Haile before the start for the audience to shut of their cell phones of course, but also to unwrap their lozenges before the show started. He had a good point, as the elderly crowd is wont to do that (and I can attest from the many chamber music concerts that I go to).