Offenbach: Barcarolle from the opera The Tales of Hoffmann | Elsa Dreisig and Nicole Chirca

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One of the most beautiful duets of the 19th century: “Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour” (“Beautiful Night, Oh Night of Love”), also known as “Barcarolle,” from Jacques Offenbach’s opera “Les contes d’Hoffmann” (The Tales of Hoffmann) from 1881. Here it is being performed by soprano Elsa Dreisig and mezzo-soprano Nicole Chirca at the opera gala “Rebuild Ukraine” in the Konzerthaus Berlin in April 2024. They are being accompanied by the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under the baton of Keri-Lynn Wilson.

ELSA DREISIG | Soprano
NICOLE CHIRKA | Mezzo-soprano
DEUTSCHES SYMPHONIE-ORCHESTER BERLIN
KERI-LYNN WILSON | Conductor

The opera “The Tales of Hoffmann” is the last piece Jacques Offenbach ever wrote. With this work, he aspired to finally be taken seriously as not just a brilliant creator of light, entertaining pieces but also a true opera composer. The text is based on various tales by German writer E. T. A. Hoffmann, such as “The Sandman,” “Councillor Krespel” and “The Lost Reflection.” The opera is about an unhappy and fatal love between Hoffmann and Stella.

The famous "Barcarolle" opens the fourth act of the opera, which takes place in Venice. A barcarolle is a Venetian folk song sung by gondoliers with a characteristically rocking rhythm. In the duet, Hoffmann’s muse Nicklausse (mezzo-soprano Nicole Chirca) and courtesan Giulietta (soprano Elsa Dreisig) pay homage to the night and love. Before the melody sounds, there is first a long musical introduction. And so you need a bit of patience before the singing begins.

Tragically, Jacques Offenbach didn’t get to experience the worldwide acclaim for his “Barcarolle.” He passed away on the 5th of October 1880 – four months before the premiere.

French-Danish soprano Elsa Dreisig studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig. She won the First Female Voice Prize in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition. She also was named Young Artist of the Year by the Opernwelt magazine and Vocal Discovery in the Victoires de la Musique Awards. Since 2015, she has been a member of the Opera Studio at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, and since 2017, she has been part of the ensemble there. Today, she is a popular guest at many top-class opera houses and major festivals. Elsa Dreisig appears courtesy of Erato/Warner Classics.

Ukrainian mezzo-soprano Nicole Chirka studied at the National Music Academy in Kyiv. She made her debut at the National Opera of Ukraine in the role of Olga (Eugen Onegin). In the 2021/22 season, she became a member of the Junges Ensemble and has been a regular member of the Semperoper Dresden ensemble since 2023. In 2022, she took part in the Young Singers Project held by the Salzburg Festival. In the 2023/24 season, in one of her performances, she sang Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw.

© 2024 Deutsche Welle

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