A composer’s final masterpiece: the opera that haunted its creator to the grave

Music · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Jacques Offenbach died just months before his magnum opus, The Tales of Hoffmann, premiered in 1881. The opera follows a poet’s descent through three tragic romances, each representing a different facet of his obsession. It is a haunting, surreal exploration of art, love, and the price of genius.

The Tales of Hoffmann is a romantic fantasy that serves as the final work of German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach. The libretto, crafted by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier, draws from the life and writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann. The narrative structure is framed by a prologue and epilogue set in Luther’s Tavern in Nuremberg, where the poet Hoffmann recounts three failed love affairs to a group of students. These women—Olympia, Giulietta, and Antonia—are revealed to be manifestations of a single prima donna, Stella, whom Hoffmann pursues throughout the opera.

Each act presents a distinct, surreal challenge to the protagonist. In the first, Hoffmann falls for Olympia, an automaton created by the inventor Spalanzani. Blinded by magic eyeglasses sold to him by the villainous Coppélius, the poet mistakes the mechanical doll for a human woman. The second act shifts to Venice, where the courtesan Giulietta, manipulated by the magician Dapertutto, steals Hoffmann’s reflection. The final act, set in Munich, follows the tragic fate of Antonia, a singer whose health is destroyed by the sinister Dr. Miracle, who forces her to sing until she dies.

Offenbach’s relationship with the work was marked by a chilling sense of destiny. As he composed the opera, he suffered from a premonition that he would not live to see its completion, mirroring the tragic fate of the character Antonia. He died on October 5, 1880, while still holding the manuscript. The opera premiered in Paris on February 10, 1881, at the Opéra-Comique. While the work faced early production hurdles—including the exclusion of the Venice act during its initial run—it eventually secured its place in the repertoire, with later productions reaching hundreds of performances.

The opera functions as a meta-commentary on the nature of artistic devotion. Throughout the story, Hoffmann’s Muse, disguised as his friend Nicklausse, attempts to steer him away from romantic entanglements and toward his true calling: poetry. In the end, as the poet descends into a drunken stupor and loses Stella to his rival, the Muse finally succeeds in claiming him for herself, highlighting the central tension between human love and the solitary pursuit of art.

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