(Credit:  Keith Saunders)

The Sydney Opera House is set to present Damiano Michieletto’s new production of Offenbach’s “Les Contes d’Hoffmann.”

The production comes after the Italian director staged “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “Pagliacci” in 2017 and “Il Viaggio a Reims” in 2019 at the famed opera company.

In a statement, Michieletto said, “I imagined ‘Les Contes d’Hoffmann’ as a journey through time. A look into the different ages of the protagonist: the child, the boy, the already disillusioned young man, all represented by the female protagonists Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta. Stella will end the story by destroying Hoffmann’s illusions, somehow as if she was the devil herself. He will thus find himself alone, with all the symbols of his fantasy past world, all representing his poetic universe.”

Guillaume Tourniaire will conduct the opera which is set to star Jessica Pratt as all four women of the opera: Olympia, Antonia, Giulietta, and Stella. Iván Ayón Rivas will sing the title role while Marko Mimica will interpret the four evil characters (Coppelius, Dapertutto, Dr. Miracle, and Lindorf). Finally, Agnes Sarkis will sing Nicklausse and Sian Sharp will perform the Musa.

“Les Contes d’Hoffmann” will run between July 11 and 22, 2023.