Karen Mercedes wrote:
> My question is this: Would "Hoffmann" be a Christian name or Surname in
> your dictionary? It's not clear in the opera, though it is derived from
> E.T.A. Hoffmann (a surname).
I've always taken it that the character Hoffmann in the
opera was intended to be Hoffmann the author, the conceit
being he tells these tales after his own life experiences.
He doesn't get the girl(s), but his artistic "Muse" is
triumphant, and presumably later becomes the author of the
stories enacted in the opera.
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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