Mrs. Dowden’s class at the Metropolitan Opera House This review of “The Tales of Hoffman” was written by fifth-grader Anne Wilder

The Stratford Avenue School fifth-grade students went to the opera “The Tales of Hoffman” on December 7.

Although it was my first time seeing an opera, I thought it was very good. The experience was wonderful! I can’t believe I went to see an opera at the Metropolitan Opera House. It wouldn’t have been the same anywhere else.

I thought it was great because the singers were phenomenal! I have never heard people who could sing that loud and beautiful without microphones. My favorite singer in the opera was Aleksandra Kurzak, who played Olympia, because she sang such high notes. The acting was fantastic! My favorite actor was Jean-Paul Fourcheourt, who played Franz. He was so funny in his aria. The costumes were magnificent! I really liked Giulietta’s costume the best. It fit her character perfectly!

Also, the orchestra played beautiful music. I could hear the beautiful music and see them play it the whole time. All of the people played wonderfully! The sets could have been better. I didn’t like the set in Act 1 at all. It looked like an evil scientist’s lab and Olympia’s inventor wasn’t evil. Act 2 had a good set but it looked a little too homey to have just run away to. Act 3 had a magnificent set! It was my favorite. The gondolas looked real and it looked like a castle. The Prologue and the Epilogue’s set were realistic. It was exactly what I thought a tavern would look like. The special effects were great, especially when the fireplace lit up suddenly when Dr. Miracle was telling Antonia to sing. It surprised me so much.

I would recommend “The Tales of Hoffman” to adults and older children. I don’t think that younger children would like it as much as adults would because it gets confusing at times and it might be hard for younger children to follow the story. I rate it five eyes. The eyes stand for Coppelius’ eyes he made for Olympia.