THE THREE SINGERS OF 'HOFFMANN'.

Byline: Rick Mortensen Staff Writer

Half a century before lyricist Lorenz Hart penned ``Falling in Love With Love Is Falling for Make Believe,'' Jacques Offenbach expressed a similar sentiment in his final opera, ``The Tales of Hoffmann.''

With three female romantic leads, the opera gives the audience ample opportunity to fall in love with sopranos. The fictional story concerns fairy tale writer and alcoholic E.T.A. Hoffmann's tragically foolish attempts to find love, and each of the three acts features a different object of his affections.

Certain sopranos - including Upland resident Carol Vaness - have done all three parts in the same production, but the differences in personality and vocal range prompt most productions to use three different singers.

The three sopranos in the L.A. Opera production represent three different vocal styles and three different countries. They include a Korean coloratura, a Hungarian lyric soprano and a Yugoslav mezzo soprano.

``I think it's very nice for the public to see the difference between the female voices and the character of the voices,'' said Andrea Rost, the lyric soprano who plays Antonia. ``The coloratura is sometimes so cold and the lyric is warm, and you can see the difference between the voices.''

Rost's dream is to play all three roles in the same production, which would require transposing the high coloratura part down a step and muting the orchestra slightly to make sure it doesn't drown out her voice.

Sing she must

In this production, Rost's character is a singer with a rare disease. She gives up a traditional domestic life with Hoffmann to pursue her musical career and eventually sings herself to death. Rost said she could relate to her character's dedication to music.

``I don't want to die - it's not my story - but I think the good musicians have this feeling in the heart and the soul to sacrifice everything for this,'' she said.

A resident of Budapest, Rost had more than one reason to come to Los Angeles this month. She starred in a film version of the Hungarian opera ``Bank Ban'' by Ferenc Erkel, which premiered in L.A. Nov. 15. Directed by Csaba Kael, the film has a Hungarian nationalist message and should raise Rost's profile in her native country.

Sumi Jo, who plays the mechanical doll Olympia in ``Tales of Hoffmann,'' has a high profile in her native Korea, her adopted homeland of Italy and across the United States. She is a particular favorite in L.A.'s Korean community, and her L.A.-area recitals draw large Korean crowds and include Korean folk songs. In May she was named a cultural ambassador by the South Korean government.

Her diverse discography includes a new crossover album called ``Only Love.'' Featuring such Broadway favorites as Stephen Sondheim's ``Send in the Clowns,'' the album has sold more than a million units, making it the best-selling classical crossover album of the year.

High times

As an opera singer, Jo is most frequently cast in roles that showcase her explosive high notes, such as the Queen of the Night in Mozart's ``The Magic Flute,'' which she played at L.A. Opera last year. Jo would like to play more roles in the expressive, lyrical style known as ``bel canto,'' which is featured in operas by Donizetti Bellini. Still, she doesn't want to give up her status as a diva.

``I promised myself that if I don't enjoy whatever I do - even if the fee's high or I'm working with the most incredible conductor - I say no,'' she said. ``I have to feel satisfied when I work. In (Verdi's) 'Un Ballo in Maschera,' I didn't feel at all that desire to sing, so I said, 'Basta,' that is enough. The character wasn't right ... I think it's the prima donna in me. I have to be more special. I have to be the heroine.''

Jo feels sufficiently special as Olympia, calling the doll's scene the opera's highlight. The L.A. Opera production is a revival of a Washington Opera production directed by Marta Domingo, wife of L.A. Opera Artistic Director Placido Domingo. Jo said Marta Domingo allowed her to improvise quite a bit in her portrayal of the doll with whom Hoffmann falls in love.

``Sometimes I use a fan, sometimes I don't. I walk the way I want, and I can do whatever I want,'' Jo said. ``Marta has a different way of seeing this doll. I used to see Olympia as a very comic part, but Marta sees Olympia as a graceful, pretty, nice, good-looking doll, but not so funny. I had a little bit of difficulty in the beginning to receive her concept, but now I think I found a real balance between me and what she wants.''

Like the Queen of the Night, the role of Olympia showcases Jo's high notes, and she has to keep her voice in shape.

``When I sing (Verdi's) 'Rigoletto' or even the bel canto repertoire, I do vocal exercises one hour a day,'' she said. ``For Olympia or the Queen of the Night, I do exercises like every 30 minutes to make sure I have high notes.''

Lower, please

Milena Kitic doesn't need high notes to be a diva. The Yugoslav-born mezzo soprano made a name for herself as Carmen, the opera repertoire's ultimate diva role. Like other mezzo roles, Carmen is in the low, sensual range of the female voice.

In ``Hoffmann,'' Kitic plays the seductive courtesan Giulietta. She gets to sing the gorgeous ``Barcarolle,'' perhaps the opera's most recognizable tune.

``Supposedly it's the most beautiful act in the whole 'Hoffmann,' but I believe 'Hoffmann' is most talked about for the role of the doll, Olympia,'' Kitic said.

Giulietta bewitches Hoffmann at the behest of the demonic Depertutto, who has bewitched her. Like Carmen, Giulietta is a seductress, but she sings in the higher part of the mezzo range. Kitic said she plays Giulietta more like a fairy tale than Carmen.

``Vocally, Carmen is a real mezzo role. She is a real character. We probably have lots of Carmens nowadays, but Giulietta is a pure fairy tale character. She is a creature out of this world,'' Kitic said.

``I love Giulietta, even though it's a very high role and very demanding for a mezzo soprano,'' she continued. ``Originally, all three roles were written for one woman's voice. Whoever the person was at that time, I really admire her.''

TALES OF HOFFMANN

Where: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles.

When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday; 1 p.m. Nov. 30, Dec. 14 and 21; and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 8 and 18.

Tickets: $35 to $170. Call [phone].

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(1 -- 3) Lyric soprano Andrea Rost, left, is doomed singer Antonia, mezzo soprano Milena Kitic is courtesan Giulietta, and coloratura Sami Jo is the doll Olympia in L.A. Opera's ``Tales of Hoffmann.''