Eye-popping, spirited ‘Hoffmann’ overcomes its glitches

We’ve all cried into our beers over lost loves, right? Well, probably not as dramatically as the title character in “The Tales of Hoffmann,” onstage at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Opera Orlando continues to impress and “Hoffmann” raises the bar even higher. Grant Preisser’s striking set uses frames and mirrors to create a sense of emptiness at the core of Hoffmann’s life.

Kim Welborn’s costumes and Erma Sandora’s hair and makeup design are inventive, whimsical and creating such distinct looks that you’ll have to look twice to remember how many performers are playing multiple roles.

But if the overall level of achievement is higher, details come up short. As the musicians, ably conducted by Jorge Parodi, play some of Offenbach’s most delicate music, the sound of moving furniture backstage can be heard.

Director Eve Summer has created a quick-moving show that captivates with delightful surprises. Summer lets the beats of the story play out with genuine emotion among the humorous interludes.

Opera Orlando has chosen a slightly slimmed-down one version of “Tales of Hoffman.” Hoffmann, a poet, while awaiting his latest paramour drunkenly tells his friends about three other loves he has had.

As Hoffmann, Won Whi Choi has a powerful tenor and hits high notes with glorious intensity. Alex Mansoori provides sprightly comic relief. Dennis Jesse is particularly effective as the spurious Dr. Miracle. Kimberly Sogioka is a delightful Nicklausse. Sogioka is thrillingly heartrending in a different, ghostly role later on.

The chorus, directed by Brian Holman, is appropriately robust with the harmonies shining through — though the singers come on too strong in the famed “Beautiful night, oh night of love.”

The heart of the show is dynamo Laura León. As the various heroines, she sparkles, seduces and languishes. Brava.