KU Opera’s production of Jacques Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann” is a don’t-miss event for anyone who likes good voices and good acting. Even those who don’t think of themselves as opera buffs might find this the best chance to re-think the position.

A talented cast of 17 held a near-capacity audience’s rapt attention at the Robert Baustian Theatre for two-and-a-half hours Thursday evening. A chorus of excellent voices and a versatile four-piece orchestra enhanced the production.

The plot is highly fanciful, even by operatic standards, but its twists and turns can be forgotten whenever the singing starts. Just remember that Hoffmann tells three tales of his three tragic lost loves, one for each act, and you’ll be all right. The story’s theme is that Hoffmann, a poet, must ultimately forego love in order to create poetry.

Dustin Peterson’s lyric tenor carries the challenging title role, and his acting conveys the character’s pathos and comedy by turns. Megan Adams as the Muse of Art (and her alter ego, Nicklausse) lends her pleasing spinto soprano to the roles, and its buttery-smooth quality nicely suits this sympathetic character.

Tyler Simpson plays three roles: Lindorf, Coppelius and Dapertutto. He’s a commanding presence onstage in each of these roles, and the rich timbre of his dramatic baritone underscores the characters’ dark authority.

The first tale deals with Olympia, a mechanical doll who appears to Hoffmann (with the help of magic glasses) to be a real girl, with whom he falls in love. The diminutive Angie Solomon was perfect as the doll, delivering the evening’s show-stopping number with an amazing “robot” performance accompanied by a superb coloratura voice, soaring with apparent ease to high C and beyond. Her brilliant fixed smile, batting lashes and comically stiff gait were hugely entertaining in themselves, but magical by contrast with her vocal flexibility.

The second tale told of Antonia, a consumptive singer who must cease singing in order to live. Lindsay Ohse plays the troubled Antonia convincingly, and her dramatic soprano is impressive, equally in control throughout her considerable range. Lane Johnson plays the sinister Dr. Miracle, who urges Antonia to continue singing, and his dramatic baritone nicely conveys the doctor’s menace.

Act three begins with the familiar strains of Offenbach’s “Barcarolle” and tells the tale of Giulietta, a courtesan who is ordered by her Svengali-figure, Captain Dapertutto, to enchant Hoffmann into exchanging his reflection (symbolic of his artist’s soul) for her love. Soprano Rebecca Mann as Giulietta seduces him with impassioned song – to say nothing of convincing embraces and kisses – and he surrenders the reflection, to the dismay of Nicklausse. The Epilogue finds poor Hoffmann, his heart broken, in the care of his Muse, who guides him back to poetry.

Kudos to Tim Ocel for his English translation and his capable stage direction; to Mark Ferrell for musical direction and piano; to Joan Stone for choreography, particularly that of Olympia; to Charlie Moore, who painted the four arresting reproductions of Egon Schiele’s nude portraits that confront the audience on two walls; and to Kelly Vogel for a colorful array of costumes.