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Organization

Singer

Tenor

Vittorio Grigolo

Werther

Mezzo-soprano

Joyce DiDonato

Charlotte

Baritone

David Bizic

Albert

Soprano

Heather Engebretson

Sophie

Bass

Jonathan Summers

The bailiff

Yuriy Yurchuk

Johann

François Piolino

Schmidt

Emily Edmonds

Kathchen

Conductor

Antonio Pappano

Stage director

Benoît Jacquot

Costume designer

Christian Gasc

Set designer

Charles Edwards

Royal Opera House

London

United Kingdom

Approved

Werther trailer (The Royal Opera)

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and Music Director Antonio Pappano explore the role of Charlotte and what makes Massenet's Werther tick. Find out more at http://www.roh.org.uk/werther


Jules Massenet began thinking about making an opera from Goethe’s Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (1774; The Sorrows of Young Werther) as early as 1880, before he started work on Manon – though in his memoirs he claimed inspiration came in 1886 during a visit to Bayreuth to see Wagner’s Parsifal. He began the score in 1885 and finished it in 1887, but Werther’s premiere did not come until 1892, when the Vienna Hofoper requested another Massenet work after the success of the local premiere of Manon. It has been a permanent part of the international repertory since 1903. Werther and Manon have proved Massenet’s most enduringly popular works.

The excellent libretto, prepared by Edouard Blau and Paul Milliet, distills Goethe’s Romantic masterpiece – their shortened version intensifies Goethe’s depiction of two passionate people each intent on hurting the other. Its spareness affords Massenet the opportunity to make his music not only delve into the psyches of the central couple but also describe the damage they cause to Sophie and Albert. The score displays Massenet’s gift for melody, with the ‘Clair de lune’, ‘Lied d’Ossian’ and Charlotte’s ‘Prière’ now some of his most loved music. Director Benoît Jacquot’s 2004 production for The Royal Opera, with elegant set designs by Charles Edwards, makes manifest the opera’s theme of keeping up appearances while torrid passions rage beneath.

Joyce DiDonato and Antonio Pappano on the power of Massenet's Werther (The Royal Opera)

Werther by Massenet, From (2016/2016), Directed by Benoît Jacquot,, Conductor Antonio Pappano, Royal Opera House, London, United Kingdom

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