The Catskill Chronicle

Review by by Barry Plaxen

LOCH SHELDRAKE, NY (March 26, 2014) – Shown Live from the Met in HD on March 15  at the beautiful Seelig Auditorium at SUNY Sullivan in Loch Sheldrake, “Werther” is a “Lyric Drama” in four acts by Juiles Massenet to a libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann, loosely based on the German epistolary novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe which was based both on fact and on Goethe’s own early life.

Massenet started composing Werther in 1885, completing it in 1887, but it was declined by the Paris Opera on the grounds that it was too serious a scenario. The Vienna Opera, pleased with the success of “Manon”, asked the composer for a new work. “Werther” then received its premiere in 1892 in a German version in Vienna. The French-language premiere followed in Geneva in 1892

After the last two “unsuccessful” Live from the Met in HD presentations, “Rusalka” and “Prince Igor” with their poorly constructed libretti, it was a pleasure to experience an opera with a carefully constructed libretto containing all the necessary elements inherent in a “good” libretto. “Rusalka” and “Prince Igor” may have had finer or greater or “better” music than “Werther,” but once again, opera as a theatrical expression must be believable and dramatically cohesive.

Musically, “Werther” does not follow other Massenet operas, such as “Manon.” It does not have many outstanding arias, or sumptuous duets or thrilling choruses. “Werther” is its own category, in that, it is a chamber opera, not grand opera, BUT with a full orchestra playing as a chamber ensemble. To my knowledge, there is no other opera, at least from the romantic era, that has those two elements at the same time, chamber opera with full orchestra playing subdued chamber music. I do know of a Strauss chamber opera, but orchestra-wise it is also a chamber ensemble. Mozart’s “Figaro” and “Cosi” can be considered chamber operas, but they have grand-opera-scale orchestrations.

As mentioned, the music is not like other Massenet operas, or even Verdi, with pleasurable melodies and exciting orchestrations. Still, dramatically it is a tour-de-force thanks to Massenet’s scoring to the excellent libretto. I saw the opera once before at the Met, and do not remember being as thrilled as I was while watching this. Obvious to me now, it is totally necessary to either speak fluent French, or watch it with subtitles. Following the libretto is necessary for appreciating Massenet’s “accompaniment” to the dialogue. This was clearly his and the triumvirate-adapters’ intention. Watching it was a pleasure after the last two poor-librettoed operas: watching opera – and seeing a story unfold with music highlighting and enhancing that story. A story of two people, one doomed to obsession due to a promise made to her mother to marry someone she does not love and ergo cannot “be true to her feelings”, and one doomed to obsession because of his inability to function with, to adjust to, unrequited love.

Besides the two leading roles of Werther and Charlotte, the opera has three supporting roles and about a half dozen comprimario roles. Sadly, the singers for the comprimario roles were not of the Met’s usual high quality performers. Nor were the supporting singers and one leading-role performer the top of the line, world class performers we have come to expect from the Met.

As Charlotte’s sister Sophie, Lisette Oropesa was the best of them, though not convincing as a 15 year old, making the believability of Sophie being sibling to a myriad of little ones with a big gap in ages difficult to accept. A nice light soprano voice, Oropesa did bring some lightness to the gloomy, somber story, and was totally believable in her love for Werther and for her sister.

David Bižic ́ as Charlotte’s husband Albert, sang well enough, but lacked any emotional depth. His performance was all surface. We never really knew how he felt about Werther being in love with his wife when he came to that realization.

Jonathan Summers as The Bailiff, Charlotte’s father, was indicative of the vocal strength the supporting and comprimario singers lacked. No power, no nuances, no inspiration.

In the leading role of Charlotee, mezzo Sophie Koch, though known world-wide for this role, disappointed me. Though she thoroughly knew what she was doing at all times and sang well, she lacked the needed amount of passion, Her inadequately mild passion was terribly evident every single time Jonas Kaufmann, as Werther, opened his mouth and sang. Or just stood still. Or walked, Or pondered. Everything he did we so “right,” so emotionally communicative, that his thrillingly moving performance will be well-remembered by all who saw him at the screening.

His glorious performance did not come as a surprise, as I remember his performance as Faust in December 2011 when his passionate and musically perfect performance in that French opera included “a diminuendo to die for”. His technique is superb and one senses he is not a performer performing a role, but IS the person you are watching and hearing, while he sings with dramatic nuances no one else might do. (Or so it seems.) He is also well-remembered by me for his outstanding performance as Sigmund in Wagner’s “Die Walkure,” also in 2011.

As outstanding as I feel the libretto might be, I would make one change which would, I believe, better motivate Werther’s suicide. In Act II Werther sings an aria, addressed to God, contemplating suicide. It is one of the most powerful AND beautiful expressions I have ever “read,” validating or justifying suicide, with good reason for God’s subsequent forgiveness. It was incredibly performed by Kaufmann. I cannot imagine anyone else doing anything more to convey the feelings of the anti-church message.

I think it would serve the story better if this aria came a bit AFTER his famous Act III aria, a reading of a poem that motivates him to become emotionally driven to suicide, and to run home and kill himself. If he sang the Act II aria after he gets home in Act IV, we could see that now he is totally rational about suicide, and then, in a way, forgives himself. A more dramatic and powerful concept, I think. If sung just before he shoots himself, it makes his action less self-indulgent and more aligned with the sturm and drang period of Goethe’s 18^th Century story.

Moving the aria to Act IV would create this dramatic sequence:

Act II – The pain of unrequited love and total dismissal.

Act III – Aria from poem motivating an emotional desire for suicide.

Act IV – Bringing all the emotional sturm & drang to an end and totally empathizing with the rationality and acceptance of his suicide.

As you can see above, for me there were “holes” in the production, but kudos to Kaufmann for his magic, his charisma, and most importantly, his craft and communicative ability which made the afternoon unforgettable.

The costumes, designed by Rob Howell were interfered by a weird set, and totally unwarranted and unnecessary visuals. Alas. here we go again with visuals at war with what was intended. Watching a staged death and funeral procession during the overture distracts from “getting in the mood” that was intended by the composer.

Conducted by Alain Altinoglu, the Met’s orchestra was superb, once again. The production by Richard Eyre is nothing to write home about. All the more reason to congratulate Hofmann (and the other four heroes of the day) for creating a most emotional afternoon.

Next Live from the Met performance is Puccini;s La Boheme on April 5 at 1:00 p.m. For information: 845-434-5750, ext. 4377.