Programs · Episode

MASSENET: Werther

Program: At the Opera
Aired: Saturday, September 5, 2020 @ 6:00 pm
Hosted by Lisa Simeone

This one might be considered Massenet’s "other opera."  His Manon is more famous, but Werther is beginning to get the wider attention it surely deserves.  Based on a trendsetting novel by Goethe, the opera is the story of a man whose lost love leads him to the ultimate act of despair. At the Opera presents recordings featuring two Spanish tenors known for their stellar performances in the opera's title role – José Carreras and Alfredo Kraus.

FEATURED RECORDINGS:

Michel Plasson, conductor
London Philharmonic Orchestra
CAST: Alfredo Kraus (Werther); Tatiana Troyanos (Charlotte); Christine Barbaux (Sophie); Matteo Manuguerra (Albert); Jules Bastin (Bailiff)

Colin Davis, conductor
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
CAST: José Carreras (Werther); Frederica von Stade (Charlotte); Thomas Allen (Albert); Isobel Buchanan (Sophie); Robert Lloyd (Bailiff)

MORE ABOUT THE OPERA:

Type the words "music and suicide" into a search engine and you'll quickly find numerous theories about the types of music most likely to encourage suicidal tendencies — ranging from country, to heavy metal, to opera — with the music at times accused of romanticizing suicide.

It may be heavy metal that's most frequently cited as a musical inspiration to end it all. Fans of the genre have even come up with lists of the "best heavy metal suicide songs" — which include tunes such as "Don't Close Your Eyes" by Kix, "Fade to Black" by Metallica and Megadeth's "A Tout le Monde." Yet most of those songs hardly make the prospect of ending one's life seem attractive. Instead, they dwell on the dire emotions that lead to the act — feelings of emptiness, hopelessness and desperation — and the songs hardly seem steeped in romance.

In opera, suicidal characters express those same emotions, but they most often arise from a single, root cause: love. Lost love, unfulfilled love, forbidden love. So while many kinds of music have been said to portray suicide as a romantic act, it may be opera in which that tendency is most pronounced — and there are few better examples than Jules Massenet's Werther.

The opera is based on a 1774 novel by Goethe that was inspired by an actual event: the suicide of a young man who was in love with a married woman. The novel, called The Sorrows of Young Werther, was an early influence on the Romantic literary movement, and its wide popularity made Goethe an international celebrity.

Massenet composed his operatic version of the story in 1887. He hoped it would be premiered by the Opera Comique in Paris, but that company was looking for something more cheerful, so the opera was shelved until its premiere finally took place in 1892 in Vienna, where it was an immediate hit.

On At the Opera, host Lisa Simeone presents Werther with extended selections from a pair of recordings made just a year apart, and both featuring tenors acclaimed for their portrayals of the title role.  From 1979, we'll hear José Carreras as Werther, and mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade as Charlotte.  From 1980, Alfredo Kraus stars alongside mezzo-soprano Tatiana Troyanos.

Playlist