Álvarez, Garanca, Eröd; Orchestra and Chorus of the Wiener Staatsoper, Conductor, Jordan. Director, Serban. TDK, 132 minutes, subtitled.
This updated setting of Massenet's "Werther," debuting at the Vienna Staatsoper in 2005, employs a single setting - a giant tree that indicates changes of seasons with changing foliage - that is somewhat monotonous, yet the production - splendidly sung and acted by Marcelo Álvarez, Elina Garanca, and Adrian Eröd, is generally successful.
Werther, based on a novel by Goethe, tells of an ill-fated obsessive love of a shy young poet for a married woman and the tragedy wrought by their repressed emotions.
Werther Could Be a Stage Play Set to Music
There are scenes of such conversational quality that one almost forgets that the protagonists are singing.
The score itself supports the stage-play feeling. There are no duets, no quartets, no choruses (except for the children) or other set pieces. The voices of Charlotte and Werther do not overlap until Act III, and that brief conjunction is more confrontational than romantic.
The music keeps the principals vocally isolated from one another in their fantasies - Werther's fantasy of chaste, romantic love, Charlotte's of forbidden attraction, Albert's of perfect marriage, and even Sophie's teenage crush.
The singing of tenor Álvarez in the title role is powerful, warm, and velvety. His "un autre son epoux" burns with nervous tension and agitation, displaying the beginning of Werther's descent into obsession and despair.
The Act III scene between Charlotte and Werther is almost unbearably intense. Returning after his exile, he stands stalker-like in the shadows, then enters, staring at Charlotte with a terrifying expression.
Disheveled, weary, and distraught, he sings a deeply poignant "Pourquoi me reveiller," and the action that follows builds to a shocking climax, followed by Werther's heartbreaking remorse.
Death Brings Peace to Werther
Outstanding is Werther's soliloquy, "Oui, ce qu'elle m'ordonne" at the end of Act II. His "lorsque l'enfant" begins so softly, then crescendos and falls to the plaintive "appelle-moi!" That theme recurs after his Act III confrontation with Charlotte.
Earlier, Werther, in his self-absorption, may have been only melodramatically contemplating taking his life. Now, wild eyed and frantic, he knows he has no choice. His fantasy is destroyed. The line is crossed and he is lost.
At the end, he dies in the arms of his beloved, at peace at last, knowing that she loves him. His perfect idealized love will never have to be put to the test of the banalities of everyday life.
Garanca's interpretation, or possibly that of the director, is rather odd. She plays a Grace Kelly type icy blond, rather a tease, who seems at times both fearful of Werther and yet coldly tormenting his innocent character. She is a breathtakingly gorgeous young woman with a true, beautiful mezzo voice. Her letter aria is captivating. Eröd is excellent as Albert, another character who is not overly stable.
Director Andre Serban creates some interesting little touches to break the tension and the unrelenting misery: Albert's conversation with Werther is actually quite funny, with their respective facial expressions - Albert smug and condescending, Werther sneering and hostile - belying the libretto.
After Werther's tempestuous departure, Albert cheerfully pats the women on the back and then toasts the celebrants while Sophie and Charlotte sit stunned. When the messenger comes for the pistols requested by Werther, Albert moves toward the piano where the pistols are kept in a box, but he stops and instead pulls a gun from the nightstand. Apparently he does not want to risk losing his prized pistols, even to be rid of his rival.
The ending is shocking. Charlotte backs away from the dead Werther, Albert holds her shoulders in a gesture both comforting and possessive, she turns to him and he, apparently repulsed by the blood all over her, pulls away and runs off. She falls to the ground and the stage goes dark.
DVD extras include Álvarez and Garanca at the Vienna Opera Ball, leading the opening parade and performing a zarzuela number.
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