Search - Jules Massenet, Georges Prêtre, Orchestre de Paris [members of] :: Massenet: Werther

A Great Recording of a Sometimes Overlooked Opera

Timothy Kearney | Hull, MA United States | 02/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I remember reading a quote of an opera director from Covent Garden who once commented that people would probably love to see an opera such as LAKME more often, but the public demand for the work is not great and the cost would make it prohibitive, so it primarily lives on through recordings. I suspect the same could be said for operas such as LA JUIVE, THE PEARL FISHERS, L'AMICO FRITZ, IRIS, and the subject of this review WERTHER. The operas contain beautiful music, great dramatic moments, and plenty of opportunities for the principles to shine, but are not performed all that often. This really is too bad, for we miss out on great stage works and exciting musical evenings, although with great recordings I suppose our imaginations can bring us to the opera house.



WERTHER is based on the writings of Goethe, and tells the story of the tragic love of the poet and dreamer Werther and his beloved Charlotte. Their love is a fairy tale romance until it is revealed that Charlotte's marriage to the reliable Albert has already been arranged by her father, and to make matters worse had been approved by her mother prior to her death. Albert and Charlotte marry and after three months, Werther happens to see Charlotte and Albert leaving church. Werther declares his love but at Charlotte's bidding goes away until Christmas. Christmas arrives, and when Charlotte sees Werther again, she too declares her love. Once again he promises to leave but sends a note to Albert asking if he can borrow his pistols. Albert agrees and tells Charlotte. Charlotte knows what he needs the pistols for, runs to save his life, and finds the mortally wounded Werther. The poet's last request is to be buried beneath a tree and even if he is not allowed to be buried in consecrated ground because of his suicide, he knows that one woman will mourn his passing. Then in true opera fashion, he dies.



This recording has been remastered and re-released by EMI in its "Great Recordings of the Century Series." With a cast that includes Nicolai Gedda as the ill fated poet Werther, Victoria de los Angeles as the lovely Charlotte, and Mady Meseple as Charlotte's younger sister Sophie, all under the direction of Georges Pretre, the cast alone nearly guarantees a fine musical experience. Gedda, who is arguably one of the most versatile tenors of all time, gives an exceptional performance in this opera. Werther is a bundle of conflicting emotions and moods all of which Gedda accurately portrays in music. This is most noticeable when Gedda sings the famous "Porquoi me Reveiller" in Act III. So often this aria is sung as a tour de force piece, usually to show off a tenor's vocal range. Gedda avoids the showpiece mode and sings it with dramatic intensity. Victoria de los Angeles is a mesmerizing soprano whose lovely voice is sometimes overlooked, but her fine voice here commands recognition. Gedda and de los Angeles sing as if they are in love. The light soprano of Mady Meseple is perfect for the role of Sophie, who is supposed to be a fifteen year old girl. Since Meseple always looked youthful during her career, she was probably convincing in this role on stage as well. Roger Soyer's well done, though not necessarily memorable portrayal of Albert completes this well rounded cast.



There is only one small criticism I have of this set. At the beginning of Act I there is the laughter of children while rehearsing Christmas carols. The laughter sounds a bit contrived, but I hardly think people who are purchasing this recording are doing sop for this minor detail.



Enjoy!!!

"

Best "Werther" of the stereo era

L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 02/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Source: 1969 EMI studio recording.



Sound: Good 1960s analog stereo, digitally remastered in the 1990s. I know this recording in its previous, full-priced edition. The 1991 remastering of that issue was generally successful. I am not familiar with its subsequent history to the extent of knowing whether a subsequent remastering was attempted. EMI's dubious success--or more accurately the appalling failure of some of its remasterings in the late 1990s leads me to suggest very strongly that a potential buyer preview the soundscape of this set if at all possible.



Cast: Werther - Nicolai Gedda; Charlotte - Victoria de los Angeles; Sophie - Mady Mesple; Albert - Roger Soyer; Le Bailli - Jean-Christophe Benoit; Johann - Christos Grigoriou; Schmidt - Andre Mallabrera. Conductor: Georges Pretre with the Orchestre de Paris and the Children's Choir of l'O.R.T.F. [French Radio].



"Werther" is an excellent opera that for some reason is not often offered on stage, at least not here in North America. On the other hand, it has been recorded many times, generally with great success. (There is that thing with Bocelli, of course, but even that serves to show how good all the others are by comparison.)



By far the best "Werther," and the one truest to authentic French performance style, is the very first one, recorded in 1931, that features the great Georges Thill and the ravishing Ninon Vallin. [They famously despised each other but, oh! they peformed wonderfully together.] That set represents the very first generation of electronic recording, of course, and sounds like it. For those of you daring enough to brave historic sound, Naxos has re-issued a version restored to the ultimate limit of current technology. In 1954, the old Italian Cetra Label attempted one of its rare forays into the French repertory with the excellent Ferruccio Tagliavini as Werther and his much under-appreciated wife, Pia Tassinari, as Charlotte. Their mono recording is certainly worth pursuing. To my mind, this 1969 recording with Gedda and de los Angeles, while not perfect, is the best of the several stereo versions.



In writing "The Sorrows of Young Werther," Goethe unwittingly created both a best-seller and a worldwide phenomenon: the self-centered, endlessly needy, suicidal Romantic drip. It all came out of a personal anecdote. Goethe had a friend who had lent his pistol to yet another friend. That friend of the friend had then promptly blown his brains out. In his book, Goethe placed the pistol borrowing in the context of a romantic triangle. He lived long enough to see the international formation of Werther clubs and, worse, a deplorable series of what might be called echo-suicides.



The plot of the opera is summarized by Mr. Kearney in the previous review, but not quite accurately. In Act III, the emotional peak of the opera, Charlotte and Werther finally declare both their love for each other and admit its practical impossibility. They part, to the great anguish of each. At that point, Albert, Charlotte's stolid husband, who has always been on politely friendly terms with Werther, comes home. Although he never says a word about the subject, it is clear that he knows precisely what has been going on between his wife and Werther. When Werther's note comes requesting the loan of Albert's pistols, Albert agrees without hesitation ... and he ORDERS Charlotte to direct a servant deliver them to their mutual friend ... which she does. In Act IV, Charlotte appears in Werther's rooms, but it is too late. She finds him crumpled on the floor, slowly expiring.



This performance belongs to Gedda and de los Angeles. I think they consciously chose to emphasize the opera's musical values over the dramatic ones. They sing both brilliantly and beautifully.



The role of Charlotte is low-lying for a soprano, as it was conceived for a light-voiced mezzo. This plays very well into de los Angeles' truly lovely middle range.



Gedda was always a sweet-voiced, suavely elegant tenor. In fact, when I saw him with the San Francisco Opera at just about the time this opera was recorded, I was taken aback. In a live setting, his voice was too sweet, being without edge or drive. Thank heaven he did not record that way! At the age of 44, Gedda sounded convincingly like Werther at the age of twenty. His singing of that concert chestnut, "Porquoi me Reveiller" is a study in refined restraint.



(It must be remembered, however, that Thill and Vallin sang as well--no, even better!--while delivering a full load of dramatic snap.)



Roger Soyer was solid and dependable and a little dull, just like his character, Albert. Not in the same league as the other two, he supported them faultlessly.



Mady Mesple, in a generous piece of casting, was excellent as Charlotte's 15 year-old, feather-brained sister Sophie.



"Werther" is not really a conductor's opera. What Massenet wrote was generally straightforward, even four-square. As such, it suited Pretre, a straightforward, four-square conductor, very well.



Five stars."

A "soprano" Werther that has become a classic

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1968 recording of Wether was de los Angeles's last complete opera recording. The role of Charlotte ranges low enough that it is usually sung by a mezzo (at the premiere, the singer was listed as a contralto), but a few sopranos have sung it on recordings. The best is de los Angeles because of her immediately winning voice, with its many shades of longing, fragility, sensuality, and above all a heartbreaking vulnerability. She may not have the complete range demanded, but one listen to her reunion with the dying Wether in Act 4 and there is no doubt about her dramatic rightness.



Gedda was caught in best voice and sings with much more than his usual degree of passion. No baritone has recorded the role, though Thomas Hampson sings it at the Met (the composer sanctioned and I believe rearranged the art for baritone), but so many kinds of tenors have sung it, ranging from a Tristan heldentenor at the Vienna premiere to a light lyric tenor like the renowned Georges Thill in the 1931 first recording, that the role hs become a chameleon, like Don Jose in Carmen. Gedda's lyric tenor has a heavier timbre, and he sounds nearly perfect. He sings his dying scene with incredible musicality, finding many shades of emotion where others find only melodramatic pathos.



As for recording and conductor, both are very good. I am not remotely a Pretre fan and will always hold against him the crude conducting on Callas's famous Carmen recording, but here he is supple, sensitive, and passionate by turns. The Orchestre de Paris plays beautifully, and EMI's stereo sound has held up quite well. The microphones are noticeably close to the singers, which for me adds to the inensity in a positive way. The lesser roles are sung by French speakers, quite well from top to bottom, but for some curious reason the lead roles are almost never given to French singers. Gedda and de los Angeles cope very credibly in their Parisian surroudnings."