Werther by Massenet tonight
OperaFriday night Slippedisc, courtesy of OperaVision, brings you an opera rarely performed in the English speaking world. Adapted from Goethe’s novel, Jules Massenet’s opera Werther is a jewel of French lyric repertoire. Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie shares the sober and elegant staging by Bruno Ravella and invites the famous Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux to sing Charlotte for the first time, alongside a young and almost exclusively French-speaking cast conducted by Jean-Marie Zietouni. Mario Chang in lead role as Werther.
Available from Friday 24.12.2021 at 1900 CET, 1800 London, 1300 NY
Lemieux is wonderful, as long as she can stay serious for a while.
Werther brings back memories. . . There is this live with Agostino Lazzari and Magda Olivero, cond. Mario Rossi. Ten years ago or so I was in Bologna, talking to Giancarlo Bongiovanni, and failing to produce the name, Lazzari. I tried my best — recorded a complete Rossini Otello, did a memorable Werther with Olivero, and still the name would not come. And Lazzari was not that long dead.
Listen to the Rossi recording if you can grab a copy.