Last week found me at the local encore of the Met in HD Werther. For some reason these get to us here in New Zealand weeks after they are shown elsewhere. Werther doesn't always work for me; the title character seems to spend an agonising amount of time moping around (after all, most of us have loved sometime who didn't love us back and most of us get over it). However, in this case I was mostly engrossed, particularly in the second half and probably largely because of the contributions of the principal singers.
Director Richard Eyre moves the setting forward to the time of the opera's composition. There were some pretty touches to the production, but overall it
neither particularly enlightened the work but nor actively offended in
any way, though one might question why Albert's house has a harpsichord
at the turn of the 20th century. I found it all pretty unrelievedly dark onscreen, though the characters were always well-lit. I guess this added to the sombre nature of the proceedings but a little more light contrast couldn't have hurt. The sound in the Rialto Cinemas Newmarket was sometimes aggressively loud, particularly noticeable on Kaufmann's high notes.
Jonas Kaufmann's rich, rather baritonal sound works well in this brooding role. He certainly didn't stint when it comes to the money notes and he appeared able to ride Massenet's orchestration with ease. His rendition of the famous "Pourquoi me reveiller" was heart-stirringly powerful, the difficult high A-flats ringing out with obvious ease. Kaufmann is a master of mezza voce too; this showed throughout the last act as Werther's strength petered out. Additionally, the elegance that can come from such a powerful, dark-timbred voice is quite marvellous. Kaufmann acted his heart out (Richard Eyre's conviction that he is as great as any of the stage actors he's worked with seemed borne out here); great attention is paid to the text and his performance was notable for his interaction with, and indeed reactions to, the other characters. For once the death scene didn't seem too long at all.
At first, Sophie Koch seemed to be a rather cold and distant Charlotte, but I began to see the point from the third act. Starting from the Letter Scene, it was as though all of the emotions she had kept in check were being released little by little. The solo "Les larmes qu'on ne pleure pas" was searing in its intensity. The voice can sound a little strained on the top notes - the role of Charlotte seems to verge on soprano territory for much of the second half of the opera. This was compensated by a richness, if not warmth, in the middle of the voice.
Usually I find Sophie to be one of the most annoying of operatic characters but Lisette Oropesa was an utter delight throughout; in fact, she managed to be extremely moving in the part. Her vocalism was well-nigh faultless, sparkling through the light-hearted "Du gai soleil" and summoning great warmth in the exchanges with her sister. David Bizic was a solid and relatively sympathetic Albert.
The comprimarios were decent, but no matter how good a singer no one can save Schmidt and Johann from being totally insufferable. Jonathan Summers was good, if a bit on the gruff side as Charlotte's father and the younger children playing Charlotte and Sophie's siblings made a pleasant impression in their Christmas carol.
Alain Altinoglu's close familiarity with the score was well-shown; there was an effortless narrative flow to the proceedings that made the musical journey from the beginning through the final tragedy seem inevitable. Even the loudest, most dramatic moments didn't stray from a basic sense of French grace and elegance. All in all, it was a worthwhile experience in the cinema which has helped me enjoy Werther a little more than I probably ever had before.
