Capitole de Toulouse, 02/07/2019
Massenet : Werther
Orchestre national du Capitole
Jean-François Verdier
Originally staged in 1997, at the Capitole Theatre in Toulouse, for Roberto Alagna's first outings in the role, Nicolas Joel's production of Werther brings to a close the 18/19 season for the company, with resounding success. What I have seen of Joel's productions over the years have usually been quite faithful to the work, whatever it may be, leaning towards tradition rather than iconoclasm, and this handsomely designed production is no exception. Set in period, with fully dressed sets, necessitating closed curtains for the scene changes, it was certainly easy on the eye, and did not seek to challenge conceptions.
Where it failed, and this may be a result of the re-staging, in which Joel was not involved, was in some of the character interplay, notably between the two principals, right at the start. To say that any profound and instantaneous attraction between Charlotte and Werther was not immediately apparent is putting it politely; as they returned from the dance, during the "Moonlight" interlude, the singers stood half-a-stage width apart, glancing shyly at each other from time to time. To go from that to Charlotte's voluntary outpouring of her difficulties in coming to terms with her mother's death, and onwards to Werther's impassioned declarations, was something of a stretch. The dramatic tension never quite recovered from that faltering start, and despite excellent singing, I cannot say that Karine Deshayes and Jean-François Borras share any great degree of chemistry.
However, the production remained visually satisfying on the whole, save for the last scene, bizarrely set in what looked like a ruined Roman temple nevertheless lurking in the shadow of the church we had seen in Act 2, and with not a single, solitary snowflake in sight, despite the ostensible date of Christmas Eve, and the wonderfully icy evocations from the orchestra. More to the point, and despite the above-mentioned failure of chemistry, musically, this was a remarkably satisfying experience, largely because of the ensemble of the work. This was a French operatic masterpiece, in a French house, with a wholly Francophone cast and a French orchestra, under a French conductor. The comprehension and presentation of the text, and of the work, was absolute. While there were small things that niggled, and some superlative moments, it's the synthesis of the whole that truly stood out, the whole being undoubtedly greater than the sum of its parts.
Much work had gone into the smaller roles, and the opening out of most, I think, of the small cuts that have been customary in this work since time immemorial. When you have a couple of lively, demonstrative characters like Luca Lombardo and Francis Dudziak to sing Schmidt and Johann, it's worth restoring their oft-excised lines. Canadian soprano Florie Valiquette's Sophie was bright and fresh without being irritating, while André Heyboer was a strong Albert. Karine Deshayes tends to the placid as Charlotte, but the voice is beautiful, smooth and creamy, and there was, finally, a gloriously melting tenderness to her last scene with Werther.
As for Jean-François Borras, this is a singer who pinged on my radar a couple of years ago, and I've been trying to seize the opportunities to hear him live ever since. He was Boito's Faust last summer in Orange, and the quality of the voice was confirmed tonight, along with a willingness to take risks with dynamics and vocal effects that was wholly supported by Verdier's conducting - although stopping the orchestra at the end of "Pourquoi me réveiller" just for the sake of applause was, frankly, a little crass. As for the orchestra itself, it was on top form, expansive and expressive, with very fine solo playing from the principal cello and violin as required.
This was a welcome demonstration of both perfectly assumed cultural identity, and instinctive cohesiveness, such as I've rarely seen. Faults there were, and under other conditions, they might have been insurmountable, but instead, we got, for once, exactly what was marked on the package, Massenet's Werther, in all its splendour.
[Nest : 6th August]
Orchestre national du Capitole
Jean-François Verdier
Originally staged in 1997, at the Capitole Theatre in Toulouse, for Roberto Alagna's first outings in the role, Nicolas Joel's production of Werther brings to a close the 18/19 season for the company, with resounding success. What I have seen of Joel's productions over the years have usually been quite faithful to the work, whatever it may be, leaning towards tradition rather than iconoclasm, and this handsomely designed production is no exception. Set in period, with fully dressed sets, necessitating closed curtains for the scene changes, it was certainly easy on the eye, and did not seek to challenge conceptions.
Where it failed, and this may be a result of the re-staging, in which Joel was not involved, was in some of the character interplay, notably between the two principals, right at the start. To say that any profound and instantaneous attraction between Charlotte and Werther was not immediately apparent is putting it politely; as they returned from the dance, during the "Moonlight" interlude, the singers stood half-a-stage width apart, glancing shyly at each other from time to time. To go from that to Charlotte's voluntary outpouring of her difficulties in coming to terms with her mother's death, and onwards to Werther's impassioned declarations, was something of a stretch. The dramatic tension never quite recovered from that faltering start, and despite excellent singing, I cannot say that Karine Deshayes and Jean-François Borras share any great degree of chemistry.
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| Jean-François Borras (Werther) and Karine Deshayes (Charlotte) Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse (© 2019, Patrice Nin) |
However, the production remained visually satisfying on the whole, save for the last scene, bizarrely set in what looked like a ruined Roman temple nevertheless lurking in the shadow of the church we had seen in Act 2, and with not a single, solitary snowflake in sight, despite the ostensible date of Christmas Eve, and the wonderfully icy evocations from the orchestra. More to the point, and despite the above-mentioned failure of chemistry, musically, this was a remarkably satisfying experience, largely because of the ensemble of the work. This was a French operatic masterpiece, in a French house, with a wholly Francophone cast and a French orchestra, under a French conductor. The comprehension and presentation of the text, and of the work, was absolute. While there were small things that niggled, and some superlative moments, it's the synthesis of the whole that truly stood out, the whole being undoubtedly greater than the sum of its parts.
Much work had gone into the smaller roles, and the opening out of most, I think, of the small cuts that have been customary in this work since time immemorial. When you have a couple of lively, demonstrative characters like Luca Lombardo and Francis Dudziak to sing Schmidt and Johann, it's worth restoring their oft-excised lines. Canadian soprano Florie Valiquette's Sophie was bright and fresh without being irritating, while André Heyboer was a strong Albert. Karine Deshayes tends to the placid as Charlotte, but the voice is beautiful, smooth and creamy, and there was, finally, a gloriously melting tenderness to her last scene with Werther.
As for Jean-François Borras, this is a singer who pinged on my radar a couple of years ago, and I've been trying to seize the opportunities to hear him live ever since. He was Boito's Faust last summer in Orange, and the quality of the voice was confirmed tonight, along with a willingness to take risks with dynamics and vocal effects that was wholly supported by Verdier's conducting - although stopping the orchestra at the end of "Pourquoi me réveiller" just for the sake of applause was, frankly, a little crass. As for the orchestra itself, it was on top form, expansive and expressive, with very fine solo playing from the principal cello and violin as required.
This was a welcome demonstration of both perfectly assumed cultural identity, and instinctive cohesiveness, such as I've rarely seen. Faults there were, and under other conditions, they might have been insurmountable, but instead, we got, for once, exactly what was marked on the package, Massenet's Werther, in all its splendour.
[Nest : 6th August]