Vienna State Opera (live streaming), 10/12/2020

 Massenet : Werther

Vienna State Opera Orchestra

Bertrand de Billy

This 2005 production by Andrei Serban is apparently something of a house favourite, as it has appeared in almost every season since its first one.  Serban updated the action to the late 50s, while the set is dominated by a huge tree, from which a short catwalk and staircase emerge, as if there was living space inside the tree.  Under its shade, the children learn their Christmas carol in July, the townsfolk meet for a dance, celebrate their pastor's Golden wedding anniversary.  It recedes into the shadows for the second half, the indoor scene of Charlotte and Albert's surprisingly pedestrian, white collar interior, but lurks again for the final scene, half in, half out, like the dying Werther in his loft, but his mind already back out in nature.  There were some interesting touches, some that worked - Charlotte pregnant in Acts 3 and 4 - and some that didn't - Sophie being considerably older, old enough to drink alcohol - but nothing, in general, that really swore at the libretto too much.  Serban's Charlotte is clearly not happy with Albert from the outset, which is taking it a step further than Massenet, but I didn't find there was a compensatory chemistry with Werther.

That, however might have been the fault of the singers.  The show was given without an audience, which is certainly difficult for the artists.  However, this was one of the least satisfactory performances I've seen from Piotr Beczała in a long time, and in a role he has very much made his own over the last few years.  He's new to this production, and he never seemed entirely at ease in it, his acting, like his singing, somewhat stilted.  The vocal production was tight, lacking in lyricism, and with poorly controlled dynamics.  He could sing softly, but it came in spurts, like someone toying with the volume control. There was no tenderness, no luminosity, no flow in his singing, and all in all, it was very disappointing from a singer I know is capable of much, much more.

 Gaëlle Arquez, Piotr Beczała
Massenet, Werther, Act 3
Vienna State Opera (screenshot)

Perhaps equally uninspired by his Werther, Gaëlle Arquez was a respectable, but not transcendent Charlotte, her singing well balanced, but her interpretation rarely more than routine.  Daniela Fally is a house regular as Sophie, she has sung it in multiple reprises, and retains a fresh, bright sound, but Clemens Unterreiner's Albert was rather too villainous for my liking, and again, I don't know how much of that was the original production's requirements, and how much was this particular singer's input.  The other smaller roles were efficient, without meriting particular note. There's no chorus in Werther, but a group of children, who sang very well, although they looked a little stiff on stage.

In the pit, Bertrand de Billy delivered a slightly uneven reading, sometimes rich with colour, sometimes anodyne, and not always in perfect accord with the stage - the start of Act 3 particularly had some problems with coordination.  Something of a hit-and-miss production, therefore, that I don't know interested me enough to see again.

[Next : 13th December]