WERTHER by Jules Massenet

A masterly and nuanced portrayal of hopeless love, presented by Irish National Opera.

Werther, the young poet. Charlotte, the woman he loves. And his best friend Albert, to whom she is engaged. Massenet transforms the triangle of Goethe’s hugely influential novel of impossible love into a hauntingly gentle and lyrical opera that sensitively traces the unfolding of a hopeless passion. So hopeless that, when Charlotte’s hot and cold feelings cause her to turn away from Werther yet again, tragedy cannot be averted.

Sung in French with English surtitles.

Performed in a new orchestration by Richard Peirson.

“This piece has everything” – mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato

“all but steals the show” – BBC Music Magazine on Paride Cataldo