In these sad times of Brexit, I have decided to write the review of last night's Werther live at the movies in English. Readers will I hope be indulgent for the odd mistake.
So yesterday I went to my local suburban Paris movie theatre to see the latest version of Benoît Jacquot's production of Werther, this time with the debuts of Joyce DiDonato and Vittorio Grigolo. That production is well-known to me and I like it very much : I saw it in Paris a few years back with Jonas Kaufmann and Sophie Koch (Plasson conducting) and it was one of the best evenings I ever had at the opera. Therefore I was not worried about not liking the staging and just very curious to hear two new leads in that work which is among those I know best, along with Tosca and Trovatore.
Well, I had a great evening. For one, nothing can go wrong when my beloved Simon Callow is host! That voice is so part of my teenage days! He was Mercutio on an old audio tape I had back then, and it was lovely to hear him again.
In the pit, Tony Pappano and the ROH orchestra were awesome. That energy, that tension! Sir Tony is not quite as subtle as Plasson, but still he managed to convey the Sturm und Drang drama so well that I got goosebumps.
The comprimari were all lovely too, especially a delightful François Piolino as Schmidt and a lively, sweet-voiced Sophie by young American soprano Heather Engebretson. It was also moving to hear the Bailly of Jonathan Summers, returning to the work after having been Albert on the same stage in... 1979!
OK, I admit it, I wanted to go mostly for Vittorio Grigolo, whose wonderful French diction I had discovered in his Met Hoffmann, and who was bound to make a very handsome Werther physically anyway (I have a soft spot for Vittorio, as you may have guessed). Well, he was handsome alright, though I hate that beard which makes him look like a younger, slimmer version of Pavarotti and got far too many closeups on his perfect teeth for my liking. Vocally he was quite satisfactory too, less over-the-top than he is wont to be, with exquisite messa di voce, delightful colouring and notable volume when needed. But on the acting side, I was perplexed. For one thing, Vittorio needs lessons to learn how to use his arms. His routine "arms straight along my sides", then "stretched forward pleadingly" and "hugging myself" gets tiring after a while. Perhaps because he is always batting his arms around and taking so much space on stage, I ended up finding his Werther almost dislikable. He was certainly self-centered to a fault, almost brutal, bullying DiDonato's delicate Charlotte into loving him back... of course, this aspect is part of the character, but I had never quite felt it so vividly. I only found him endearing at the end, when his apologetic, suddenly appeased death scene finally managed to touch my heart.
But the one who brought tears to my eyes was Joyce DiDonato's Charlotte. Although I initially had trouble with believing in her as a young girl in Act 1, I was totally convinced from Act 2 onwards. Her bright, vibrant voice managed to convey all the complexity of Charlotte's feelings, with superb belcanto coulouring and a classy French diction. And then I was blown away by her letters scene in Act 3. That was so intense, the cataclysm of Charlotte's turmoil flowing from her like lava from a volcano, the voice stretched to its limit, as if throwing all caution away... absolutely amazing. I want to hear that again, live next time!
So here you have it: it was just one of those evenings when you come to be moved by the tenor and end up moved by his leading lady. And hey, I love that!
Photos copyright ROH.
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