Opera doesn’t come any more Romantic (with an uppercase R) than Massenet’s Werther; indeed the hero’s suicide is so textbook-tortured-poet-in-unrequited-love-situation that were the opera not so beautiful and the music so persuasive, we’d probably all be holding our sides from laughing. But on the contrary, it’s a very easy work to fall for–particularly if seen as a series of love duets and reactions, each becoming more desperate as the work progresses–if the singers in the two pivotal roles are alluring enough. On disc we’ve had Domingo, Carreras, Thill, Tagliavini, and Kraus as Werther, with memorable Charlottes such as de los Angeles, Vallin, von Stade, and others.
Now within a one-week period four other singers have thrown their hats into the ring: The Alagnas, and here, Ramon Vargas and Vessalina Kasarova. This set is marvelous and should be heard by anyone who loves this music. Kasarova’s Charlotte is the ideal picture of a woman keeping her cool in a situation beyond her control. Until the third act she reacts to Werther with absolute propriety–as she should; but when passion overcomes her, when she abandons herself to his near-hysterical love, emotion bursts forth volcanically. Hopelessness, angst, and profound sadness overtake her. This portrayal is ravishing, and so is (need I say it?) the singing. Vargas is a Werther of the delicate, Gedda-esque, Kraus-esque school, and his finely nuanced singing is a real treat. His diminuendo on the first A-sharp in “Pourquoi me reveiller?” is as emotionally apt as it is good to hear. Perhaps his voice and temperament are a bit light for the part, but I doubt we’ll hear the role sung with such elegance any time soon. Dawn Kotoski’s Sophie is suitably energetic and sympathetic, while Christopher Schildenbrand’s handsome baritone and fine bearing are almost too fine for Albert. I do wish the entire cast had been better schooled in French; in a work as wordy as this one, in which the definition of one’s feelings is paramount, I miss the precision that comes with true linguistic comfort.
Vladimir Jurowski leads the cast and Berlin forces with warmth while avoiding bathos, and RCA’s engineers have provided them with a realistic soundstage that never blares, even when the situation threatens to. I heartily recommend this set, and if Vargas doesn’t quite make us forget Kraus and Tagliavini, he most certainly makes us feel for poor Werther and his endless sorrows.
