Werther: Drame Lyrique En Quatre Actes Et Cinq Tableaux (D'aprés Goethe)

by Jules Massenet, Paul Milliet, douard Blau

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Genres: Music

58 pages, Paperback

First published August 26, 1999

Reviews

[fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Massenet's most well recieved works and one I had only briefly encountered (a once listen on CD) without much knowledge of the plot. In preparation to seeing a production of it live at the Vienne State Opera (14.03.2025), I read the novel it was based on and fell utterly in love with young Werther.

Musically, I think the opera was a complete triumph (and perhaps this is not the right place to get into specifics but just know that the needed passion, specifically in the later acts which is crucial to the emotionality of the entire piece, was delivered not only by the actors but also musically by the score)

As an adaptation however...(and I may be reviewing this too close to finishing the novel)... I think it alters what Wether had with Charlotte to become something more sordid and dirty. It also makes what Werther and Albert shared overly simple... I don't know if it is just that the epistles are hard to adapt more faithfully or if it was Massanet's proclivity towards the more erotic (and he does it phenomenally well in Thais, Esclarmonde, and Manon) which I just felt was not exactly what I expected of Werther.