Jules Massenet
Werther

Considering the historical period of the mid-late 1800s, it becomes evident that French opera, orphaned by Giacomo Meyerbeer, did not find a new "leader" capable of building on the opulent yet solid foundations left by the latter, matching up with the likes of Verdi and Wagner. Georges Bizet passed away too soon, Saint-Saens never really broke through as an opera composer aside from Samson et Dalila, and for other brilliant, innovative composers, opera was not their primary focus; thus, we have to "settle" for Jules Massenet. And it's quite a fine settlement, believe me: a master craftsman of melodies, gentle and soft, also very eclectic in the settings and themes of his works; he had the merit of preserving the intrinsic character of French opera, without ever slavishly imitating the Italian and German models. Most will tell you that his masterpiece is Manon from 1884; I disagree: although it's rich with enchanting moments and has an absolutely splendid leading role, I find Manon a bit too scattered and "dampened" by a few excesses of affectation that don't fully do justice to the tragic aspect of the story; in my opinion, Werther and Thaïs are significantly superior.

Let us start with Werther, a wonderful and moving opera; despite following Manon closely in time, the formal modernization is quite evident: there are no traces left of the embellishments from Grand Opera that were still present in Massenet's first big success, compared to which Werther is very fluid, not at all episodic, and perfectly balanced in its dual lyrical and dramatic nature, ideally encapsulated in the protagonist's role. Listening to Werther, it immediately becomes clear the enormous influence of this composer on some of his younger Italian contemporaries, Cilea and especially Puccini; the latter, personally, I consider much closer to Massenet than to Verdi, both in style and "magnitude." However, returning to Werther, we are at the end of the 19th century, a period in which, in opera, the distinction between arias and recitatives becomes much more blurred, and composers seek a musical flow as continuous as possible; Werther is no exception but stands out for its particular structure, clearly divided into two halves.

The first two acts are fundamentally a sweet idyll, with melodiousness and singability that characterize even the "recitatives," down to the shortest exchanges between characters and, also because the story takes place in a rural town, it reminds me, very much, but very closely of L'Amico Fritz by Mascagni, presented just a year earlier. However, there is Werther, the protagonist, a very fragile character and a very lyrical but immensely intense role, and for this, I consider him a sort of male counterpart to Cio-Cio San; the longer solo passages in the first two acts are all his, and gradually transform the idyll into something more emotionally charged. However, despite the existing premises for tragedy, the third and fourth acts are quite distinct from the previous ones, with orchestration much more supported by brass instead of strings and especially with the profound change of the character Charlotte, who increasingly identifies with Werther, both emotionally and vocally intensely. The tormented and painful confrontation between the two protagonists, culminating in the poignant aria "Pourquoi me reveiller", is a moment of absolute dramatic pathos; and equally touching is the final act, which, in terms of dramatic conception, ideally returns to Tristan und Isolde, with love being fully and mutually expressed only in death. And the fact that it is Werther who commits the love suicide, a typically female prerogative in opera, is probably the true reason why this opera, completed in 1887, aroused significant reluctance among theater impresarios of the time and had to wait until 1892 for its premiere.

The orchestral preludes of the first and last act are stunning, perfectly summarizing the two different dramatic and musical moments of the opera, as do all of Werther's "arias," "O nature, pleine de grace", "Un autre est son epoux", and "Lorsque l'enfant revient d'un voyage", which encompass all the facets of this complex, poetic, and touching character. Highly recommended and easily available is the 1969 edition with Nicolai Gedda and Victoria de los Angeles, magnificent protagonists and performers of great emotional intensity, voices perfectly lyrical for such an opera, tragic but poetic, balanced, without affectation and cloying; a masterpiece by an excellent craftsman.