Jules Massenet, Werther

Opera

Jules Massenet

Werther

Conductor: Ilias Voudouris
Director: Spyros A. Evangelatos
Sets – Costumes: Yorgos Patsas

PREMIERE 11 APRIL 2014
11, 12, 13, 26, 27, 30 April 2014
2, 3 May 2014

Olympia Theatre
Performances begin at 20.00

One of the most popular operas of the French repertory, Werther by Jules Massenet returns to the Greek National Opera after 30 years. The opera was written about a century after the epistolary novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, The Sorrows of Young Werther, on which it is based. Massenet masterfully evokes the poetic nature of the idealist Werther and of Charlotte, a young woman trapped by social convention. Like Goethe’s Faust (which gained widespread recognition mainly after Gounod’s adaptation for the opera), Werther captured the hearts and minds of the public after being set to music by the French composer. Massenet’s opera was hugely successful; it was translated into numerous languages and had a widespread impact, influencing everything from the ethos to the fashions of the time. The operatic version of Werther follows its own rules, with essential departures from the original text. While maintaining the theme of challenging prevalent conventions, it puts aside Goethe’s philosophical quandaries. The story of the star-crossed lovers described by Goethe inspired the French composer to pen a score of great lyricism and rare tenderness, with grand dramatic outbursts.
The production is directed by acclaimed theatre director and President of the Athens Academy Spyros A. Evangelatos.