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To die for: Massenet's "Werther" at the Gärtnerplatztheater

2023-02-19T10:43:46.088Z


Some might call it conventional, but Massenet's “Werther” on Gärtnerplatz is the best old theatrical craftsmanship. A rightly acclaimed premiere.


Some might call it conventional, but Massenet's “Werther” on Gärtnerplatz is the best old theatrical craftsmanship.

A rightly acclaimed premiere.

Two guys, one woman – that's everyday life in the opera.

Sometimes they bring out battle guns, whether lance or voice, here they sit next to each other.

A debate, one thinks.

But then Albert takes the hand of love-stricken Werther, and one understands within seconds: That is no consolation, here the rightful husband is setting out his territory, very subtly, but all the more decisively.

There are many such mini moments in this premiere at the Gärtnerplatztheater.

For example, the performance aria of the title hero, who is being watched by Charlotte and her sister Sophie - double desire is immediately apparent.

And sometimes it's just the shirttail that Werther tucks back into his pants when he comes in from outside - who knows what he risked offscreen with Charlotte.

So nothing better can happen to Jules Massenet's Goethe opera when, like here, a hardened to sharp-eyed master sits in the director's chair.

Herbert Föttinger, director of Vienna's Josefstadt-Theater, has already understood from his own experience as an actor what the stage staff needs.

In any case, no scenic crutches, no cramped thought superstructure, but a deep understanding of the characters, which is revealed in every gesture, every turn of the body, in every look (

plot at the end of the article)

.

A deeply musical direction

Everyone here knows what they have to do, and yet these two and a half hours of opera are never character training.

You can call it conventional, but in truth it's the best old theatrical craftsmanship.

And also quite musical: the performances, sometimes they are just silent and as if commenting, take place at the perfect time of the score.

Emotions are precisely dosed.

The performance develops a precision, logic and stringency that doesn't let you lose your attention - especially since the directing team (also a rarity) shows aesthetic taste.

Föttinger, Walter Vogelweider (stage) and Alfred Mayerhofer (costumes) relocate the plot from Goethe's 1770s to the time when Massenet's opera was being written.

Even if things are still conservative in the cloakroom: around 1890 there was already a telephone, just like the one hanging in Werther's closet.

And once Charlotte wears wide trousers instead of a modest skirt.

The dawn of a self-determined woman manifests itself with reaching into the closet.

Even the very long death scene of Werther, which is usual in operas, does not become embarrassing.

This also has something to do with what happened in the ditch.

Anthony Bramall is standing there, and he doesn't feel like perfume.

The small cast of the Gärtnerplatzorchester does the rest: the sound is harsh, direct and unadorned, the phrases sound sharper.

Massenet's harshness becomes audible, less so that it sometimes needs something light and sweet, especially from the string section.

Lucky strike Gärtnerplatz ensemble

Traditionally, the roles at Gärtnerplatz are doubled.

And the fact that Munich's Volksoper has twice homemade stuff ready for such a tricky piece is remarkable in itself.

In the premiere, Lucian Krasznec as Werther discovered a new intimacy for himself.

He, who otherwise likes to be on the move with shirt-opening emotion, sings the sometimes tricky passages extremely tastefully, with an intelligently guided tenor.

And if necessary, he can easily level himself up to the heroic.

He meets Sophie Rennert, an unusually light-toned Charlotte, on an equal footing.

She has the fine mezzo cutlery ready for intimate passages, at the same time she can open her slender voice to expansive, relaxed drama.

The fact that Ilia Staple as Sophie effortlessly and stylistically exemplary is another stroke of luck.

Daniel Gutmann never gives Albert - in the spirit of Massenet/Goethe - with a flexible, virile baritone as a horned wretch.

The kiss with Charlotte indicates: There is not only love betrayal, but still genuine affection on both sides.

This, too, is an enigmatic direction, which (again old school) does not offer a single stage, but actually several rooms.

From the bailiff's painting room to the garden furniture arrangement in front of roller shutter walls to the salon with the almost floor-to-ceiling windows, the atmosphere exudes as if it were Ibsen or Chekhov set to music.

And not only opens up space for filigree play, but also for one's own brain: Does Werther's sheer egoism just disguise itself with sensitivity?

And does he not finally destroy the life of his beloved with deadly self-pity?

The audience cheers the performance like a starving collective.

What a miracle: on this evening the Gärtnerplatz (not only for Munich) is a small, saving music theater island.

The plot:

Werther falls in love with Charlotte, the magistrate's daughter.

She points out the oath she made to her dying mother: to marry Albert, her fiancé.

Months after Albert and Charlotte's wedding, the rivals come to terms.

But Werther can't get Charlotte out of his head.

Charlotte's sister Sophie has fallen in love with him.

Werther asks Albert for his pistol, which Albert has sent to him.

Charlotte finds the dying Werther.

She confesses her love for him. 

Source: merkur

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