Performed on October 20, 23, 25 and 27, 2018
Massenet’s Werther
Happening in the 1780s, the scene opens with Christmas carols sung by the children of the Bailli of Wetzlar in the middle of July and concludes on Christmas Eve. Since the death of their mother, the eldest, Charlotte, has been in charge of her siblings. Moved by this idyllic scene and the goodness of the young girl, the poet Werther becomes in love with her: yet, she promised her dying mother to unite with Albert and cannot renounce her promise. Werther is burdened with sorrow. Shaken by the young man’s despair, Charlotte rereads the letters Werther sent her and realizes that she loves him in return. Caught in a sudden premonition, she goes in search of him and finds him fatally wounded. She confesses her love to him and he dies in her arms while the Christmas carols sound in the distance.
Original French version with French surtitles.
