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Massenet – Werther (baritone version)
Tassis Christoyannis (Werther), Véronique Gens (Charlotte), Hélène Carpentier (Sophie), Thomas Dolié (Albert), Matthieu Lécroart (Le Bailli), Artavazd Sargsyan (Schmidt), Laurent Deleuil (Johann/Brühlmann); Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Children’s Choir of the Zoltán Kodály Hungarian Choir School, György Vashegyi, conductor
Bru Zane, 2024
This new Werther continues Bru Zane’s estimable series of French opera recordings, complete with elaborate hardcover book filled with extensive scholarly essays. Massenet himself approved a baritone version of his famous tenor showcase at the request of the great Italian baritone Mattia Battistini, but no autograph of the alternate score exists.
Since its premiere 130 years ago, the title character’s arias have been among the most popular, most recorded tenor showpieces in the operatic canon. Hearing arias like “Pourquoi me réveiller” sung by Greek lyric baritone Tassis Christoyannis can, therefore, take some adjustment. Some might miss the visceral thrill of a José Carreras or Jonas Kaufmann banging out glorious high notes. The entire raison d’être of this recording, however, is to focus on the text which Christoyannis delivers with consummate artistry. Best known for his performances of French mélodies (he has recorded the complete works of Reynaldo Hahn), the Greek baritone relies on voix mixte to subtly convey the poet’s lovelorn, ultimately tragic, persona.
In another unusual bit of casting, French soprano Véronique Gens takes on the mezzo-soprano role of Charlotte, the reluctant (and married) object of Werther’s affections. A legendary exponent of the French repertoire for three decades, Gens sings with her customary taste and artistry, albeit with tone that has loosened over the years.
As her husband Albert, baritone Thomas Dolié conveys the character’s steadfast, bourgeois underpinnings. As Charlotte’s sister Sophie, lyric soprano Hélène Carpentier (Juliette at the 2023 Festival d’opéra de Québec) is cast in a role traditionally sung by a much lighter voice. The CD book states this was purposeful to grant the character more maturity, but Carpentier and Gens’s sounds are so similarly dark, it can be difficult to tell them apart in duet.
Canadian baritone Laurent Deleuil takes on Johann, imbuing the chatty, clownish role with clear verbal point. The Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, under György Vashegyi, mines the drama in orchestral interludes like Act 4’s “La nuit de Noël,” its sound strikingly caught in the warm acoustic of Budapest’s Müpa auditorium during live performances in 2023.
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