Werther Is March 4, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The March 4, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Werther, an opera of impossible love by French Romantic composer Jules Massenet.

The impossible love drama of Werther (Vittorio Grigolo) and Charlotte (Isabel Leonard) unfolds in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's staging of Massenet's Werther: The Metropolitan Opera @metopera, via Instagram Feb. 27, 2017

Werther, a four-act opera concerning impossible love by French Romantic composer Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (May 12, 1842-Aug. 13, 1912), is the March 4, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

French dramatist and librettist Édouard Blau (May 30, 1836-Jan. 7, 1906), French librettist and playwright Paul Milliet (Feb. 14, 1848-Nov. 21, 1924) and French dramatist and librettist Georges Hartmann (May 15, 1843-April 22, 1900) collaborated on the French libretto. The literary source of the libretto is Die Leiden des jungen Werthers (“The Sorrows of Young Werther”) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Aug. 28, 1749-March 22, 1832). The semi-autobiographical novel, written in German, is considered an exemplar of the Sturm und Drang (“Storm and Stress”) period of proto-Romanticism in German literature.

Werther’s launch onto the operatic stage featured two world premieres. The first premiere was in a special German translation by German music critic and translator Max Kalbeck (Jan. 4, 1850-May 4, 1921). The premiere of the original French libretto happened 10 months later.

The German-language world premiere of Werther took place Feb. 16, 1892. The venue was Wiener Hofoper (Vienna Court Opera), now known as Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera). Czech architect and contractor Josef Hlávka (Feb. 15, 1831-March 11, 1908) built the Neo-Renaissance style opera house. Wiener Hofoper’s inauguration happened May 25, 1869.

The French-language premiere took place Dec. 27, 1892. The venue was Grand Théâtre de Genève in Geneva, southwestern Switzerland. Swiss architect Jacques-Élysée Goss (April 23, 1839-Dec. 8, 1921) found inspiration in Paris’s Palais Garnier, also known as Opéra Garnier, in his design of Geneva’s Second Empire style opera house.

Massenet set his opera in the late 18th century near Frankfurt and Wetzlar in west central Germany. This season’s Metropolitan Opera production fast forwards the time, by about a century, to Massenet’s lifetime.

The Saturday matinee broadcast of Werther begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time). The estimated run time for the performance is about 2 hours 54 minutes.

The opera, sung in the original French, comprises four acts and one intermission. Acts I and II are timed for 78 minutes. A 36-minute intermission succeeds Act II.

Acts III and IV are timed for 60 minutes. The opera ends with Act IV’s final notes.

Edward Gardner conducts all of the Metropolitan Opera’s performances of Werther. His birthplace is Gloucester, Gloucestershire, South West England. The English conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2010 production of Carmen by Georges Bizet (Oct. 25, 1838-June 3, 1875).

Vittorio Grigolo appears in the title role of Werther. He was born in Arezzo, Tuscany, north central Italy. The Italian operatic tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2010 as Rodolfo in La Bohème by Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini (Dec. 22, 1858-Nov. 29, 1924). This season Vittorio Grigolo shares the role of Werther with French operatic tenor Jean-François Borras. During the Met’s 2016-2017 season, Vittorio Grigolo also appears as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette by Charles-François Gounod (June 17, 1818-Oct. 18, 1893).

Isabel Leonard appears as Charlotte, Werther’s impossible love. Her birthplace is New York, New York. The American operatic mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2007 as Stéphano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. This season Isabel Leonard shares the role of Charlotte with Italian operatic mezzo-soprano Veronica Simeoni. Isabel Leonard also appears during the 2016-2017 season as Zerlina in Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

David Bizic reprises his Metropolitan debut role of Albert, Charlotte’s betrothed, in all performances of Werther. He was born in Belgrade, Serbia. The Serbian operatic baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2014. This season David Bizic also performs as Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème.

Maurizio Muraro appears as Le Bailli, Charlotte’s father, in all performances of Werther. His birthplace is Como, Lombardy, northwestern Italy. The Italian operatic bass-baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005 as Dr. Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791). Maurizio Muraro reprises his debut role for the Metropolitan’s 2016-2017 seasonal production of Le Nozze di Figaro.

Operabase, an online database, places Jules Massenet at number 20 in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Werther places at 55 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Werther holds place 67, with 81 performances, for the period from first Met performance, March 29, 1894, to last performance, March 15, 2014. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

The takeaway for Werther as the March 4, 2017, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is the compelling tragedy of a rebellious poet’s convention-defying, fatal attraction.

Massenet's Werther airs as the March 4, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: James Libby @blithespiritny, via Twitter Feb. 17, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The impossible love drama of Werther (Vittorio Grigolo) and Charlotte (Isabel Leonard) unfolds in the 2016-2017 Met Opera season's staging of Massenet's Werther: The Metropolitan Opera @metopera, via Instagram Feb. 27, 2017, @ https://www.instagram.com/p/BRCCia9gBdJ/

Massenet's Werther airs as the March 4, 2017, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: James Libby @blithespiritny, via Twitter Feb. 17, 2017, @ https://twitter.com/blithespiritny/status/832605179061100544

For further information:

Bouvier, Sébastien; Opéra de Lille. “Dossier Pédagogique Werther Jules Massenet.” Opéra de Lille > Saison 2005-2006.
Available @ https://www.opera-lille.fr/fichier/o_media/9197/media_fichier_fr_dp.werther.pdf

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

James Libby ‏@blithespiritny. "Vittorio Grigolo catching the bouquet in Werther w/Isabelle Leonard at the Met." Twitter. Feb. 17, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/blithespiritny/status/832605179061100544

Massenet, Jules. “Werther.” Oper - Operette - Musical > Libretto.
Available @ http://www.operone.de/libretto/masswefr.html

Meet Me At The Opera‏ @MMATOpera. "Plans tonigh [sic] in #NewYork? Werther at #MetOpera! Staring Vittorio Grigolo." Twitter. Feb. 15, 2017.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MMATOpera/status/832125417331032064

Metropolitan Opera. "Werther at the Metropolitan Opera." YouTube. Feb. 28, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnFiIhk5kts
Metropolitan Opera. “Werther: Charlotte’s Letter Scene.” YouTube. Feb. 14, 2017.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWYA-5iWbs

The Metropolitan Opera @metopera. "'Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead.' - @adele Have you watched our Werther lyric-along on Snapchat today? username: metopera Massenet's Werther is on stage tonight starring @vittorio_grigolo and @isabelleonardny." Instagram. Feb. 27, 2017.
Available @ https://www.instagram.com/p/BRCCia9gBdJ/

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml