Werther

WertherJules MassenetOpéra BastilleDuration: 2h50 with 1 intermissionLanguage: French Surtitles: French / English“Werther caused more suicides than the most beautiful woman in the world,” wrote Mme de Staël.

Indeed, Goethe’s first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, published in 1774, was a literary and aesthetic shock for an entire generation, foreshadowing Romanticism.

Composed a century later, at the end of the 19th century, Jules Massenet’s opera is inspired by the novel and dissects the feeling of love. ”. A pinnacle of French opera, the work returns to the Opéra national de Paris in a new production.

Wishing to restore the epistolary form of Goethe’s novel to its rightful place, Robert Carsen places literature at the centre of his staging by setting the action in an immense library.

Nathalie Stutzmann Musical directionRobert Carsen Stage direction BenjaminBernheim Werther (Feb 11 > 20)Léo Vermot-Desroches Werther Aigul Akhmetshina Charlotte Gordon Bintner Albert Sandra Hamaoui Sophie (Feb 11 > Mar 2) Johanna Wallroth Sophie (Mar 6 > 12) Laurent Naouri Le Bailli Christophe Mortagne Schmidt