Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther is one of the lynchpins of the Romantic movement. Werther loves Charlotte, and Charlotte loves Werther. But she promised her mother she would marry Albert! There is only one thing worse than unrequited love, and that is requited but impossible love. So Werther kills himself. In normal circumstances you would just give these people a hard slap, but Massenet’s music is so ravishing you have to go for the ride.It was exciting to be at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden on Thursday night. I had been there earlier in the week for a few hours’ work in the archives, but that was backstage, which is not as glamorous as you might think. The thrill when I walked up the stairs and saw that proscenium…
What made it all the more exciting was the buzz. This wasn’t just another opening night; it was an opening night with Rolando Villazon, superstar tenor, beloved of millions for his gorgeous voice, his sense of humour, his crazy hair, and his Mr Bean eyebrows.
Rolando Villazon is a beautiful singer, but a bad one. He produces beautiful sounds, full of expression. But he produces them in a bad way, riding his throat rather than supporting the breath from the abdomen. You can get away with it for a while, but eventually it affects your voice: the top notes get harder, and polyps form on your vocal cords. The damage happens quicker if you sing roles too demanding for your voice. Rolando has been doing just that; the voice started getting unreliable, and he had to take a long time off singing. His path back to the stage has been unsteady. So spending a large amount of cash on fourth row centre tickets could have been a disaster, and the ability to say ‘we were there when Villazon’s career went down the toilet’ wouldn’t have been much of a consolation.
But Werther is a role that suits Villazon’s voice. At his first appearance there was a little hoarseness when the notes weren’t well-supported, but as the night went this became rarer. He always took care, he didn’t force, and we were given one beautiful phrase after another. The big aria ‘Pourquoi me reveiller’ was brilliant, with no strain, only passion.
I can understand why Werther fell in love with Sophie Koch (Charlotte), I did it a long time ago. Her tone is clear, her looks are radiant, and she’s a good actor. The letter aria was exciting, and the scenes between the two thwarted lovers had a chemistry that added to their intensity.
Antonio Pappano, one of the best opera conductors today, guided the orchestra and singers with his usual skill and understanding. We were pleased to see that he was conducting in his characteristic manner: chewing away in time with the music. That’s one of the advantages of a fourth role seat.
The production was unconventional: it was set in the time specified in the text. Nice change.
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