Werther

Bringing to life one of Massenet’s finest works, this new production of Werther is testament to the destructive power of obsessive love. Set at the start of the 20th century and steeped in the folklore of rural life, director Pia Furtado’s production is an intimate study of the unraveling of one man’s hopes and dreams.

Werther has escaped the city to concentrate on developing his painting. He finds himself in a rural idyll that offers all the inspiration he could ever desire, including a perfect muse in local beauty Charlotte. But she is promised to another, a man who seems to be everything Werther is not. As Werther’s infatuation grows, he is driven to ask himself the ultimate question: what is life without her? Read more …

Touching, emotional and heartbreakingly sad, this tragic tale of forbidden love features an orchestration that is rich and sonorous but captures the quirks and foibles of each of the characters perfectly – from Charlotte’s tortured conflict to Werther’s unstable passion and increasing hysteria. Hungarian mezzo Viktoria Vizin, renowned the world over for her Carmen, sings Charlotte, and acclaimed American tenor Jonathan Boyd is Werther. The cast also includes Scottish Opera favourites Roland Wood, Jonathan Best, Harry Nicoll and Jonathan May.