Cork contingent to the fore in Irish National Opera's production of Werther
Werther director Sophie Motley and soprano Niamh O’Sullivan.
It is the year of the French for Irish National Opera. Following on from the production of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell, the spring touring production presents Jules Massenet’s opera, Werther.
Scratch the surface of Massenet’s 19th century morbid hit and its German provenance is revealed. The libretto is based on Goethe’s first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther. It seems surprising that the scandal-ridden bestseller published in 1774 wasn’t pounced on by the German operatic brigade with their penchant for overwrought Romantic plots. The text based on Goethe’s own experience of unrequited love, did not get an operatic makeover until more than a century after its publication.
The French composer Massenet finally took it on although the director of the Opera Comique declined his original French version describing it as too dismal. (In fact, the premiere was given in Vienna not in the original French but in a German translation.) This production comes with a trigger warning of the adult themes specifically that of suicide.
Director Sophie Motley explains why German composers may have been slow to pick up the risky text. “Werther’s love that leads to his suicide is so overpowering. It was the beginning of a wave of Romanticism that swept across Europe and led to young men taking their own lives in response to reading the book.”
Motley draws a parallel with the hysteria that followed when the British pop group Take That split up in the 1990s, leading the UK government to set up helplines to ease the trauma of a nation of bereft teenagers.
Originally set in the small town of Wetzlar in Germany at the end of the 18th century, Motley and designer Sarah Bacon set this production in rural Ireland during the 1950s, specifically during the period of rural electrification. The rural setting is one that Motley identifies with having grown up in Shropshire.
“Werther is a poet in a rural society who doesn’t fit in, and I understand that. I am interested in the necessity of the performance of masculinity in rural communities. There is an interesting scene where Albert who is married to Charlotte takes Werther aside and says ‘I know you met her before she was married. Are you ok my friend? I am worried about you. It is a very caring moment between the two men.”
On the decision to set the production in 1950s Ireland, Motley says it made perfect sense. “The ESB were travelling around the country building power lines and the rural space changed completely with the advent of electric light,” says Motley. “Crucially, the role of women in the home changed. It feels like a point in time which is very set and present but creates space for a story that is universal. Charlotte is in a space where she has to make a difficult choice but the idea of unrequited love and being in the wrong relationship feels very contemporary.”
An extensive ten-venue tour beginning in Donegal demonstrates the company’s commitment to tour to all corners around the country. The orchestration has been rearranged to suit a 12-piece chamber orchestra more suitable for medium sized venues. There will no doubt be a homecoming spirit when the tour stops off at the Everyman Theatre in Cork where Motley has been artistic director since March 2021.
The leading role of Charlotte is sung by Cork native Niamh O’Sullivan, who began her operatic career on Leeside stages before departing for European stages.
Werther is also a great vehicle for a star tenor. Recent international productions featuring high profile performers such as Rolando Villazon and Jonas Kaufmann have speeded its revival in major houses. For this production, INO have secured the Italian tenor, Paride Cataldo, fresh from a first prize win at the prestigious Verdi Singing Competition. To have a such a young singer tackle such a major role is a big plus for Motley.
“Paride is astonishing,” says Motley. “Philipp [Pointner], our conductor, says he sounds like a young Pavarotti. The leading roles are incredibly difficult to sing but it was important to us in casting the opera that we didn’t have two leading singers in their 40s. Niamh and Paride are both young singers but have the vocal ability to carry the roles.”
- Werther is at the Everyman in Cork on Saturday, May 6, as well as Waterford, Limerick and Ennis, Kilkenny, Navan, Dundalk, Galway, Dun Laoghaire. See https://www.irishnationalopera.ie
