Opera! Werther

Its that time again!  Opera!  This time it was a Tragic Romance from the 1890s called Werther.

Tragic romance opera?  Yeah. if this is spoiling anything, you don't know opera very well.

 
 

So…Here’s the good—as an opera, the music is perfect—the best, probably that I’ve seen.  The set and costumes and casting choices are spot on perfect. 

Seriously folks—the dude who played Werther was wonderful.  He has a clear operatic tenor, perfect for the pathos of the production.  I may be biased, because I love tenors.  I cried from the sound of his voice in several parts, even if I thought what he was saying was ridiculous.

But…well, lets talk about the plot.

See, the plot of Werther is this: 

Werther, a “cousin” (by Victorian and earlier standards—so related, somewhat distantly and totally marriage fodder, ok, y’all?) stops by Charlotte’s house for a party. 

Charlotte is a young woman coming into marriageable age who has taken over the “mother” role for her younger siblings after her mother died.  Werther sees Charlotte interacting with her sibs, and falls for her natural beauty and grace.  They go to the party, Werther offering her his arm. 

Werther is in love, and it is implied that Charlotte is also in love with him—but her mother, before her death, asked her to marry Albert.  And for Charlotte, that is the end of it.  No matter what her heart wants, a “promise must be kept.”

So she goes home, Werther leaves, and that’s that.  The first scene is finished.

When next we see Werther—he is going to the 25^th wedding anniversary of the local priest.  Where he runs into a newly married Charlotte and her husband Albert.  They are content, though it is obvious that Charlotte still carries a bit of a torch for Werther—but is generally happy in her marriage.

Albert rubs Werther’s nose in it a bit, because he’s an asshole, but the big part of this is that Werther knows that there is no hope for him and Charlotte—which drops him into a deep depression.  And when he catches Charlotte alone, he begs her (on the floor, rolling around in his angst, clutching her skirts…yeah) to kiss him, to tell him she loves him, to run away with him.

ANGST! 

But Charlotte is resolute, and tells him in no uncertain terms that she is married to Albert, and that is that.  She begs him to leave her alone for now, but that she’d like to see him over Christmas. She clearly Likes him, but doesn’t really Like Like him.  At least, she not willing throw over her family for a guy she hardly knows, even if she does Like him.

This is where Werther moves from a nice, if tragic, opera and moves into unintentional humor, and made my notes start going “what? Werther, no.  Werther, NO.  Bad Werther! No means no, Werther!  Werther—what, what, what are you doing?”

All of this could have been avoided if Werther had a Sassy Gay Friend.  If you are confused GOOGLE THIS RIGHT NOW.  RIGHT NOW. GO ON, I'LL WAIT.

Werther becomes that guy.  You know.  The one that threatens to kill himself if you don’t go on a date with him.  Who won’t take no, for whatever reason, for an answer.  Who thinks that his happiness trumps yours.  Who is willing to guilt/threaten/force the girl-who (admittedly) likes him- into more than she is comfortable with.

I’ve had that guy as a stalker.  Not fun.  Not attractive.  BAD MEMORIES.

No, Werther, No. Werther, NO.  NO.

So.  Christmas.  Werther has spent the last several months writing Charlotte increasingly deranged love letters—he tells her he’s going to kill himself, he tells her he can’t live without her.  Charlotte—as I said, she likes this guy, but she can’t and won’t love him the way he feels she should—so she feels guilty and at fault.

If that last sentence made you dislike Werther—congrats.  You are a decent human being.  If you don’t see the problem…uh.  I can’t help ya there.  Go find someone patient to explain it to you.

She likes Werther and feels for the guy—but she has a small breakdown as she realizes that there is a good chance that he’s dead because it is Christmas and he hasn’t shown up—and the last letter she got was a couple of weeks ago.

She's not happy.  Its a sucky situation to be in.

Then he shows up.  And he does more of the threatening/guilting thing.  Then he chases her around her house, grabbing her and holding her and totally not listening to her telling him how much this is NOT OK.

She gets him to leave again, gives him the kiss he’s wanted, and he disappears into the night, still being the angst-muffin, and still not satisfied.

And then Albert (remember him?) comes in. 

This is Albert.  He is a giant douche.

 And he saw Werther in the town.  And was asked by Werther to borrow Charlotte’s father’s pistols “for a long journey”.  Lets be clear here.  Nobody is fooled.  Albert knows what Werther is going to do with these.  Charlotte knows too.  Charlotte refuses, but Albert, as her husband (and remember, this is a Victorian Opera, so he’s sort of God of the House), tells her to give the messenger that accompanied him in the pistols, and basically forces her to hand over the guns with her own two hands.  Albert is a dick, ok, ya’ll?

As soon as the messenger leaves (and her husband, assholery achieved, goes off stage), Charlotte chases after the messenger, obviously going off to try and stop Werther’s suicide.

This is an Opera, and a tragic one, and so you know what’s going to happen here.  There is a beautiful (soooooo beautiful) duet that needs to happen as Werther dies, at length, in Charlotte’s arms.

Yup.  Right where we expected.  Opera folks die so pretty.

So.  Good Opera, on the whole.  The music and the actors, and the sets and the costumes—if that is what you are looking for in an Opera, go see this one.  Its just…that…the plot.  Bad Plot. Stop making these wonderful opera singers look silly in their pain.

Historical Context Time!

This Opera was first performed in 1892, written in 1887.  Arranged marriages were still the norm (especially for the crowd that could afford to go to the opera, and the possibility of an arranged marriage going bad was a real fear, and a real problem.  Apparently, there was a small rash of suicides from young men and women in similar situations after seeing this opera when it was first performed.

The rising ideal of love over everything, a key in the rise of the bohemian life-style, and the decline of arranged marriages put this play firmly in the middle of the movement--and explains why it was so well received.

Werther is obsessed with the idea and ideal of love, and because of that ideal willingly gives up his wealth to love in poverty, and he kills himself for his love without regard for the afterlife, living in the moment.  This Opera came out of France, during the height of the movement, and it’s pretty clear.  “Leibe oder Tod”  (Love over death) is scrawled on the back of the final set, and Werther dies in Charlotte’s arms, with a spotlight both on them and the word “liebe” on the wall.

Its running through Feb 5th.  Go see it if you can--if you want, you can see it tonight (sorry for the short notice!) for $20*! 

*Limit up to 4 seats regularly priced $50-110 for the Tuesday, 1/31 performance only. Online: Enter blog20 and click “Add Coupon”. You will see your savings applied. Do not complete order if coupon does not load. Service charges and other restrictions may apply. Offer ends January 31, 2012. For additional information call the Ticket Office at 612-333-6669, M-F, 9am-6pm.