Encore Werther, toujours Jonas Kaufmann

JonasKaufmann.© Opéra national de Paris/ Elisa Haberer

Werther, 23 January 2010

After the last one on this subject you might have thought all was said, or that I was going to quickly run out of adjectives. No, all is not said and not running out of adjectives, just yet :-)

But you will be relieved I’ve come back from seconds without emptying another box of Kleenex. That particular feeling of hearing this music live for the first time cannot possibly be repeated; whatever comes next is and will always be different. I The main shift I guess was that the focus for me moved last night from the story to the music. It doesn’t mean that I didn’t hear the music first time around, but things become clearer, shine through more intensely when a bit of times passes and when you actually know exactly what will happen next. I could basically take almost a mental step back and instead of hanging on every word, rather hang on every phrase, on every line, every wave of music. Which does by no means want to say that the experience was less touching, or that Werther rushing head on into death does not break your heart all over again.


It just means that the impact of the unexpected changed into the excitement of expectation.

I am not going to say I wouldn’t wish to see all the remaining performances, of course I do! As did half the hall each of the two times I have been. It is impossible to not want to relive something so amazing again and again. But, this is all about being really grateful for having been there! About joy, not about regrets :-)

And if nobody could have believed it could get any better, well the other night it did. Jonas Kaufmann was clearly feeling much better and to everyone’s amazement he managed to even outdo himself. It is an altogether different experience to hear him not only in control of body and voice, but actually free to let go of both and let the voice expand or float or trickle down without ever touching any limits. And in presence as well he won that extra touch of energy, of flexibility and drive, that glues your eyes and attention on him whenever he is on stage. His Werther became a touch more desperate, emotionally volatile while at the same time the voice was even more secure, warmer, sweeter in the piani and more brilliant and luminous at the top. The effect was truly mesmerising and it felt almost surreal to sit there and listen. Sophie Koch, Ludovic Tezier and Anne-Catherine Gillet also were even better than before. This performance was filmed, as you would expect as it is usual for broadcast and hopefully later DVD to be done from several recordings. I haven’t heard Tezier many times live but my jaw did drop slightly when he came on stage this time. Not only can he act. But he does it very very well! And that rich voice soars with amazing effect once he decides it should. It made me ask myself why he wouldn’t do that the first time around? He shaped Albert into an altogether different character, more engaged and yes, at the end more intent on his decision. He was intimidating menacing pushing the box of pistols with a decided gesture towards Charlotte. It was a pleasure to see him become so easily and naturally an equal part of this powerful trio. And the more I hear Sophie Koch the more I like her singing. Because she is one of those artists who makes you forget the notes she is singing, but makes you tremble with the intensity of her interpretation.

It’s such an obvious thing to say : ”Rêve! Extase! Bonheur!” But it truly was! And it could not have been bestowed on a more grateful and rapt audience. Very very few coughs and mostly breaths held, Nobody would have even dreamt of interrupting the flow of music with applause. It would have been almost out of place. But just imagine the explosion at the end! I’ve never ever heard such shouts at the end of a performance. The two men sitting behind and next to me left my ears ringing! But none of us could have stopped ourselves! It was a physical impossibility to express through shouts of Bravo and applause what we had received from all these wonderful artists on the night! I know what I must be sounding like (and all I had the whole day was water ;-))) but I swear if years and years of listening to music teach you something, it is to recognise a once in a lifetime evening when I happens. There are no words to describe the feeling, in spite of suicide and sad story, all I could feel was glory!


I can’t even begin to say how beautiful this music really is! I don’t think there is a note amiss, everything is carefully thought of, perfectly coordinated and tuned finely to obtain exactly the desired effect. There is a wonderful video of Mr Plasson on the Opera de Paris website who explains it just marvellously! I was indeed surprised at how easily I could remember almost the entire text and that is not something I tend to do easily, quite the contrary, but this comes absolutely naturally. Now this a composer and an opera which knows how to deliver punch lines! It is indeed all about accents and about lighting flames here and there, perfect musical spotlights on just the right word to make you smile, frown, hold your breath or sigh in pain.
And then there are the musical passages which introduce the scenes and set the mood, from the very beginning you feel the music changing from light, playful to melancholic and ethereal. Take for instance the introduction to Werther’s entrance in the 1act, you are still smiling at the children when the music suddenly becomes something quite different, a gentle tension, a “frisson” almost and then of course you see Werther. And before he even opens his lips to sing you know what he is all about, because the music tells it so clearly and convincingly! And this music accompanies him all the way through to the end. And Massenet liked to repeat words with different shading to great effect.

So Werther appears and there we go : o nature! And from the sweetness in his voice when he says it you know that is his heaven, his refuge. And then how the music soars every time on “soleil”, “rayon”, “lumière”…..

Then there is Charlotte’s music, starting off light and almost playful and becoming increasingly dramatic, just as Albert’s , while Werther’s gets increasingly passionate, grand, sweeping you away.

I have to say this time I was almost holding my breath for Werther’s first “Charlotte!!!” There is so much musicality in just that one name, as is indeed in “Werther” . You can’t just take the words very literally because they will become exaggerated. I mean just think of what comes out of Werther most of the time, he’s constant ecstasy, pain, it is all over the top… But, if you take the music step by step and just take each aria , even line, as it comes and listen and feel it rather than thinking about it , it speaks to you in a special way.

For instance, don’t you feel the caress when Werther sings softly : “Calmé par ses regards et bercé par sa voix! ”? And the way the music explodes in” Charlotte! je vous aime...
je vous aime... et je vous admire! ” It is so definitive, so absolute, you know there is no going back from there.

Then there is the calm, enveloping love that Albert expresses in: “Trois mois! Voici trois mois que nous somme unis! Ils ont passé bien vite... et pourtant il me semble que nous avons vécu toujours ensemble! » You really feel his inner peace in his toujours ensemble… ” and the” et j'ai l'âme ravie!” An the calmness of the music is such contrast to the explosions in Werther’s. And there is perfect connection between Werther’s “Un autre! son époux! ” ?(sung by JK in front of the curtain at the end of the first act) to Albert’s sombre “Il l'aime! ” And in this one word you feel Albert’s change of heart regarding Werther as well, there is no friendship left.

Strangely enough “Pourquoi me réveiller” is not my favourite part of the opera, I already like “Je ne sais si je veille..” better, but outside the last act, which is perfect in itself I think I like the 2nd act best in terms of Werther’s music. There is nothing quite like the exaltation of “J'aurais sur ma poitrine”, especially when you hear it sung in a way that makes you forget it’s difficulties. But my absolute favourite starts with Werther’s apparently resigned “..et ce sera ma part de bonheur sur la terre.”, interrupted by the joyous, bell like chant of happiness brought in by Sophie “Le bonheur est dans l'air! Tout le monde est heureux! ” There couldn’t be a more painful clash between her light and unpreoccupied joy and Werther’s dark despair, and later on Charlotte’s in the 3rd act.

Massenet gave Sophie the perfect music I think! And Gillet is the perfect voice for it, you hear laughter and birds chirping in her voice when she sings “Ah! le rire est béni, joyeux, léger, sonore! (léger) Il a des ailes, c'est un oiseau... ”

But the absolute highlight the other night was Werther/Jonas alone on stage singing :” Oui! ce qu'elle m'ordonne... ” From the softest imaginable beginning to the soul shattering “Père! Père! Père, que je ne connais pas, en qui pourtant j'ai foi, parle à mon coeur, appelle-moi! Appelle-moi! “ (Again the repeated words in different shading each time). It was mind-blowing!!! I don’t think anyone dared to breath until the end… It felt as if the words were literally slicing through his heart and yours as well…

And it was Sopie Koch’s time to dazzle! I find it amazing what she can achieve in 3 arias who follow each other closely. Her “...tu frémiras! tu frémiras! ” were incredibly dark and frightful! (Never mind that I find the idea of that particular letter unbelievably cruel from Werther! Who would ever write such a letter to someone they love????) And the intense way Sophie Koch sings it at that particular moment it leave almost no room to forgive Werther for writing it. The she gently follow with the teararia on a similar tone, just much sadder “le coeur se creuse... et s'affaiblit: il est trop grand, rien ne l'emplit; et trop fragile, tout le brise! Tout le brise! ” The desperate embrance with Gillete’s Sophie makes you fight back tears each time. And by the time Koch has reached the end of her «O Dieu bon! Dieu fort! ô Dieu bon! En toi seul j'espère! Seigneur Dieu! Seigneur Dieu! “ all I can do is wonder who does she do it??? I am all tied in knots after the first aria and she finds the force to increase the emotional engagement from one to another. Splendid!!

And then he is back! I find it rather touching that the composer and the librettist have made Charlotte into such a sweet and forgiving human being, which is capable of receiving him in such a tender way. He definitely does not start off on the right foot and I would have been anything else than sweet and warm like wonderful Charlotte. But of course her effort to sooth and pacify gives us musically another one of my very favourite moments: their intertwined: “Toute chose est encore à la place connue! ” Too bad there is no turning back to sweetness at this point. Werther’s desperate “Pourquoi me réveiller” brakes all barriers and their ensuing struggle was never more convincingly displayed. Their almost feverish “Je t'aime! Je t'aime! je t'aime! / Défendez-moi, Seigneur, défendez-moi contre moi-même!
Défendez-moi, Seigneur, contre lui... défendez-moi! ” sung with incredible force, never shouted, literally exploded with feeling. It was incredible !!! I get goosebumps by just remembering it! It was as if the music was carrying them both to the top, in spite of the sheer orchestral force behind that music they were always audible, above and beyond. If I hadn’t been there I would certainly think such a thing is impossible! I can’t assure I wasn’t sitting there mouth open just staring, not believing my own ears. I will cross al fingers and toes that tomorrow during the broadcast they manage to repeat that incredible moment! It is sure to lift us all from pout sofas, floating above in sheer ecstasy! I can’t stop gloating when I remember.

And again Massenet knew perfectly what he was doing writing the continuation and especially the introduction to the last act, because you have to actually gradually come back to reality and realise what is actually happening and to be able to enjoy the last shreds of tenderness between Charlotte and Werther and not exit with a bang after that high point you have just been pushed to. Mind you this time the introduction almost gave me a heart attack and not for the right reasons… remember the sliding room where Werther lies wounded? Well again something badly malfunctioned, the mechanisms were even noisier, there was a loud crack and the house wobble dangerously a few times, shaking Jonas on the ground to the point where I though they would end up throwing poor wounded Werther on the stage outside in the snow! Then the sliding suddenly was faster and I saw two technicians run up from behind to the back of the house. I honestly thought there was a danger of the thing coming off stage into the pit! They need to sort it out before the broadcast tomorrow because it is unfair to spoil the music with these mishaps! Thank God this is one cold blooded Werther who never even batted an eyelid and as soon as Charlotte was there one rapidly forgot about the silly house. The last act was different from the other time, differently sung and slightly differently played I would say. I can’t explain exactly how, but it sounded differently. Equally as good, if not better but the accents and dynamics varied. Koch was softer, rounder, her piani altogether better and well, you know Jonas his piani!! And if you don’t you better cancel all you have planned for tomorrow night, watch the broadcast and you’ll find out! A pity the orchestra, especially the solo instruments at times were a bit louder than last time around.

I had the strangest flash back here, as last time as well on Werther’s “Parle encore! parle je t'en conjure! ” Easy guess, from where? Of course: “Parlami ancora come dianzi parlavi, è così dolce il suon della tua voce!” (yes, Mario to Tosca, last act)

And that “Tout oublions tout! ”….

And you should hear Jonas sing:
“Mais, à la dérobée, quelque femme viendra visiter le banni...et d'une douce larme, en son ombre tombée le mort, le pauvre mort...se sentira béni... ” in the softest, most incredible piano i have ever heard ! There has to be a special name for what he does, because there is no other like it, I’m pretty sure he has invented it! So ... it is just the Jonas-caress :-)

Pretty strange thing having someone die so beautifully, singing so incredibly, with not a breath audible while still making death credible!. And every word intelligible! Heavenly!

I’m grateful for having been able to go, for having a wonderful and warm audience on the night, for a good orchestra and an amazing conductor, for the inspiration of Massenet, for incredible singers, for everyone and everything that made this such an unforgettable experience!


PS.
And merci beaucoup to Esti for being there to capture the impressions of a very special night! It’s equally as wonderful to be reminded through the intimate eye of her camera of the people, the feelings, the shades and traces which make such magical nights happen :-)

So tomorrow, the broadcast , details on the Opera de Paris web here or here where Intermezzo has kindly given all relevant details already :-)

So where do I pray for an unusually good internet connection???