Werther (Version Baryton)

Massenet's Werther is one of those masterpieces that were rejected or shunned at the time of their creation. It gradually established itself as one of the composer's most personal works, in which he showed himself to be as fine a colourist as he was a master of the art of the 'motif de rappel'. In adapting Goethe's novel, Massenet and his librettists gave greater prominence to the character of Charlotte, thus placing the struggle between duty and passion at the centre of the narrative.