Jules Massenet’s “Werther”

Annotated Bibliography
By: Bridget Perez

Dr. Pierce
MU 338

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 Table of Contents

Title Page................................................................................ 1
Table of Contents.................................................................... 2

Introduction............................................................................ 3

1. Encyclopedia/ Articles........................................................ 4-5

2. Books/ Scores.........................................................................6

3. Recordings..............................................................................7

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 Introduction

Jules Massenet’s french opera, Werther is based on a novella, Die Leiden des jungen

Werthers written by the brilliant German scholar Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. This opera first

premiered in the Vienna Court Opera in 1892 and was one of Massenet’s popular operas

because of its heart wrenching plot and beautiful “French melodic style.” The sources provided

in this annotated bibliography are intended to help anyone seeking to gain more information on

the background, performances, reviews, biographies of the librettist and composer, analyzation,

and theoretical input pertaining to Massenet’s Werther. This bibliography is categorized into

these sections: Encyclopedia/ Articles, Books/ Scores and Recordings. It is not limited to

musicologist, it can also be useful for conductors, performers, composers, directors, theorist and

professors.

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Encyclopedia/ Articles

1. Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Jules Massenet.” In Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., Accessed April 22, 2019. https://www.britannica.com
/biography/Jules-Massenet
This article focused solely on the biography of the composer Jules Massenet. Having
knowledge of the composers life is crucial to understanding what was happening in his
life at the time of the composition. It also gives insight on what may have inspired him to
write the opera. Massenet was a “leading French opera composer, whose music is
admired for its lyricism, sensuality, occasional sentimentality, and theatrical aptness.”
This article does not necessarily elaborate on the time of Massenet’s life when he wrote
Werther, however, one can gain knowledge on Massenet’s “24 operas (which) are
characterized by a graceful, thoroughly French melodic style.”

2. Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “The Sorrows of Young Werther.” In Encyclopedia

Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., Accessed April 22, 2019. https://www.
britannica.com/topic/The-Sorrows-of-Young-Werther
This article gives a brief background and synopsis of Goethe’s “The Sorrows of Young
Werther,” the novel that the opera Werther was based on. This is a useful source when
first digging into the story and opera. I would definitely advice reading to novel itself,
however, when first approaching the research process, this was really helpful. Not only
does this source provide a brief synopsis of the novel, it also states how“The Sorrows of
Werther” was important to the Sturm und Drang movement.

3. Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.” In Encyclopedia

Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., Accessed April 22, 2019. https://www.
britannica.com/biography/Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goethe
This article focused solely on the biography of the “German poet, playwright, novelist,
scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist, (Goethe who was)
considered the greatest German literary figure of the modern era.” This article is helpful
in understanding where the plot of the opera Werther came from, who wrote wrote the
novel and why he wrote it. With this novel, Goethe started a movement and
somewhat of a trend that they called “Werther fever.” This is when men would dress and
act like the deranged character, Werther.

4. “The Metropolitan Opera.” Werther Synopsis. Accessed April 20, 2019. https://www.
metopera.org /user-information/synopses-archive/werther
This article is found on the Metropolitan Opera website. It gives a full synopsis of
Massenet’s opera Werther. When first approaching the research process of Werther, it is
helpful to get some background information/ the plot of the story. This is very helpful to
do before watching the full opera; it definitely made it an easier process in truly
understanding the full essence of the music and how it fit with the story. I would deem
this one of the most credible sources in capturing the true story of Werther.

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5. Pines, Roger. “Werther (Review).” The Opera Quarterly vol. 18, no. 3 (Summer 2002): 407-
409.
This review is a somewhat harsh critique of the VHS recording of a live performance of
Werther taken place June 10, 1987. The recording contained the following cast and crew:
Werther: Alfredo Kraus Orchestra Sinfonica of Gran Teatre del
Charlotte: Renata Scotto Liceu, Barcelona
Albert: Vicente Sardinero Coro de Nais de l’Escola Pia Lames
Sophie: Maria Angeles Peters Conductor: Alain Guingal
Le Bailli: Alfonso Echeverría Director: Giuseppe De Tomasi
Schmidt: José Ruiz Designer: Ferruccio Villagrossi
Johann: Jesús Castillión Live performance, 10 June 1987
Brühlmann: Gervasio Ventura Sung in French, without subtitles
Käthchen: Lucila Dávila Bel Canto Society VHS, 146 min.
This review is helpful in avoiding having to listen through a lot of bad recordings. If one
reads the reviews of the recordings, they can save a lot of time in finding a good one.

6. M. Massenet's "Werther" The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular, vol. 33, no. 589
(Mar. 1, 1892): p.152 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3361365
This is a review of the premiere of the opera Werther in 1892. The critic states “Werther
has magnificently been put on the stage.” This review helps the reader understand what
kind of reactions the opera received when first performed. This is important in the
understanding of development on the success of Werther. With such a short review that
takes about 2 minutes to read, there is so much information to be gained.

7. Parks, Alexandra E. “Werther vs. Werther: from print to the operatic stage” MA thesis,
University of Cincinnati, 2011.
Parks goes into depth on theory of comparison between any play/ novella and an opera in
general. She then goes into depth, giving a summary of the novella Die Leiden des jungen
Werthers and Massenet’s opera Werther. The most useful and important information to
be gained would be the comparison and differences of the novel and opera. This is really
useful in understanding Goethe’s perspective and Massenet’s interpretation.

8. Braun, William R. “Making Goethe.” Metropolitan Opera Guild: Opera News. January 2004.
This article is a more in depth biography of Goethe and how he impacted the opera
world. Goethe was very fond of classical music and wrote many libretti and poems for
composers such as Mozart, Schumann, Schubert, Liszt, Ives and Beethoven. This was
helpful in connecting how Goethe’s literature tied in with classical music and what
influenced him to do so.

9. Thomason, Paul. “Darkening Werther.” Metropolitan Opera Guild: Opera News. 1998.
This article elaborates on Jules Massenet’s journey in composing the role of Werther.
Massenet goes back and forth in composing the role for either a tenor or baritone. In the
end he keeps the role of Werther for a tenor and keeps a “valid version” for a

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 baritone. This article is helpful in understanding Massenet’s thought process when
composing and writing for the iconic role of Werther.

Books/ Scores

10. Swales, Martin. Goethe The Sorrows of Werther. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge,
1987.

11. Vincent, Deirdre. Werther’s Goethe and the Game of Literary Creativity. Toronto Buffalo
London:University of Toronto Press, 1992.
This book contains the following content: 1. Werther, Goethe and Charlotte von
Stein, Life, Love and writing; 2. Writing and Rewriting, Literary Game-playing, Werther
1776-86, Other works Revised 1786-9, 3. The Changes in Werther, Albert, Lotte,
Werther, The Editor’s Report, 4. Werther:The Case for a Reading, The Final Werther in
the light of the Final Tasso, Goethe on Writing and Being Read, A Closer Look at Our
Critical Responses o Werther, Werther: A Summary of the Need for a Review. This book
is extremely resourceful in truly understanding Goethe’s process in writing the novella
The Sorrows of Werther, and how the public responded to the story.

11. Duncan, Bruce. Goethe’s Werther and the Critics. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2005.
This book contains the following content: 1. First Responses, 2. Religious
Interpretations, 3. Psychological Approaches, 4. Political Interpretations, 5. Goethe,
Werther Reading and Writing, 6. Lotte, Sex, and Werther. This is an excellent source
when wanting to dive deeper into Goethe and the writing of The Sorrows of Young
Werther. A unique aspect of this book is the Religious and Political Interpretations. This
book gives many different outlooks on the story which helps the reader expand their own
interpretation of the novel after having read it.
12. Jules, Massenet. Werther: an opera in four acts (after Goethe). New York: International
Music, 1971.
This score can be found through the Library of Congress and is clear and easy to read.
Having this version of the score handy was helpful when watching the opera. It was easy
to follow along with and is resourceful when needing to refer to the music.

13. Massenet, Jules. Werther. Paris, France: Hartmann/ Heugel, 1892.

This score can be easily found on IMSLP but unfortunately is not the best version
available. However, this version of the score is extremely important because it was one of
the first versions published close to the time that the opera premiered. It is interesting to
see how different a score from 1892 is compared to the scores we have access to today.

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Recordings

14. Opera Vision, Bergen National Opera, “Werther- Massenet.” April 2019, Accessed May 5,
2019. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dmo75clpJEA
This recording is a live performance that can be accessed on YouTube. Because the
source is easily accessible, it is not the best video quality but is definitely more than
manageable in watching. This video is extremely useful when needing quick access to the
entire opera for free. It is also sharable, which can be very beneficial when discussing or
presenting on the opera. This opera contains the following cast and crew:
Werther: Edgaras Montvidas Chorus: Bergen National Opera Chorus
Charlotte: Catriona Morison Orchestra: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
Sophie: Hanna Husáhr Music: Jules Massenet
Albert: Tim Mix Conductor: Frédéric Chaslin
Le Bailli: Mischa Schelomianski Director: Antony McDonald
Schmidt: Vladimir Dmitruk Set Designer: Antony McDonald
Johann: Igor Gnidii Costume Designer: Antony McDonald

15. “The Metropolitan Opera.” Werther On Demand. Accessed April 20, 2019.
http://www.metopera.org /season/on-demand/opera/?upc=81135701729
This is probably the best version as far as HD quality that one will find of the opera
Werther by Massenet. This live recording includes the follow cast and crew:
Conductor: Alain Altinoglu Werther: Jonas Kaufmann
Charlotte: Sophie Koch Sophie: Lisette Oropesa
Albert: David Bizic
This Metropolitan Opera recording is helpful in understanding the the plot, music and
direction of Massenet’s Werther. Jonas Kaufmann does a remarkable job in portraying
the character of Werther. One can see the true essence of the deranged character unfold
throughout the recording