Choc de Classica for “Werther”

The DVD and BD of the Opernhaus Zürich production with Juan Diego Flórez in the title role receive “Choc” award by French music magazine "Classica".

“A whirlwind Werther” with “an overwhelming interpretation by Juan Diego Flórez,” writes Classica, one of the leading French music magazines. “The staging transcends the protagonists, in stark contrast to the beautiful box of light wood created by Klaus Grünberg, whose doors and hatches open to reveal a starry sky. Magic.”

Forbidden love, wrongdoings and anguish: the Opernhaus Zürich ventures into late 19th-century French romanticism with “Werther“ by Jules Massenet and based on Goethe’s drama. It is echoed in the score by emotionally wide-ranging vocal parts written on a grand scale. Juan Diego Flórez is undisputedly one of the best belcanto tenors of our times and embodies a tortured and nuanced Werther. “It’s not a profane appearance of any singer – it is an epiphany!” gushes the NZZ in a rave review. At Flórez’s side, Anna Stéphany sang her role début as Charlotte. The one-room staging by Tatjana Gürbaca cleverly makes the social stranglehold of oppression tangible. Should one come into the fold or escape?

ACC20427 (DVD) / ACC10427 (BD)