Diapason D’Or Arte for “Werther”

The DVD and BD of the Opernhaus Zürich production with Juan Diego Flórez in the title role receive prestigious honor by French “Diapason Magazine”.

Writes the French Diapason Magazine: “In Zurich, Tatjana Gürbaca offers a more personal reading, perhaps with a superior suggestive force. It takes place in the beautiful scenery designed by Klaus Grünberg; wooden boxes aligned to the vanishing point, pierced with multiple openings making the characters appear where we do not expect them. The costumes situate the action in the cramped society of the 1950s; something hitchcockian oozes from its dreamy closets, its ominous shadows, its skewed looks and from a very physical acting. If Gürbaca shows us the anti-hero as an immature character, it is because Flórez throws himself into the incarnation [...] with a natural poet look, an art of unparalleled halftone, [and] a clear, crystal-like diction.”

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)

Production Company Accentus Music GmbH
Assoc. Prod. Company Opernhaus Zürich, Juan Diego Flórez
English title of music work Werther
Composer Jules Massenet
Orchestra / Band Philharmponia Zürich
Conductor Cornelius Meister
Soloist Juan Diego Flórez
Soloist Anna Stéphany
Director Michael Beyer