Jonas Kaufmann to Sing Title Role in New Production of WERTHER at the Met, Beg. 2/18

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann will star in the title role of the tortured poet in the Met's new production of Massenet's Werther, opening February 18.

Richard Eyre, whose hit production of Bizet's Carmen premiered at the Met in 2010, returns to direct the new staging, which will be conducted by Alain Altinoglu. French mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch will make her Met debut as Charlotte, the object of Werther's unrequited love, in a cast that also includes Lisette Oropesa as Sophie, Serbian bass-baritone David Biži? in his Met debut as Albert, and Jonathan Summers as Le Bailli. The production will feature sets and costumes by Tony Award winner Rob Howell, lighting design by Peter Mumford, video design by Wendall Harrington, and choreography by Sara Erde in her Met debut. The Saturday, March 15 matinee performance of Werther will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met's Live in HD series, which is now seen in more than 2,000 movie theaters in 64 countries around the world.

Jonas Kaufmann has sung the role of Werther to acclaim with Paris Opera in 2010 and with the Vienna State Opera in 2011, both times opposite Sophie Koch as Charlotte. In recent seasons at the Met, his starring roles have included the title characters in new productions of Wagner's Parsifal and Gounod's Faust and Siegmund in a new production of Wagner's Die Walküre. He made his Met debut in 2006 as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata. His subsequent roles with the company have included Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Don José in Bizet's Carmen, and Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca. Last season, Kaufmann became the first Met artist since Luciano Pavarotti to perform a solo recital on the Met stage.

Sophie Koch is one of the world's leading interpreters of Charlotte, having sung the role with Paris Opera; the Vienna State Opera; Madrid's Teatro Real; the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; and, last season, Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her other performances this season include Adriano in Wagner's Rienzi at the Salzburg Festival; Octavian in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier at Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées; Mère Marie in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; and the Composer in Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos at Vienna State Opera.

Lisette Oropesa's most recent Met appearance was as Nannetta in the new production of Verdi's Falstaff, which premiered at the Met last month. A graduate of the Met's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she has sung more than 100 performances of 13 roles with the company, including Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto; Miranda in the world premiere of the Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island; the Rhinemaiden Woglinde in Wagner's Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung; the Dew Fairy in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel; Susanna in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro; Amore in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice; and Lisette in the 2008 new production premiere of Puccini's La Rondine.

David Biži? makes his Met debut as Albert. His recent performances with other opera companies have included Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni with the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opera, Versailles Opera, Montpellier Opera, and Los Angeles Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni at Slovenia's Maribor Opera; the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro at Geneva Opera; Guglielmo in Mozart's Così fan tutte at Paris Opera; and Schaunard in Puccini's La Bohème at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

Jonathan Summers made his Met debut in 1988 as Marcello in La Bohème. He sings frequently with Opera Australia in Sydney, where his roles in recent seasons have included Don Carlo di Vargas in Verdi's La Forza del Destino, Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, Tonio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and Alfio in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana.

Alain Altinoglu has conducted three operas at the Met, including Carmen in 2010, Gounod's Faust in 2012, and Verdi's Otello in 2013. His other performances this season include Don Giovanni and Verdi's Simon Boccanegra at Vienna State Opera, Le Nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman, Strauss's Salome at Zurich Opera, and Aprikian's La Naissance de David de Sassoun at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.

Richard Eyre made his Met debut in the 2009-10 season with an acclaimed production of Carmen that has since been performed by the company 40 times. He will open the Met's 2013-14 season with a new staging of Le Nozze di Figaro. He is the winner of five Olivier Awards for stage productions in London, and his Broadway credits include Private Lives, Mary Poppins, Vincent in Brixton, The Crucible, Amy's View, and Judas Kiss. He has also directed numerous films, including the Oscar-nominated Iris (2001) and Notes on a Scandal (2006).

Set and costume designer Rob Howell also designed Eyre's production of Carmen. Last season, he won a Tony Award for his scenic design for Matilda The Musical. Werther is lighting designer Peter Mumford's fifth Met production, following the recent new productions of Carmen, Faust, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and Britten's Peter Grimes. Wendall Harrington has designed projections for the Met premiere of A View from the Bridge and more than 20 Broadway productions, most recently Breakfast at Tiffany's and Annie. Sara Erde was assistant choreographer on Eyre's production of Carmen and will also provide choreography for his forthcoming production of Puccini's Manon Lescaut at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden.

The March 15 matinee performance of Werther will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Soprano Patricia Racette will host the transmission, which begins at 12:55 p.m. ET (check local listings.) Since the Live in HD series launched in 2006, nearly 14 million tickets have been sold to opera lovers worldwide. The Met: Live in HD is now seen in more than 2,000 theaters in 64 countries around the world.

The February 18 opening performance will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS XM Channel 74, as will the performances on March 3, 11, and 15. The February 18 performance will also be streamed live on the Met's website, www.metopera.org.

The March 15 matinee performance will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

For more information on this season's performances of Werther, visit the Met's website at www.metopera.org.

Photo Credit: Brigitte Lacombe/Metropolitan Opera