Werther at Festival Theatre

Pia Furtado directs a new production of Werther in which the dark psychology of this compelling drama is ever present. The theatrical staging accentuates the heightened emotions on stage, and brings to life a story that is a timeless testament to the destructive power of obsessive love.
Werther has escaped the city to concentrate on developing his painting. He finds himself in a rural idyll that offers all the inspiration he could ever desire, including a perfect muse in Charlotte. But she is promised to another, a man who seems to be everything Werther is not. As Werther’s infatuation grows, he is driven to ask himself the ultimate question: what is life without her?

Touching, emotional and heartbreakingly sad, this tragic tale of forbidden love features some of Massenet’s finest writing. The orchestration is rich and sonorous but captures the quirks and foibles of each of the characters perfectly – from Charlotte’s tortured conflict to Werther’s unstable passion and increasing hysteria. Hungarian mezzo Viktoria Vizin, renowned the world over for her Carmen, sings Charlotte, and acclaimed American tenor Jonathan Boyd is Werther. The cast also includes Scottish Opera favourites Roland Wood, Jonathan Best and Harry Nicoll.