Werther (Mar. 4, 1972)

Composer: Jules Massenet
Librettist: Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann

Behr; Boky, Elias, Corelli, Cossa

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Approximate running time: 2 hrs. 2 min.

Franco Corelli gives an intense and passionate performance in the title role of Massenet's Goethe adaptation, opposite Rosalind Elias as Charlotte, the young woman Werther falls so overwhelmingly in love with that he cannot conceive of life without her. In one of opera's most heart-rending scenes, Werther shoots himself and dies in Charlotte's arms as children happily celebrate the arrival of Christmas. Dominic Cossa as Albert, Charlotte's fiancé, and Colette Boky as Sophie, her sister, round out the cast.