Charlotte or Werther ? Toulouse, Capitole , June 28th.

On Thursday evening the capitole Square was empty on the wide sunny side because of the heatwave (44C even at 7pm), only the cafés side, in a narrow shade, had some customers.
 I crossed the square to reach the Capitole opera house and get a picture as I made the journey precisely for Werther.
From a distance I could see the  Caspar David Friedrich's painting, "The wanderer above a sea of clouds"  on the billboard, then closely, I was surprised to notice there was no mention of the cast except for the conductor and the director.

As I was standing in scorching sunshine I realised I made the journey for the singers and did not care much for the director (Nicolas Joël) or the conductor (J-F Verdier) who was a discovery for me.
I tried to find out why there was no cast printed on  the well-known reproduction. Till then, I have not found any explanation.
Was it too expensive to print the names of  Karine Deshayes as Charlotte,  or Jean-Françoic Borras as Werther, also the rest of the cast?
It would have been nice to see both Karine and J-F Borras together on the picture, I have the feeling they will be side by side soon on a prestigious stage in Europe with Massenet and Werther and also with this amazing conductor.   So far, I have listened to a fair amount of Werthers  in my opera-goer 's life but that evening, I was astonished by this rendition which never lingered on the dramatic effects and always kept the biting side of the drama with the turmoils of the souls in restraint : that   gave the instrument solos tremendous strength and emotion.The conductor had a swift command on the rhythm which made the orchestra sound more modern and yet immensely contrasted and romantic.
That was so true during the last act which can be extremely off-putting if the pathos effects of Werther 's rather slow death are lingering. Both Karine Dehayes and Jean -François Borras made it sound  heartbreaking.

The house was not full but very intense and under the power of these voices trained to French melody and singing, matching so well during these difficult last scenes.
I discovered how authentic, young and straigthforward was  Werther embodied by J-F Borras. I liked the way he threw Ossian's book away and ran out !
 As for Karine Deshayes, Charlotte is now hers! she has gorgeous top as clear as a soprano and delicate  low notes which move me to tears in this role. She got the first clapping of the evening at the end of 'va laisse coulez mes larmes' which made me cry actually . I think she was having sobs in her voice too.
At the curtain fall when they  both appeared  and the cheering was tremendous!

I really thought that night that Charlotte was certainly my first choice then on second thoughts I realised that this  young tenor was the real Werther with fantastic tops and  so much strength !

How could I have a preference? that night that couple was at the top of their art! The conductor and orchestra made a definite jump into something more modern and intense I would like to hear again!
Then Toulouse came in my mind  and in my heart as always with memories of the Nougaro's family : father and son, both musicians and singers!
 Although it was the beginning of the heat wave which is still on in South of France I managed to stroll along this old and exquisite city and found some cool spots not far from the Capitole !

Pierre Nougaro:

Claude Nougaro: