– The Canarian tenor returns to the Bilbao season with Massenet’s emblematic opera, which he will also perform at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, before returning to the Opera de Maó and Madrid’s Teatro Real.
“Werther is an impressive opera, pure drama and passion,” reveals Celso Albelo, who debuted the title role of Massenet’s work in 2016 at the Opera de Tenerife, performing it that same year at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna. Based on the character from Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, the tortured central figure of one of the titles that best represents the romantic ideals of the French repertoire is, for Albelo, “the prototype of the romantic hero, of enormous and tormented poetic sensitivity, condemned by his own idealism. Massenet’s music, of rapturous beauty, immerses us in that emotional whirlwind, moving us deeply. After my first approach years ago, and having sung some Verdi and Puccini roles, I return to it with new tools and a deeper understanding of his psychological profile. Vocally,” continues the tenor, “Werther is conceived for a lyrical tenor with some spinto qualities and, in a way, it precedes verismo, not forgetting that a baritone version also exists. The challenge in performing it lies in capturing its two faces: on the one hand, an intimate fragility and, at the same time, climaxes of almost epic desperation. ‘Pourquoi me réveiller’ is the heart of this journey, an aria that, due to its emotional power, has become a universal icon beyond opera.”
Celso Albelo, who began the season with the Massenet character at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb and will return to the same theatre for more performances, will sing in Bilbao in the same production of the title that he premiered in 2016 at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna. The production features stage direction by Rosetta Cucchi and maestro Carlo Montanaro leading the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa. With performances on January 17, 20, 23, and 26, he will share the stage with the Charlotte of Italian mezzo-soprano Annalisa Stroppa and the Albert of Àngel Òdena, among others.
For the remainder of the season, Celso Albelo will return to the Opera de Maó (Menorca) as Riccardo in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera and to Madrid’s Teatro Real with the role of Manrico in Verdi’s Il Trovatore.