Werther in pictures

Enter the heart of Jules Massenet's lyrical drama, inspired by Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther, in this new production by the Opéra-Comique.
Between romantic fervour and inner turmoil, Werther unfolds with music of burning delicacy, closely attuned to the emotions. From 19 to 29 January 2026, Salle Favart.

Published on 19 January 2026

In Werther, Massenet explores the vertigo of absolute love and renunciation, close to silence and intimate heartbreak. Faced with Charlotte, torn between duty and desire, Werther abandons himself to an impossible ideal of love, to the point of consuming himself. A drama of excess, restrained speech and raw emotion.

Discover some moments from the production conducted by Raphaël Pichon and directed by Ted Huffman, with Pene Pati (Werther), Adèle Charvet (Charlotte) and Julie Roset (Sophie), alongside Pygmalion and the Maîtrise Populaire de l'Opéra-Comique.

Extracts of the show

Pictures

With

Musical direction, Raphaël Pichon • Stage direction, Ted Huffman • With Pene Pati, Adèle Charvet, John Chest, Julie Roset, Jean-Christophe Lanièce, Carl Ghazarossian, Paul-Louis Barlet, Flore Royer, Christian Immler • Children's choir and soloists, Maîtrise Populaire de l’Opéra-Comique • Orchestra, Pygmalion

Werther

Jules Massenet

January 19 to 29, 2026

Werther is a young idealistic artist, sensitive and fervent in spirit. From the moment he arrives in Wetzlar, where he hopes to settle, he is dazzled by a vision of familial bliss, at the heart of which shines Charlotte. A shared love of poetry draws them together at once. Yet Charlotte has made a solemn vow to her dying mother to marry Albert...