Name: The opera 'Werther' raises the curtain at the Teatro Cervantes with Ismael Jordi and Rihab Chaieb
Start: 2025-11-28T19:00:00+01:00
End: 2025-11-30T22:00:00+01:00
Location: malaga

The opera 'Werther' raises the curtain at the Teatro Cervantes with Ismael Jordi and Rihab Chaieb

Event details

Teatro Cervantes, malaga, malaga

28 November 2025 until 30 November 2025

# Málaga

The opera 'Werther' raises the curtain at the Teatro Cervantes with Ismael Jordi and Rihab Chaieb

French opera returns to the Lyric Season at the Cervantes Theater in Málaga with one of Jules Massenet's masterpieces, 'Werther', which has not been staged in the city for over 30 years. The tenor from Jerez, Ismael Jordi, one of the most beloved soloists by the Málaga audience, is responsible for bringing to life the melancholic poet who names the opera, while the Tunisian-Canadian mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb, a singer with a brilliant international career, embodies his beloved Charlotte. Alfonso Mujica and Aitana Sanz make their debut on the Málaga stage as Albert and Sophie.

The 37th edition of the cycle, sponsored by the Unicaja Foundation and in collaboration with the Sando Foundation and Idealista, features a musical production by Cervantes, with Audrey Saint-Gil conducting and the usual presence of the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra in the pit, with a stage setting by the Opéra-Théâtre de l'Eurométropole de Metz (France) led by Paul-Émile Fourny, a director who returns to the Lyric Season after directing 'Faust' and 'Andrea Chénier' in previous years.

'Werther' raises the curtain at Cervantes on Friday, November 28, and Sunday, November 30, with two performances for which tickets are still available, priced from 28 to 120 euros depending on the area.

Paul-Émile Fourny narrates this story of impossible love, focusing on the evolution of madness, neurosis, and fixation on Charlotte by the character who names the expressive and intense score with which the French composer adapted Goethe's masterpiece, The Sorrows of Young Werther, a foundational piece of literary Romanticism.

The Belgian stage director depicts this form of progressive madness "through a vast painting that evolves alongside his obsessions, from a scene in 1893 to an evocation of Magritte."

Ismael Jordi, a singer still remembered in Málaga for his performances as Nemorino in 'The Elixir of Love' and, more recently, as Fernando in 'Doña Francisquita', now steps into the troubled skin of Werther, while Chaieb counters as Charlotte in a role with which she already stood out at the prestigious Zurich Opera.

Joining them in the pivotal roles of 'Werther' are the Uruguayan baritone Alfonso Mujica, who returns as Albert after his success this summer at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires in the same role, and the young Spanish soprano Aitana Sanz, a performer with a rising career with whom the theater renews its commitment to giving opportunities to emerging national voices, and who here will play Sophie.

Alongside them, participating in the performances on November 28 and 30 are Fernando Latorre as the magistrate, José Antonio Ariza as Johann, Luis Pacetti as Schmidt, Clara Fernández Lozano as Kätchen, and Manuel Sánchez Bello as Brühlmann.

In addition to the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra, this production includes the Pueri Cantores Málaga choir, directed by Antonio del Pino, showcasing the Lyric Season's commitment to the conjunction between local talent and the best of the international scene.

During the presentation, the director of the Cervantes Theater and manager of Málaga Procultura, Juan Antonio Vigar, recalled in this regard the success of the staging of 'Tristan und Isolde', the colossal opera by Richard Wagner that opened the 37th Lyric Season last September with a stellar cast.

Vigar and the head of Performing Arts at the Unicaja Foundation, Gema Domínguez, accompanied the two masters, Paul-Émile Fourny and Audrey Saint-Gil, and the two main soloists, Ismael Jordi and Rihab Chaieb, at the press conference presenting this Werther, which represents a new step in the pursuit of excellence of the Málaga lyric cycle.

A set design by Benoît Dugardyn, costumes by Stella Maris Müller, and lighting by Patrick Méeüs frame Fourny's theatrical work, which sees the unfortunate Werther repeatedly return to the gallery where the painting representing his beloved's family is hung, a canvas that gradually begins to come to life.

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