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

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

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

'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 the madness, neurosis, and fixation on Charlotte of the character that 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 captures this form of progressive madness "through a vast canvas that evolves alongside his obsessions, from a scene in 1893 to an evocation of Magritte."

Ismael Jordi, whose performances in Málaga as Nemorino in 'The Elixir of Love' and, more recently, as Fernando in 'Doña Francisquita' are still remembered, now steps into the troubled shoes of Werther, while Chaieb counters him as Charlotte, a role in 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 whom the theater renews its commitment to giving opportunities to emerging national voices, and who will play Sophie here.

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

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

During the presentation, the director of the Teatro Cervantes 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 Lyrical Season last September with a stellar cast.

Vigar and Gema Domínguez, head of Performing Arts at the Unicaja Foundation, 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 search for excellence of the Malaga lyrical cycle.

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