Werther

Asked to name the most romantic opera ever written, most people would answer La Bohème, but with Werther, Massenet beat Puccini by a few years and gallons of tears. He took Goethe's semi-autobiographical novel about a hypersensitive poet and focused the action down to Werther's tragic love for a woman who decides to marry another man. Charlotte, beautifully played by Michele Losier, actually becomes the more interesting character: all poor Werther does is moan, mope and shoot himself dead, but because his declaration of doomed devotion is sung in French and set to  an impassioned orchestral backing, lines that look preposterously saccharine in the printed libretto come out touching and evocative in a fine performance such as this one from Aldo di Toro.

If the wooing and music aren't enough to send every woman in the audience into rhapsodies, the wardrobe will sweep along any stragglers. Instead of keeping to austere Germanic 18th century period costume, four seasons of contemporary collections from Farage and Leona Edmiston are rolled out, so that the whole cast seems to be wandering around a photoshoot for Marie Claire. Werther's impeccably styled menswear contrasts inexplicably with his messy artist's garret. In the lead, di Toro sings strongly throughout, even in the final scene, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound through his left lung and out his back. But opera never needs to be rational: when people are feeling rational they don't sing. This is a supremely emotional opera.

Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House, 14, 18, 21, 24 and 26 Mar. (www.sydneyoperahouse.com).

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