Werther

Werther is a 130-minute studio album of Jules Massenet's opera, performed by a cast led by José Carreras, Frederica von Stade, Sir Thomas Allen, Isobel Buchanan and Robert Lloyd with the orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under the direction of Sir Colin Davis. It was released in 1981. Background The album was recorded shortly after a series of theatrical performances of the opera at Covent Garden in January 1980. Covent Garden's staging, a co-production with English National Opera, was produced by John Copley and used sets designed by Stefanos Lazaridis and costumes designed by Michael Stennett. The singers on the album and in the opera house were the same, except that in the theatre Jonathan Summers was Albert and John Dobson was Schmidt. Recording The album was recorded using analogue technology in February 1980 in London. Packaging The covers of the LP, cassette and CD versions of the album all feature the same photograph, taken by Mike Evans, showing Carreras and von Stade on stage at Covent Garden during the opera's final act.