At the end Werther, Massenet presents two contradicting musical moods; the death of Werther and the children in the background singing the Christmas carols. These two music moods are complete opposites of one another.
The musical mood of Werther’s death is one of great sadness and realization. This was the most crucial part of the opera, it is the part of the opera I believe to have the most emotion, clearance and resolution. When I heard Charlotte sing during this scene I was overcome with her emotion. In my opinion, there was such power and sadness within her voice that I found myself feeling for her, it felt like she was about to burst into tears. On the other hand, when listening to Werther sing, I hear a slight bit of clarity within his voice. In the sense that he does not regret the decision which he has made. I think he is content that this was the way that his life was suppose to end, in love with Charlotte even if she could not be his. I believe that Charlotte received some realization at this time as well, I think she was constantly pushing her true feelings about Werther away to keep her promise to her mother, but in reality she cared a great deal about Werther and it was too late.
The second mood that is presented is that of happiness from the children in the distance. The children are singing a Christmas carol. When the children are singing you hear their innocence and joy, after all they are singing about Christmas and as a child that was my favorite time of the year. I loved when all my family and friends came together to spend time, make cookies and spread joy around to everyone and anyone. There was a sense of happiness and unity that I think that the children are trying to convey to Charlotte. That even though this tragedy is happening, she will not be alone. She will still have the children and her family.
I think the reason that there is such a contrast between the moods is that you can relate this contrast of moods into your own life. One can compare it to the saying,”even on your worst days, things always gets better”. I think the children singing are foreshadowing the fact that even though Charlotte is so upset and thinks this is once again the end of her happiness, she will learn to grow from this moment and become happy once again. In reality, things will get better for her and for Werther. She will learn to know that Werther will be going to a place where he will be happier and where he can watch over her and protect her, just like how her mother is doing. I believe that Massenet provides this contrast early on within the opera when the opera first opens and you hear the children singing and then learn that Charlotte’s mother had passed away not too long ago. But, in the beginning of the opera the children weren’t in the background singing but instead they were up front singing, indicating a happier time for Charlotte, but still having that second mood of sadness lingering in the background.
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I really appreciated your idea of the singing as a symbol that Charlotte still has her family to lean on for support through this entire time — I feel like this gives it another side to the singing rather than just to view it as Werther’s enlightenment, so in this way it is a symbol to both of the characters. Nice!
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I thought your interpretation of the children’s voices was very interesting – I had almost the opposite reaction to the children’s voices, thinking they brought about more negative emotions. I liked that you connected them to a symbol of hope and implied that maybe Charlotte’s story doesn’t end in complete tragedy. Nice analysis!
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