TV: First Look at Jonas Kaufmann Singing 'O Nature' From WERTHER at The Met

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann stars in the title role of the tortured poet in the Met's new production of Massenet's Werther, running through March 15, 2014. Check out the video of Jonas singing "O Nature."

Richard Eyre, whose hit production of Bizet's Carmen premiered at the Met in 2010, returns to direct the new staging, which will be conducted by Alain Altinoglu. French mezzo-soprano Sophie Koch will make her Met debut as Charlotte, the object of Werther's unrequited love, in a cast that also includes Lisette Oropesa as Sophie, Serbian bass-baritone David Biži? in his Met debut as Albert, and Jonathan Summers as Le Bailli. The production will feature sets and costumes by Tony Award winner Rob Howell, lighting design by Peter Mumford, video design by Wendall Harrington, and choreography by Sara Erde in her Met debut. The Saturday, March 15 matinee performance of Werther will be transmitted worldwide as part of the Met's Live in HD series, which is now seen in more than 2,000 movie theaters in 64 countries around the world.

Jonas Kaufmann has sung the role of Werther to acclaim with Paris Opera in 2010 and with the Vienna State Opera in 2011, both times opposite Sophie Koch as Charlotte. In recent seasons at the Met, his starring roles have included the title characters in new productions of Wagner's Parsifal and Gounod's Faust and Siegmund in a new production of Wagner's Die Walküre. He made his Met debut in 2006 as Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata. His subsequent roles with the company have included Tamino in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Don José in Bizet's Carmen, and Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca. Last season, Kaufmann became the first Met artist since Luciano Pavarotti to perform a solo recital on the Met stage.

The March 15 matinee performance of Werther will be transmitted live to movie theaters around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series. Soprano Patricia Racette will host the transmission, which begins at 12:55 p.m. ET (check local listings.) Since the Live in HD series launched in 2006, nearly 14 million tickets have been sold to opera lovers worldwide. The Met: Live in HD is now seen in more than 2,000 theaters in 64 countries around the world.

For more information on this season's performances of Werther, visit the Met's website at www.metopera.org.

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