Following the early performances of Werther in 1892 Massenet seems to have felt uncomfortable with assigning Goethe’s morbid hero to a tenor and considered reworking the role for the great Verdi baritone Victor Maurel. In the event the role was adapted for the Italian baritone Mattia Battistini, who sang it throughout Europe during Massenet’s lifetime. No autograph manuscript survives, but a working score that belonged to Battistini has formed the basis for the version performed here, with the role not merely transposed but rewritten to suit the darker and more psychologically rich baritone voice. A longtime champion of the baritone Werther, Thomas Hampson sang it to great acclaim at New York’s Met with Susan Graham in 1999; they recreate the roles on the Châtelet stage under the baton of Michel Plasson in a legendary concert performance from 2004 captured for DVD.