TIME: 19th century
PLACE: Germany
ACT ONE
Faust's study
ACT TWO
A village square
ACT THREE
Marguerite's garden
ACT FOUR
Scene 1. Marguerite's garden
Scene 2. A church
Scene 3. A street
ACT FIVE
A prison
ACT ONE
Faust, an aged philosopher, contemplates ending his life. Carefree voices are heard from outside: the women sing of the joys of nature and love, the men of the beautiful day that will find them reaping their fields. Faust sets down his phial of poison and curses happiness, learning, prayer, and faith. When he invokes Satan, that very being appears, in the debonair person of Méphistophélès. Faust rejects offers of wealth and power, asking instead for youth (Duet: À moi les plaisirs).
The devil agrees to grant his wishes if Faust will serve him later in hell. Méphistophélès produces a parchment for Faust to sign; when the old man hesitates, Méphistophélès tempts him with a vision of a beautiful young woman (Marguerite). Faust now eagerly signs the parchment. He is quickly transformed by the devil into a handsome young man.
ACT TWO
A village fair (Kermesse) is in progress. Wagner, a student, leads the townspeople in a song extolling wine and beer (Chorus: Vin ou bière). Joining the group is a soldier, Valentin, who holds a medallion his sister Marguerite has given him for protection in battle. He offers a fervent prayer to God to protect Marguerite in his absence (Aria: Avant de quitter ces lieux). Siébel, who is in love with the girl, promises to watch over her.
Wagner resumes the festivities with a lively song about a rat, but he is interrupted by Méphistophélès, who regales the crowd with his paean to the Golden Calf (Aria: Le veau d'or). He predicts an imminent soldier's death for Wagner and tells Siébel that henceforth flowers will wither at his touch. The local wine proves inadequate for Méphistophélès, and he magically produces his own vintage. He then provokes Valentin's anger with a toast to Marguerite. Drawn swords do not frighten the offender. Having guessed his identity, the men subdue Méphistophélès only when they raise the cruciform hilts of their weapons.
Faust arrives and demands to meet the girl he saw in the vision. The villagers dance a waltz (Chorus: Ainsi que la brise légère) in which Siébel is asked to join, but the lad can think only of Marguerite. When she appears, she demurely declines Faust's gallant offer to accompany her. Faust realizes he is already in love with her.
ACT THREE
In Marguerite's garden, Siébel picks flowers for a bouquet (Flower Song: Faîtes-lui mes aveux), but he discovers that the stranger's prophecy has come true: The blossoms wither in his hand. He moistens his fingers in a font of holy water, which breaks the spell. Proclaiming his triumph, he leaves his flowers for Marguerite and happily departs.
While Méphistophélès is off searching for a suitable gift for Marguerite, Faust reflects on his joy at being near her (Aria: Salut! demeure). The devil returns with a box of jewels, which he places near Siébel's flowers. After the men withdraw, Marguerite appears and sings an ancient song about a king whose beloved has died (Ballad: Il était un roi de Thulé). She pauses to muse on her meeting with Faust. When the girl catches sight of the jewels, she cannot resist trying them on (Jewel Song: Oh, Dieu, que de bijoux!).
Marthe, a meddlesome neighbor, surprises Marguerite and rejects the girl's notion that the splendid present was left there by mistake. Méphistophélès suddenly appears and melodramatically informs Marthe that her husband has died. The devil seductively induces the old woman to follow him out of the garden, leaving Faust with Marguerite (Quartet: Je vous en conjure). Returning to observe the two, Méphistophélès calls on the darkness to come to Faust's aid. As night descends and Faust grows more passionate towards Marguerite, she confesses that she returns his love (Duet: Laisse-moi contempler ton visage). The devil urges Faust to wait a moment before obeying Marguerite's wish to be left alone. When she appears at her window and expresses her longing for Faust, he rushes to her as the devil smiles in satisfaction.
ACT FOUR
Scene 1. Marguerite longs for the return of Faust, who has abandoned her (Aria: Il ne revient pas). She is visited by Siébel, her only friend who has remained loyal.
Scene 2. In church, Marguerite vainly attempts to find solace in prayer. She hears the voices of demons calling her name and Méphistophélès looms before her, threatening eternal damnation. The choir sings of the Day of Judgment, but the devil interrupts them, tormenting Marguerite until she collapses.
Scene 3. The villagers turn out to welcome the returning soldiers, Valentin among them (Chorus: Gloire immortelle de nos aïeux). Siébel arouses his suspicions by evading questions about Marguerite. When the remorseful Faust appears with Méphistophélès, the devil pauses to sing a derisive song outside Marguerite's window (Serenade: Vous qui faîtes l'endormie). It draws Valentin, who challenges his sister's seducer to a duel (Trio: Terrible et frémissant). Valentin is fatally wounded by Faust, whom Méphistophélès urges to flee. A crowd gathers and is horrified to hear Valentin curse his sister (Death Scene: Ecoute-moi bien, Marguerite!).
ACT FIVE
Marguerite has borne Faust a child, but she has killed it and is now in prison, having been condemned to death. Faust comes to her cell, but her joy at being reunited with him quickly fades when Méphistophélès appears (Trio: Alerte! Alerte!). Marguerite prays to the angels of heaven and with her last breath repulses Faust, while a celestial choir proclaims her salvation.
For the first time in one season, Lyric audiences can experience a "demonic duo" — two operatic versions of Goethe’s epic drama Faust.
Charles Gounod’s Faust returns in October, a vibrant production by Frank Corsaro and Robert Perdziola first seen at Lyric in 2003-04. In February comes Hector Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust, a new production and Lyric’s first venture into his colorful operatic universe. Sir Andrew Davis conducts both works.
The French composers were inspired by Goethe’s cautionary tale of Faust, a discontented scholar on the verge of suicide who is seduced by Méphistophélès’s promises of restored youth and romantic conquest. The resulting works were written in roughly the same era and premiered in Paris — Berlioz’s in 1846 and Gounod’s in 1859. But in matters of music, text, staging, and the main characters’ psychological makeup, they could hardly be more different.
Faust is the epitome of 19th-century French opera — lavishly scaled, bursting with beguiling melodies, many of them among opera’s greatest hits. Generations of sopranos and audiences have adored the “Jewel Song,” its liquid trills and darting phrases expressing Marguerite’s naïve delight at the bijoux the crafty Méphistophélès has left as a gift from Faust. Act Four includes the famous, resolutely hopeful “Soldiers’ Chorus” and Méphistophélès’s equally well-known “Serenade,” a cynical portrait of young love harshly punctuated by the devil’s own taunting laughter.
This is opera at its grandest — the work that inaugurated the Metropolitan Opera House in 1883 and a staple of opera companies internationally during the late 19 th century and well into the 20 th .
When Berlioz composed The Damnation of Faust in the mid-1840s, his vision was far different from that of the French opera of his day. Subtitling his piece a “dramatic legend,” Berlioz compressed and rearranged Goethe’s sprawling story into four parts with a running time of well under three hours.
There are gorgeously luxuriant arias and duets, spiced with sparkling orchestral touches that bring the opera’s characters and locales to vivid life. Among them are two popular baritone showcases, Méphistophélès’s jaunty serenade, “Devant la maison,” and his soothing lullaby, “Voici des roses.” Three instrumental interludes — the bouncy “Rákóczy March,” the stately “Minuet of the Will o’ the Wisps,” and the dreamy “Dance of the Sylphs” — are staples of the orchestral repertoire. The chorus is a powerful force throughout The Damnation of Faust, often propelling the action. Exploding with high-spirited syncopations, the cheerful song of the “Peasants’ Dance” heightens Faust’s existential despair, though later on, the solemn joy of a choral “Easter Hymn” banishes his thoughts of suicide.
The Damnation of Faust unfolds with quick scene changes and shifts of time and place that are positively cinematic. The 18 th scene with Faust and Méphistophélès on racing horses literally bent for hell is something that not even the most technologically advanced 19th-century Parisian opera house could have hoped to dramatize onstage. Berlioz conceived Damnation as a concert opera, conducting its first performances himself. The most celebrated orchestras, soloists, and choruses throughout the world have performed it consistently with great success, but only in recent years, with production technologies such as video projections now available, has the work found success in the opera house.
And not a moment too soon for Sir Andrew Davis, Lyric’s music director. “The British have always had an affinity for the music of Berlioz. They welcomed him and his music during his lifetime in a way his compatriots never did.”
The Damnation of Faust was a case in point. Little more than a year after conducting the premiere performances before disastrously empty houses in Paris in December 1846, Berlioz made his London debut leading a concert that included the work in early 1848. Julius Benedict, then one of England’s top composers and conductors, called it the season’s most important concert.
“Berlioz was such an incredible innovator,” said Sir Andrew. “When you think that the Symphonie fantastique was written three years after Beethoven died, it makes you realize what [Berlioz achieved] and how shocking it must have been when this music first appeared. There were no rules, no expectations. What he did with the orchestra was quite remarkable.”
Even with 21st-century technology, Sir Andrew admits that bringing Damnation to the opera stage is a challenge. “Berlioz thought of it as an opera of the mind. Several scenes evoke different locales, including heaven and hell, and they change very quickly, so it’s a technical challenge for a director and a designer. It also has to have a sense of the fantastical, but at the same time it has to tell the story, such as it is.”
Faust, though structured with time-honored operatic conventions in mind, poses its own challenges. “Clearly Gounod’s is a much more conventional opera,” said Sir Andrew. “But I’m looking forward to it because it’s a real masterpiece. Faust is one of those operas some take for granted. It wears its heart on its sleeve, but it’s very important that the piece not be sentimentalized. You need to find the core emotions and be sure that they’re not debased.”
Lyric’s “Faustian feast” this season will feature three outstanding devilish dynamos: German baritone René Pape and American bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen in the fall, and Canadian bass-baritone John Relyea in the winter.
Relyea, debuting at Lyric as Méphistophélès in Damnation, has performed both the Gounod and Berlioz works. He appeared with his Lyric costar, Susan Graham, in a well-received production of the Berlioz at the Metropolitan Opera last fall. “I’m pleased that my Lyric debut is going to be [this Méphistophélès],” said Relyea. “It’s grown to be one of my favorite roles. The Berlioz is more through-composed — it doesn’t feel like arias and ensembles strung together as in most standard opera.”
But the characters in Berlioz’s version are as fully drawn as any in the opera repertoire. “[Méphistophélès in] the Gounod Faust is a little more of a character role in a way,” said Relyea. “There’s a little more humor. In Berlioz, there is definitely the irony and some of the sarcasm, but it’s not quite so out front. You have a sense of Berlioz’s Mephisto being a little more of a gentleman and a guiding hand. I think there’s a little more depth to him.
“When he’s being tender and seductive, he’s really doing it in a very convincing way. In ‘Voici des roses,’ there’s nothing artificial about it at all — he wants to create something of beauty. He’s very much at the helm all the time, steering things along. When you look at the Mephisto in the Gounod, it’s almost a parrying situation. In Berlioz, it’s really Méphistophélès controlling the entire illusion.”
Pape, who portrays Méphistophélès in Lyric’s revival of Faust, has sung the role at the Met in 2005 and in Orange, France, in 2008. (Ketelsen sings the final three performances.) The New York Times called Pape’s portrayal “robust, incisive and chilling….These are [his] first performances as Méphistophélès, and he already owns the role.”
Opera News praised his “mesmerizing performance as a Méphistophélès of awesome malevolence…his sinister, accented French only adding to the power of his interpretation. He was also delightfully funny in his dealings with the amorous advances of…Dame Marthe.”
Lyric audiences have been captivated by Pape’s blend of richly expressive voice and powerful stage presence, most recently as Rocco in Fidelio in 2004-05. He seizes the stage the moment he appears and holds our attention even when he is not front and center. Few who heard his King Marke for Lyric (1999-00’s Tristan und Isolde ) will forget the experience. Standing quietly, full of kingly dignity, for close to 15 minutes he held us spellbound with his outpouring of anger and disappointment at Tristan’s betrayal.
Pape’s repertoire is wide-ranging, as the title of his 2008 debut solo CD — “Gods, Kings and Demons” — makes clear. It includes arias from both Faust and Damnation, though he has never performed the full Berlioz work.
“I’ve enjoyed doing kings, even gods. I enjoy every role I do,” said Pape. But Méphistophélès is a special case, both simple and complex. “Not so much is challenging in this role,” he admitted. “The devil stays the devil. But it depends on the production. The devil is a fantastic role because you can show so many colors of the character. He can be seductive, mean, funny, deranged. I actually like to do that.”
No doubt about it — the devil will get at least double his due this season at Lyric!
Discography and Videography
CDs
Studer, Mahé, Leech, Hampson, Van Dam; Théâtre du Capitole/Toulouse, cond. Plasson. (EMI)
Freni, Command, Domingo, Allen, Ghiaurov; Théâtre National de l’Opéra, cond. Prêtre. (EMI)
Gasdia, Mentzer, Hadley, Agache, Ramey; Welsh National Opera, cond. Rizzi. (Teldec)
(IN ENGLISH) Plazas, Montague, Clarke, Magee, Miles; Philharmonia Orchestra, Parry. (Chandos)
Pre-1960
de los Angeles, Berton, Gedda, Blanc, Christoff; Théâtre National de l’Opéra,
cond. Cluytens. (EMI)
Alarie, Berton, Simoneau, Rehfuss; Vienna Festival Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus, cond. Gianfranco Rivoli. (VAI)
Berthon, Coiffier, Vezzani, Musy, Journet; Théâtre National de l’Opéra, Busser. (Andante)
Boué, Nore, Bourdin, Rico; Royal Philharmonic, Beecham. (Naxos or Preiser)
Albanese, Browning, Jobin, Singher, Pinza; Metropolitan Opera, cond. Beecham. (Guild)
It is astonishing but true that Faust, like La Traviata, has never been ideally served on disc, with a number of great artists seriously miscast. Certainly, however, there are numerous stylish and compellingly individual portrayals to be heard. Any Faust with a splendid French conductor starts with a distinct advantage, especially when that conductor is André Cluytens, whose renowned recording features de los Angeles, Gedda, and Christoff leading the cast. This recording, alas, is saddled with cuts that were standard on records and in opera houses for years. A quartet of Lyric Opera favorites — Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Thomas Allen (stealing the show as Valentin) — are completely committed dramatically and in excellent voice on EMI. A somewhat more recent recording, also on EMI, presents a leading quartet who rank among the most musicianly artists of recent decades, and they all do themselves ample justice under another eminent French conductor, Michel Plasson.
Besides the Cluytens performance, the other pre-1960 recordings are also worthy of great interest. Sir Thomas Beecham was invariably at his best in French repertoire, and his conducting of Faust — whether in London or at the Met — is a must-hear. Deserving special attention, too, is the late, great Canadian tenor Léopold Simoneau, matchless in his aristocratic sense of style. He is caught in a 1957 performance opposite the Marguerite of his wife, Pierrette Alarie. Finally, there is a notably invigorating performance from 1930 that wears its years very well, especially in the astonishing devil of Marcel Journet, a legendary figure of French singing who was in his mid-sixties at the time.
DVD
Scotto, dal Piva, Kraus, Saccomani, Ghiaurov; NHK Symphony, Éthuin. (VAI – Japanese subtitles)
The production is makeshift, and merely an excuse to present the portrayals of three extraordinary artists. How marvelous that we have this visual and aural record of a live performance of this opera by Renata Scotto, Alfredo Kraus, and Nicolai Ghiaurov, in whom the central roles spring to life. Of particular interest here is Scotto, who didn’t sing Marguerite very frequently but possessed everything that this demanding role requires.
Audio
Backstage at Lyric #61
FAUST DISCOVERY SERIES: ANA MARÍA MARTÍNEZ, PIOTR BECZALA AND SIR ANDREW DAVIS
October 14, 2009
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Sir Andrew Davis joins Ana María Martínez (Margueite) and Piotr Beczala (Faust) in an exploration of the most popular of all operatic versions of the famous Faust legend. In this session, these three remarkable artists exchange ideas about the characters and music of Gounod's Faust as well as the opera’s importance within the French repertoire. Roger Pines moderates.
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Backstage at Lyric #60
FAUST: SOPRANO ANA MARÍA MARTÍNEZ
October 8, 2009
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The ravishing Puerto Rican-born soprano returns to Lyric, starring as Marguerite in Gounod's glorious Faust. "Sparkling and spirited...she's the linchpin of the performance," raved the Chicago Tribune. In this conversation with dramaturg Roger Pines, Martínez provides behind-the-scenes details on stage director Frank Corsaro's production and offers fascinating commentary about how she interprets Marguerite.
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Backstage at Lyric #59
FAUST: TENOR PIOTR BECZALA
October 2, 2009
The sensational Polish tenor Piotr Beczala makes his eagerly anticipated Lyric debut in the title role of Gounod's Faust. He talks in detail about the very human qualities of his character and other aspects of Lyric's production, including the fight choreography. Beczala also discusses growing up in southern Poland and what he plans to do during his stay in Chicago.
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Sir Andrew Davis Previews
Faust
Bored with life, the aging philosopher Faust would give anything to be young again. Enter the devil's disciple with the answer to his prayers!
A Star You Should Know
Piotr Beczala
Look forward to the highly anticipated Lyric debut of Polish tenor sensation Piotr Beczala, who will appear in the title role of Gounod's Faust October 5 through 23.
He electrified audiences worldwide earlier this season when he filled in at the last minute in the Met's "Live in HD" broadcast of Lucia di Lammermoor.
Learn more about one of the hottest tenors on the planet by listening to our 2-minute feature on Beczala with commentary by general director William Mason, dramaturg Roger Pines, and an aria excerpt from Faust. The audio clip is the first installment of our new podcast mini-series, "A Star You Should Know."
"Beczala's impassioned singing had poignant colorings and virile intensity, that ping that opera buffs call squillo. The audience loved him." — The New York Times
"A voice as virile and confident as it was robust." — The Independent
"Piotr Beczala, whose Faust was sung with tremendous ardour and played with an athleticism that doesn’t come easily (or at all) to every operatic tenor." — The Times (London)
"Piotr Beczala's Faust is first-class — he has a rich-toned, cleanly focused instrument that he uses with sensitivity and confidence." — The Telegraph
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Faust Commentary
Part 1
Faust
By Charles Gounod
Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations
2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.
Faust Commentary
Part 2
Faust
By Charles Gounod
Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations
2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.
Faust Commentary
Part 3
Faust
By Charles Gounod
Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations
2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.
Faust Commentary
Part 4
Faust
By Charles Gounod
Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations
2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.
Faust Commentary
Part 5
Faust
By Charles Gounod
Commentary by Sir Andrew Davis, Music Director
in collaboration with Nicholas Ivor Martin, Director of Operations
2009 Lyric Opera of Chicago
Original sound recordings of musical excerpts used by permission of EMI Classics, courtesy of Angel Records, a division of Capitol Records, Inc. All rights reserved. Post-production services provided by WFMT, Chicago. Mark Travis, Producer.