Gounods opera Faust is based on the famous story by the Ger. The reception of the oeuvre The rehearsals for the premiere in 1859 were nerve-racking. Seduced and abandoned by Faust, Marguerite kills the child born of their union. Buy Ballet Music from Faust by GOUNOD / WILLIAMS, M at . In the German opera business this opera is often called Margarethe to distinguish it from Goethe’s Faust. Méphistophélès, of course, does not fail to follow him and anticipate his every desire. She offers little resistance to his sumptuous gifts and romantic ways. Fascinated by an image of Marguerite that the Devil has produced to convince him, Faust goes off to seduce her. He makes a pact with Faust, guaranteeing him eternal youth in exchange for his soul.
Suddenly, Mephistophélès, the Devil himself, appears before him. Mphistophls tells fortunes: Wagner, it seems, will be killed in his first. Doctor Faust is an aging scholar who is tired of life and fantasizes about ending it all. Wagner starts a song to cheer everyone up, but is interrupted by Mphistophls. Thus, the drama of Goethe has been cannibalised in favour of a romantic tragedy according to the canons of French opera. As for Méphistophélès, he is a great and cynical sorcerer, who sets the rules of a game that is friendly at first, but degenerates into an infernal saga.
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It is also characterised by richly expressive music, full of melodious caresses in the duets of Faust and Marguerite, of vibrancy and colour in the crowd scenes.
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To discover this first Faust is to gain a deeper insight into the French aesthetic of demi-caractère, so specific to Paris in the 1850s.The music of Faust is a veritable treasure trove.Brilliant melodies embellish each scene, making this series of colourful tableaux a festival of “hits” – the “Jewel Song”, “Soldier’s chorus”, etc.It is not surprising that Faust established the reputation of Charles Gounod and remains, with Carmen, one of the most widely produced French operas in the world. Moreover, a large number of pieces were consigned to oblivion by these modifications. We have forgotten the charm of the first tenors who sang ‘Salut, demeure chaste et pure’ with the timbre typical of the voix mixte of opéra-comique. Its debut at the Opéra in 1869 propelled the work into theatres all over the world, but numerous modifications were the price of achieving that fame.īetween the Faust of 1859 and its counterpart of 1869, some of the spirit has evaporated: the spontaneity of the spoken dialogue and melodrama, the pawky humour of Dame Marthe, the cynicism of Méphistophélès. But almost twenty years were to elapse before one of the most famous works of French Romanticism was premiered at the Théâtre-Lyrique (1859). Benjamin Bernheim (Faust), Christian Van Horn (Méphistophélès), Florian Sempey (Valentin), Christian Helmer (Wagner), Ermonela Jaho (Marguerite), Michèle Losier (Siébel), Sylvie Brunet Grupposo (Dame Marthe), Jean-Yves Chilot (Aged Faust) Composer Charles Gounod Director Tobais Kratzer Set Design Rainer Sellmaier Duration 3h40 incl. Gounod contemplated a Faust opera as early as his residence in Rome in the 1840s. The French harpsichordist and conductor talks to Katherine about recording Lully's 1677 opera Isis (out now on Aparté) and the original 1859 version of Gounod's Faust, released in September on Bru Zane.
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