Charles Gounod (1818-1893): Faust5099996677322
Opera in five acts
Libretto: Jules Barbier & Michel Carr after Goethe
Choeur de l'Arme Franaise
Chorus master Yves Parmentier assistant chorus master P.M. Aubert Choeur et Orchestre National du Capitole du Toulouse Chorus master Jos Aquino coach master Jeff Cohen organ Robert Gonnella Michel Plasson |
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Introduction
José van Dam conjures up a Méphistophelès who is elegant, sinister and inimitably Gallic, while Cheryl Studer soars as Marguerite opposite the rich-voiced Richard Leech in the title role. Michel Plasson again proves himself a conductor in the great French tradition.
Synopsis
The first part of Goethe’s Faust, one of the landmarks of German literature, received the full 19th century French operatic treatment from Charles Gounod. First performed in 1859 the opera tells the story of the old philosopher who makes a pact with the devil, Méphistophélès, and is rejuvenated. Faust meets and seduces a young woman, Marguerite, who gives birth to his child. She loses her reason, kills the baby and is condemned to death. Faust and Méphistophélès come to her prison to save her from the executioner, but she rejects them and, appealing to God, finds redemption.
Gounod’s elegance and extraordinary gift for melody are evident in such arias as Faust’s lyrical ‘Salut, demeure chaste et pure’, crowned with a top C, Marguerite’s sparkling “Ah! Je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir”, her response to a tempting gift of jewels, and the touching farewell of her brother, Valentin, as he leaves for war, ‘Avant de quitter ces lieux’. Méphistophélès, suave, sardonic and sinister, tells of the Golden Calf, sings a mocking serenade and unleashes powerful supernatural drama in the scene where he taunts Marguerite in church. The trio in prison, with Marguerite’s voice soaring progressively higher, makes a gloriously moving climax.
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Compact Disc 1 74.13 1 Introduction (Orchestra) 5.29 Scene Two Scene Two Scene Three Scene Four Scene Five ACT THREE Scene Two Scene Three Scene Four Scene Five Scene Six |
Compact Disc 2 69.04 Scene Seven Scene Eight Scene Two Scene Three Scene Four Scene Five Scene Six Scene Seven ACT FIVE Scene Two Appendix Ballet Music |
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