Product: 9788409126347
Gounod contemplated a Faust opera as early as his residence in Rome in the 1840s. But almost twenty years were to elapse before one of the most famous works of French Romanticism was premiered at the Theatre-Lyrique (1859). Its debut at the Opera in 1869 propelled the work into theatres all over the world, but numerous modifications were the price of achieving that fame.
Between 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 Mephistopheles. 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 opera-comique. Moreover, a large number of pieces were consigned to oblivion by these modifications. To discover this first Faust is to gain a deeper insight into the French aesthetic of demi-caractere, so specific to Paris in the 1850s.
1859 version
Benjamin Bernheim (Faust), Veronique Gens (Marguerite), Andrew Foster-Williams (Mephistopheles), Jean-Sebastien Bou (Valentin), Juliette Mars (Siebel), Ingrid Perruche (Marthe), Anas Seguin (Wagner/Un mendiant)
Les Talens Lyriques, Flemish Radio Choir, Christophe Rousset
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