Faust is considered by many to be goethe s magnum opus and the greatest work of german literature the earliest forms of the work, known as the. Under the devils influence, the lovely marguerite falls for faust, and is irredeemably corrupted, to faust s ultimate horror. After these early translations, french art saw a profusion of popular plays, musical works, and paintings based on the story. But that isnt the only opera to be based on goethe s faust. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. Gounod was born in paris, the son of a pianist mother and a draftsman father. On this weeks wcpe opera house well hear an encore performance of charles gounod s faust, hosted by the late al ruocchio 19372007. French opera composer charles gounod had a smash hit on his hands with his 1859 opera faust. Eine deutsche volkssage 1926 and jan svankmajers faust 1994. That is a pretty stupid reason for not being able to judge a work on its own merits, i now admit. Jerry hadley, cecilia gasdia, samuel ramey, suzanne. Although rarely staged in its entirety, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on germanlanguage stages.
Loosely based on several episodes from goethe s classic play about an aged philosopher who strikes a. Premiered in paris in 1859, the opera enjoyed instant success. Faust charles gounod opera en cinq actes libretto by jules barbier and michel carre world premiere 19 march 1859, theatre lyrique, paris this production new production premiere 10 may 2014 coproduction with teatro real, madrid gounod s faust returns, after many years, to the stage in the netherlands. Fifty years ago one of the most popular operas in the repertoire was gounod s faust. The bolshoi theatre staged the first version in 1866, just seven years after the paris premiere. Charles gounod 18181893 was a french composer, famous for writing the melody to ave maria, and for the opera faust. He makes use of mephistopheles as a bawd to corrupt the innocent marguerite.
But such deals can never end happily and the price faust has to pay cannot be measured in gold. This chamber version of gounod s opera reduces it to the scale of goethe s original urfaust. Grades 712, opera house 3 hours, march 5, 2019 charles gounod production by francesca zambello sung in french with projected english titles the famous story by goethe focuses on the aging faust, who makes a pact with mephistopheles. Partage, commentaires et abonnements sont toujours. German necromancer and astrologer learning history. See more ideas about goethe s faust, charles gounod and faust movie. The character has been depicted by artists such as rembrandt and delacroix.
But of all the stage versions that have claimed the public attention, that of barbier and carre, made after goethe s drama and set to music by charles gounod, is far and away the most popular, and may be regarded, in its lyric dress, as the most successful also. See more ideas about opera, goethe s faust and charles gounod. Faust, opera in four acts with music by charles francois gounod, libretto by michel carre and julie barbier after the poem by goethe by ruth and thomas martin, goethe and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The ageing scholar faust signs a pact with the devil and regains his youth. Prelude on stage director, dramatist, comedian director you two, whove often stood by me, in times of need, when troubles breaking, say what success our undertaking 35. Its loosely based on the threepart tragedy, faust by goethe and premiered on march 19, 1859, at the theatre lyrique in paris, france. For years, i was absurdly prejudiced against gounod s faust for being a truncated and unfaithful setting of the gretchen tragedy episode of goethe s great drama, by far my favorite play. The legend of the man who sells his soul to the devil remains fascinating to this day.
Brilliant melodies embellish each scene, making this series of colourful tableaux a festival of hits the jewel song, soldiers chorus, etc. The story has been told in operas by charles gounod, hector berlioz, and others, and in a succession of important movies starting with fw murnaus in 1926. The opera faust is one piece of representative work in all of gounod s operas, the plot in which about a tragic love story between faust and margarita was from parts of goethe s drama faust. Today, charles gounods faust is one of the most popular works in the french opera repertoire. Charles gounod and faust seventy years ago, charles gounod s opera faust was the singularly most popular opera in the world.
Faust and the adjective faustian imply a situation in which an ambitious. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. The opera almost immediately gained popularity in russia. Today, charles gounod s faust is one of the most popular works in the french opera repertoire. The project gutenberg ebook of faust, by charles gounod. Carles gounod faust after the goethe tragedy enjoys pride of place among the operas that captured russian hearts back in the 19th century. Suddenly it fell out of fashion among those in control of opera houses. Gounod s faust, he says, has lost its dramatic force because we have learned wozzeck, and heard other, newer kinds of music. The myth of faust, told in multiple versions over several centuries, has become one of the bestknown and most frequently interpreted stories in western culture. This work, first performed in 1846, is also staged as an opera. 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. Faust work charles gounodjules barbier opera online. Faust has also appeared in cinematic versions, such as murnaus faust. Find the metropolitan opera on facebook opens new window find the metropolitan opera on twitter opens new window find the metropolitan opera on instagram opens new window.
But where goethe s faust wants knowledge above all things, and knowledge as a means to power, gounod s faust is looking for youth, and youth as a means to a specific kind of powerthe power to compel love. Exchanging his soul restores his youth and helps him woo marguerite, but his troubles are far from over. It is generally accepted as goethe s masterwork and the greatest work of german literature. One theme in faust is the eternal battle between good and evil, as in the figure of faust.