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This live performance (1985) from Vienna’s notorious Residence Opera House has a solid cast, except for the director. Araiza and Benackova have the appropriate lyric voices for Faust and Marguerite. Araiza performs a very sensitive and worshipful cavatina, “Salut! Demeure.” Benackova does her best to explain an innocent excitement upon viewing herself with a crown of jewels in the distinguished “Jewel Song,” but it seems out of status with her nun’s attire. (Yes, in Act II, she is packaged as a nun!) Raimondi has a collected and strong teach, even though he lacks the devilish and sarcastic coloring of the behind Nicolai Ghiaurov. The characterize (somewhat grainy), and the sound quality are well-behaved to the modern list of Faust DVD’s. For the most portion, the sets are impressive–but not necessarily appropriate–and rather somber. The opera opens and closes in Faust’s broad spy with a symbolic idea of the sky and higher realm. The opera often resembles a ballet as dancers appear as apparitions to accompany the vocalists.
In the notes that accompany the DVD, we learn that the director, Ken Russell, wanted to form the seduction of Marguerite, in his words, less “comical” and more “realistic” and “shimmering.” (It should be eminent that Russell’s reading, assuming he read Goethe’s first allotment, is at odds with most reviews of Faust.) To add “realism” to Faust’s conquest and Marguerite’s punishment, there are some symbolic sets, costumes, and scenes that will strike many viewers as rather bizarre and sometimes offensive. To prepare the viewer, here are a few examples of why this production was very controversial. Instead of an gorgeous vision of Marguerite in front of a spinning wheel, we peep a rather unalluring image of a woman sending a cryptic message by method of effect language–probably not the kind of image that would have prompted the aging Faust to trace a contract with the devil. In the distinguished and romantic garden scene, Marguerite appears fully dressed as a nun, and her garden is paved in stone rather than plants. Apparently, her religious habit is not very disconcerting to the arduous Faust because, after their duet, we recognize them rolling together on the pavement, in one of the strangest seduction scenes in the history of opera. Finally, Russell decides to focus on Marguerite’s punishment for murdering her illegitimate child rather than her pardon and redemption. Instead of angels bearing her spirit heavenward, we notice and hear the sound of a guillotine. In the closing scene, Faust is relieve in his recognize and seated in front of Marguerite’s casket. As a morbid reminder of their indiscretions, a headless corpse rises and falls inside the casket.
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Symbolic sets, costumes, and scenes assist a very useful purpose when they elaborate and enhance the spirit of the narrative and nature of the characters. Unfortunately, Russell’s symbolism distorts what both Goethe and Gounod had in mind, and they probably would have strongly disapproved of Russell’s alterations to the theme and depiction of Marguerite. For example, both Goethe and Gounod focused on Marguerite’s redemption and not her punishment, and neither one of them would have pictured her as a nun in a bizarre seduction scene. Goethe once claimed that his nature was too conciliatory to effect a correct tragedy. The extinguish of the second portion reunites the lovers in heaven to the devil’s disappointment. Gounod has been criticized, often unfairly, for not following the classic poem more closely. In order to manufacture a well-liked and absorbing opera, Gounod did leave out sections of the chronicle, but he remained correct to the spirit of Goethe’s Faust. In addition to being a composer of operas and religious music, Gounod was a literary scholar who wrote reviews. No doubt there is an audience for Russell’s attempt to revise one of the greatest poetic masterpieces in literature–probably the same audience who would like to ogle Mephistopheles dressed as a priest and conducting the sacraments. However, more knowledgeable fans of the poem and opera are likely to net his revisions disconcerting and defective. This production is probably worth four stars if you are willing to overlook the director’s misconceived symbolism. Alas, it appears that Faust lovers will have to continue to wait for an outstanding production of Gounod’s large opera on DVD.
The distinguished ballet scene was omitted. They made Margeurite a nun which she never was, and it objective doesn’t work. Worst of all, they altered the unique ending which depicted forgiveness and salvation (visually and in words and music) into a visually faulty, plain scene totally inconsistent with the celestial music. Such changes to a masterpiece, whether it be a renowned opera, as here, or to a Rembrandt cannot be justified, whether under a banner of “creativity” or any other.
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