Sylvain Cambreling conducts "La Damnation de Faust" (The
Damnation of Faust), a "legende dramatique" in four acts, composed by Hector
Berlioz (1803-1869). This program features soloists Vesselina Kasarova, Paul
Groves, Willard White, and Andreas Macco. The DVD cover art is
ominous enough. What looks like the outside of a crumbling ancient Roman
aqueduct dominates the stage, with a multitiered cylinder in front. Is this
what the 1999 Salzburg Festival had in mind for poor old Faust in Hector
Berlioz's involving and original "legend dramatique in four acts"? Apparently
so. Stage directors Alex Olle and Carlos Padrissa's demented take on a work
that has been variously staged or presented simply in concert form is so
disastrous that it's actually worth a look. (In its defense, it's possible
that this staging needed to be experienced in person, where its physical
monumentality might have approximated the masterly score.) Musically, this is
a superlative performance: Paul Groves is a sympathetic Faust, Willard White
is an appropriately menacing Mephistopheles, and Vesselina Kasarova is an
exquisite Marguerite. Sylvain Cambreling sensitively conducts the
Staatskapelle Berlin, and two excellent choirs' vocal contributions should not
go unnoticed. (However, condolences to those choir members stuck in that
ludicrous cylinder.) Both visual presentation and sound are, as usual for
Arthaus Musik discs, first-rate; only the staging itself comes off as less
than worthwhile. --Kevin Filipski P.when('A').execute(function(A) {
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Back Cover Since the first scenic performance, many years after the composer's
death on February 18, 1893, La Damnation De Faust has repeatedly been seen on
the opera stage. The Salzburger Festspiele put the work on its Festspiel
program in 1999. With its considerable visual and musical format, the premiere
in the Felsenreitschule on August 19, 1999 turned into a much-respected
international event. The spectacular scenic realization originated with the
Spanish theater troupe La Fura dels Baus (staging: Alex Olle and Carlos
Padrissa; sets and costumes: Jaume Piensa, one of the most outstanding
sculptors on Europe's contemporary art scene; video projections: Franc Aleu),
whose "extreme theater" was received as a "grandiose theater evening" and a
"stroke of luck for the Salzburger Festpiele". Cast: Marguerite - Vesselina
Kasarova Faust - Paul Groves Mephistopheles - Willard White Brander - Andreas
Macco Orfeon Donostiarra de San Sebastian Tolzer Knabenchor Staatskapelle
Berlin Conductor - Sylvain Cambreling Stage Direction - Alex Olle/Carlos
Padreissa (La Fura dels Baus) Set Design and Costumes - Jaume Plensa Lighting
- Heinrich Brunke Produced by - Francois Duplat Directed for Video by -
Alexandre Tarta See more