Charles Gounod – Faust (Highlights)

Recorded at Brangwyn Hall, Swanse, UK on July, 1993.

About this opera:
Faust is a grand opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré’s play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust, Part 1. It debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique (Théâtre-Historique, Opèra-National, Boulevard du Temple) in Paris on March 19, 1859.
Faust was declined at the National Opera House, on the grounds that it was not sufficiently “showy”, and its appearance at the Théatre-Lyrique had been delayed for a year because Dennery’s drama Faust  was currently playing at the Porte St. Martin. The manager Leon Carvalho (who cast his wife Marie Miolan-Carvalho as Marguerite) insisted on various changes during production, including cutting several numbers. Faust was not initially well-received. The publisher Antoine Choudens, who purchased the copyright for 10,000 francs, took the work (with added recitatives replacing the original spoken dialogue) on tour through Germany, Belgium, Italy and England, with Marie Miolan-Carvalho repeating her role. It was revived in Paris in 1862, now a hit. A ballet had to be inserted before the work would be played at the Théâtre Impérial de l’Opéra in 1869: it became the most frequently performed opera at that house and a staple of the international repertory, which it remained for decades, after being translated into at least 25 languages. Its popularity and critical reputation have declined somewhat since around 1950. A full production, with its large chorus and elaborate sets and costumes, is an expensive undertaking today, particularly if the Act V ballet is included. However, it appears as number eighteen on Opera America’s list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America. It was Faust with which the Metropolitan Opera in New York City opened for the first time on October 22, 1883. It is the 8th most frequently performed opera there, with over 730 performances up until 2008. It was not until the period between 1965 and 1977 that the full version was performed (and then with some minor cuts), and all performances in that production included the Walpurgisnacht and the ballet.

The Artists:
Welsh National Opera Orchestra
Carlo Rizzi: conductor

Welsh National Opera Chorus
Gareth Jones: chorus master

Jerry Hadley: Faust
Cecilia Gasdia: Marguerite
Samuel Ramey: Méphisthophéles
Alesandru Agache: Valentin
Susanne Mentzer: Siébel
Brigitte Fassbaender: Marthe
Philippe Fourcade: Wagner

Track List:
01. Act 1 – Vin ou bi re (choeur, Wagner) (5:01)
02. Avant de quitter ces lieux (Valentin) (3:10)
03. Le veau d’or (M phistoph l s, choeur) (2:06)
04. Ne permettrez-vous pas (Faust, Marguerite, M phistoph l s, choeur) (3:57)
05. Act 2 – Quel trouble inconnu (Faust) (6:03)
06. Les grands seigneurs (Marguerite) (6:21)
07. Il se fait tard (Marguerite, Faust) (6:26)
08. Act 3 – Il ne revient pas (Marguerite, choeur) (3:33)
09. Ecoutez! D posons les armes! (Marthe, choeur, Valentin, Si bel) (2:58)
10. Gloire immortelle (choeur) (3:03)
11. Qu’attendez-vous encore? (M phistoph l s, Faust) (1:12)
12. Vous qui faites l’endormie (M phistoph l s, Faust) (2:59)
13. Ecoute-moi bien, Marguerite! (Valentin, Si bel, Marthe, choeur) (5:14)
14. Act 4 – Dans les bruy res (choeur) (1:16)
15. Arr te! (Faust, M phistoph l s, choeur) (3:06)
16. Minuit! Minuit! (M phistoph l s, choeur) (2:34)
17. Que ton ivresse (M phistoph l s, Faust, choeur) (3:13)
18. Alerte! alerte! (M phistoph l s, Marguerite, Faust, choeur) (6:26)
19. Appendix – Musique de ballet – I: Allegretto (2:36)
20. II: Allegretto (1:39)
21. III: Allegro vivo (2:35)

Stereo, DDD, mp3 (320 kbps), 75:59 minutes, 176.46Mb. Covers & info included.
Part1 — Part2