[Met Performance] CID:136470



Faust
Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, January 8, 1944




Faust (445)
Charles Gounod | Jules Barbier/Michel Carré
Faust
Raoul Jobin

Marguerite
Licia Albanese

Méphistophélès
Norman Cordon

Valentin
Martial Singher

Siebel
Irra Petina

Marthe
Doris Doe

Wagner
John Baker


Conductor
Wilfred Pelletier


Director
Désiré Defrère

Designer
Joseph Urban

Set Designer
Richard Rychtarik [Act I only]

Choreographer
Laurent Novikoff





Faust received three performances this season.

Review 1:

Review of Noel Straus in The New York Times

'FAUST' A SELL-OUT IN SEASON'S DEBUT

Jobin Sings Title Role Despite His Father's Death -- Singher in Bow as Valentin

After eighty-five years of service on the lyric stage Gounod's "Faust" remains so powerful a drawing card with the general public that the entire house was sold out by noon of the first day tickets were made available for last night's initial performance of the work this season at the Metropolitan. That the large audience was regaled with a stirring performance of the opera that fully exploited its possibilities for vocal display could hardly be asserted. But the presentation was always smooth and in good taste, with the result that all of the principals were enthusiastically applauded after each act.

The title role was sung with refinement and fervor by Raoul Jobin, who courageously essayed the part, despite the death of his father in Quebec the previous night. The elder Jobin, during his long illness, had extracted a promise from his son that no matter what happened he would continue his work and this was loyally kept. Having fulfilled his duty, the tenor was rushed to a train for Canada immediately after the performance.

Mr. Jobin's ardent vocalism, under the trying circumstances, was not matched by Licia Albanese's singing of Marguerite's music. In the second act, where she had her most telling opportunities, her voice sounded unusually small and thin, while her acting, if not without charm, was on the listless side. She delivered the sparkling "Jewel Song" with little brilliance and shorn of its celebrated trills. It was given with the same niceties of melodic outlining as the preceding "Roi de Thule," and with almost the same sort of expression. Obviously the role is not one particularly well suited to her voice, which finds more congenial outlet elsewhere in the repertoire.

Norman Cordon's Mephistopheles was decidedly praiseworthy in its vocal aspects and he was a commanding figure on the stage, looking the role to perfection in his admirable costuming and make-up. There were dignity and authority in his impersonation, but it was remiss in any adequate suggestion of the sinister nature of the character.

The role of Valentin was assumed for the first time here by Martial Singher, whose tones, especially in the middle register, had more body and resonance than at his earlier appearances this season. His voice, however, proved too thick and dark for his chief contribution, "Avant de quitter ces lieux," where a more mellow type of utterance and greater distinction in treatment of phrase are demanded.

Irra Petina, the Siebel, sang her "Flower Song" deftly, and Doris Doe was an efficient Marthe, doing effective work in the second act quartet. The choruses in the Kermesse scene had life and rhythmic allure. Wilfred Pelletier conducted with comprehension, yet did not succeed in arousing much spontaneity or intensity in the performance.



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