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[Met Tour] CID:164270
Faust
The American Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tue, December 15, 1953
Faust (504)
Charles Gounod | Jules Barbier/Michel Carré
Review 1:
Review of Max de Schauensee in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
New “Faust” Staged by Metropolitan
A completely restaged and restudied production of “Faust” was the Metropolitan opera Association’s second offering of its present season at the Academy of Music last night.
It is an extremely sophisticated approach that stage-director Peter Brook and scenic-designer Rolf Gerard have taken. They have moved the period of Goethe’s poem up 300 years to approximately the period in which Goethe and Gounod both lived.
They have taken an attitude that Gounod’s music evokes in the 19th Century rather than the 18th, a perfectly permissible point of view. If you can accept this attitude – and this corner found more than easy to do so – you will have enjoyed a vibrant, exciting evening of genuine theatrical power.
Music Fits Setting
Certainly the “pompier” music in the Soldier’s Chorus and the lilting Victorian waltz of the Kermesse scene seemed far more natural in the setting decided on by Messrs. Brook and Gerard.
For those who refuse to give up the ancient traditions of their forefathers, there was a comforting presence of Pierre Monteux in the orchestra pit. Mr. Monteux gave a haunting account of Gounod’s sensuously beautiful music, achieving just the right balance between instruments and voices. Who understands such music better than this distinguished French veteran?
Mr. Gerard’s sets – all of them on the dark side – were imaginative and, in the Kermesse Scene, brilliant. The Garden Scene seemed a little on the chi-chi side, for, after all Marguerite was a bourgeoisie. Dasies might have been more sufferable than the drooping and languorous calla lilies adoring a pond that might have done service for “Giselle.” That Marguerite’s home was suggested instead of actually depicted seemed a matter of little importance.
The Church Scene, with its solid spaciousness, and the sinister street where Valentin is killed were among Mr. Gerard’s happiest iterations.
Mr. Brook managed his crowds most adroitly, and his macabre touches in the church and final scene made for theater which was alive and compelling. Whether one agrees with these men or not, their sincerity of purpose is ever apparent, and one never gets the feeling that there is any lack of respect for Gounod’s score; quite the contrary.
Excellent Cast
Of the cast, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, making his Philadelphia debut as Mephistopheles, was the most successful in realizing the ghoulish E. T. A. Hoffman, with romanticism evoked by the Messrs. Brook and Gerard. He played Mephisto with a flamboyance and a melodramatic flourish that was perfection. His “Veau d’Or” and “Serenade” were the work of a genuine artist. Here is a singing actor, a personality. He may not have the vocal security of a Journet, a Mardones or a Pinza, but his excellent French diction was good to hear after years of subjugation to Mr. Pinza’s execrable pronunciation of the French language.
Robert Merrill, as Valentin, probably sang better than anyone in the cast. The romance and breadth of his tones were impressive to say the least.
Victoria de los Angeles and Eugene Conley, (substituting for the afflicted Jussi Bjoerling) were hardly a romantic couple visually, but Mme. De los Angeles has personal appeal and a lovely voice. Some of her melting phrases in the Prison Scene will linger long in the memory. Mr. Conley sang cleanly and efficiently as Faust with a good high C in “Salut demeure,” but he fails to engage one’s interest. Margaret Roggero sang the Flower Song unusually well and Thelma Votipka was the knowing Marthe.
The scene of the Walpurgis Nacht was restored with some cuts, which was just as well for the opera didn’t finish until 11:35.
It was a capital idea of Mr. Bing’s part to pour so much new life into an opera which if presented in a conventional style might easily (without great singing) prove stuffy.
Judging from the uninhibited reaction of the audience, it thought so, too.
Search by season: 1953-54
Search by title: Faust,
Met careers
Faust
The American Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tue, December 15, 1953
Faust (504)
Charles Gounod | Jules Barbier/Michel Carré
- Faust
- Eugene Conley
- Marguerite
- Victoria de los Angeles
- Méphistophélès
- Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
- Valentin
- Robert Merrill
- Siebel
- Margaret Roggero
- Marthe
- Thelma Votipka
- Wagner
- Lawrence Davidson
- Conductor
- Pierre Monteux
Review 1:
Review of Max de Schauensee in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
New “Faust” Staged by Metropolitan
A completely restaged and restudied production of “Faust” was the Metropolitan opera Association’s second offering of its present season at the Academy of Music last night.
It is an extremely sophisticated approach that stage-director Peter Brook and scenic-designer Rolf Gerard have taken. They have moved the period of Goethe’s poem up 300 years to approximately the period in which Goethe and Gounod both lived.
They have taken an attitude that Gounod’s music evokes in the 19th Century rather than the 18th, a perfectly permissible point of view. If you can accept this attitude – and this corner found more than easy to do so – you will have enjoyed a vibrant, exciting evening of genuine theatrical power.
Music Fits Setting
Certainly the “pompier” music in the Soldier’s Chorus and the lilting Victorian waltz of the Kermesse scene seemed far more natural in the setting decided on by Messrs. Brook and Gerard.
For those who refuse to give up the ancient traditions of their forefathers, there was a comforting presence of Pierre Monteux in the orchestra pit. Mr. Monteux gave a haunting account of Gounod’s sensuously beautiful music, achieving just the right balance between instruments and voices. Who understands such music better than this distinguished French veteran?
Mr. Gerard’s sets – all of them on the dark side – were imaginative and, in the Kermesse Scene, brilliant. The Garden Scene seemed a little on the chi-chi side, for, after all Marguerite was a bourgeoisie. Dasies might have been more sufferable than the drooping and languorous calla lilies adoring a pond that might have done service for “Giselle.” That Marguerite’s home was suggested instead of actually depicted seemed a matter of little importance.
The Church Scene, with its solid spaciousness, and the sinister street where Valentin is killed were among Mr. Gerard’s happiest iterations.
Mr. Brook managed his crowds most adroitly, and his macabre touches in the church and final scene made for theater which was alive and compelling. Whether one agrees with these men or not, their sincerity of purpose is ever apparent, and one never gets the feeling that there is any lack of respect for Gounod’s score; quite the contrary.
Excellent Cast
Of the cast, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, making his Philadelphia debut as Mephistopheles, was the most successful in realizing the ghoulish E. T. A. Hoffman, with romanticism evoked by the Messrs. Brook and Gerard. He played Mephisto with a flamboyance and a melodramatic flourish that was perfection. His “Veau d’Or” and “Serenade” were the work of a genuine artist. Here is a singing actor, a personality. He may not have the vocal security of a Journet, a Mardones or a Pinza, but his excellent French diction was good to hear after years of subjugation to Mr. Pinza’s execrable pronunciation of the French language.
Robert Merrill, as Valentin, probably sang better than anyone in the cast. The romance and breadth of his tones were impressive to say the least.
Victoria de los Angeles and Eugene Conley, (substituting for the afflicted Jussi Bjoerling) were hardly a romantic couple visually, but Mme. De los Angeles has personal appeal and a lovely voice. Some of her melting phrases in the Prison Scene will linger long in the memory. Mr. Conley sang cleanly and efficiently as Faust with a good high C in “Salut demeure,” but he fails to engage one’s interest. Margaret Roggero sang the Flower Song unusually well and Thelma Votipka was the knowing Marthe.
The scene of the Walpurgis Nacht was restored with some cuts, which was just as well for the opera didn’t finish until 11:35.
It was a capital idea of Mr. Bing’s part to pour so much new life into an opera which if presented in a conventional style might easily (without great singing) prove stuffy.
Judging from the uninhibited reaction of the audience, it thought so, too.
Search by season: 1953-54
Search by title: Faust,
Met careers