Doktor Faust
Encyclopedia
Doktor Faust is an opera
by Ferruccio Busoni
with a German(?) libretto
by the composer himself, based on the myth of Faust
. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time of his death. His pupil Philipp Jarnach
finished it. More recently, in 1982, Antony Beaumont
completed the opera using sketches by Busoni which were previously thought to have been lost. Nancy Chamness has published an analysis of the libretto to Doktor Faust and a comparison with Goethe's version.
on 21 May 1925 using the version completed by Philipp Jarnach. The premiere was conducted by Fritz Busch
, produced by Alfred Reucker, and designed by Karl Danneman. Over the next few years the opera was performed in many of the opera houses of Germany including those in Dortmund
, Duisburg
, Karlsruhe
, Weimar
, and Hanover
in 1925; Hanover and Wiesbaden
in 1926; and Stuttgart
, Dortmund, Hanover, Cologne
, Leipzig
, Hamburg
, and Frankfurt am Main in 1927. The opera finally reached Berlin on 27 October 1927 with a performance at the Staatsoper am Platz der Republik. The work was performed again in Hanover and in Prague
, the first performance outside of Germany, in June 1928.
Its first performance in England was on 17 March 1937 in a concert version presented at Queen's Hall
, London, conducted by Adrian Boult
. The opera was sung in the English translation prepared by Edward J. Dent and starred Dennis Noble
as Faust and Parry Jones
as Mephistopheles. A second concert version was presented at the Royal Festival Hall
, London, on 13 November 1959, again conducted by Boult but with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
in the title role and Richard Lewis
as Mephistopheles. However, the UK stage premiere did not occur until 1986, when it was mounted in London at the English National Opera
beginning on 25 April with conductors Mark Elder
and Antony Beaumont
. Thomas Allen sang Faust and Graham Clark
, Mephistopheles. The performance was sung in Dent's translation and used the new ending by Antony Beaumont.
The opera received its Italian premiere at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
on 28 May 1942 under the baton of Fernando Previtali
and starring Enzo Mascherini
as Faust, Renato Gigli as Mefistofele, and Augusta Oltrabella as the duchess. Previtali conducted another notable production of the opera at that house in 1964 with Renato Cesari as Faust, Herbert Handt as Mefistofele, and Luisa Maragliano as the duchess. La Scala
staged the opera for the first time on 16 March 1960 under conductor Hermann Scherchen
with Dino Dondi in the title role, Aldo Bertocci as Mefistofele, and Margherita Roberti
as the duchess.
The first performance of Doktor Faust in France occurred at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
on 19 June 1963. Shortly thereafter, the work had its United States premiere on 1 December 1964 in a concert format presented by the American Opera Society
at Carnegie Hall
. The production was conducted by Jascha Horenstein
and starred Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
in the title role with George Shirley
as Mephistopheles and Ingrid Bjoner as the Duchess of Parma. The first United States staged performance of the work was given on 25 January 1974 in Reno, Nevada, by the Nevada Opera Company conducted by Ted Puffer
at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts
. The opera was given in an English translation by Ted and Deena Puffer and starred Daniel Sullivan as Faust and Ted Rowland as Mephistopheles.
Although certainly not one of the most frequently performed operas, Doktor Faust has been produced a number of times over the last twenty-five years. Companies which have staged the work include: the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
(1985), the Palais Garnier
(1989), La Scala
(1989), the New York City Opera
(1992), the Salzburg Festival
(presented by the Opéra National de Lyon
, 1999), the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (2006), and the Berlin State Opera
(2008) among others. The Metropolitan Opera
mounted its first production of the work in 2001 with Thomas Hampson in the title role, Robert Brubaker
as Mephistopheles, and Katarina Dalayman
as the duchess. The San Francisco Opera
performed the work for the first time in a co-production with the Staatsoper Stuttgart
in 2004 with Rodney Gilfry in the title role, Chris Merritt as Mephistopheles, and Hope Briggs as the duchess. A 2006 performance of the opera at the Zurich Opera
was filmed live and released on DVD. The production starred Thomas Hampson in the title role and was conducted by Philippe Jordan
(see additional details here).
and Don Juan
as subject matter in favor of Faust
. This spoken introduction emphasizes the play's origins in puppet theater. (This section is often omitted.)
Faust is Rector Magnificus of the university. While he is working on an experiment in his laboratory, Wagner, his pupil, brings word of three students from Kraków, who have arrived unannounced to give Faust a book on black magic, Clavis Astartis Magica (The Key to the Magic of Astarte). Faust reflects on the power that will soon be his. The students come on stage, and tell him that this book is for him. When Faust asks what he must give in return, they say only "Later". He then asks whether he will see them again, and they respond "Perhaps." They then depart. Wagner reappears, and after questioning from Faust, tells his teacher that he saw no one enter or leave. Faust concludes that these visitors were supernatural.
Faust opens the book and follows its directions. He makes a circle on the floor, steps into it and calls upon Lucifer to appear. A pale light is seen around the room, and then unseen voices materialize. Faust then wishes, as his 'Will', for spirits at his beck and call. Five flames appear, servants of Lucifer, but Faust is not impressed at their claims of speed. The sixth flame/voice, Mephistopheles, claims that "I am as swift as the thoughts of man" ("als wie des Menschen Gedanke"). Faust then accepts Mephistopheles as a servant. He demands that all his wishes be granted, to have all knowledge and the power of genius. Mephistopheles, in return, says that Faust must serve him after death, which Faust recoils from at first. Mephistopheles reminds Faust that his creditors and enemies are at the door. With Faust's approval, Mephistopheles causes them to fall, dead. Then, with the chorus in the distance singing a 'Credo' on Easter morning, Faust signs the pact in blood, wondering what has become of his 'Will'. He faints upon realizing that he has forfeited his soul. Mephistopheles gleefully takes the contract in hand.
The wedding ceremony for the Duke and Duchess of Parma is in process. The Master of Ceremonies announces a guest, the famous magician Dr. Faust. Faust enters with his herald (Mephistopheles). The Duchess is immediately smitten with Faust; the Duke surmises that "Hell has sent him here." Faust alters the atmosphere to night to be able to perform his magic feats. The first, at the Duchess' request, is vision of King Solomon and Queen Balkis, who respectively resemble Faust and the Duchess. Second is Samson and Delilah. Third is John the Baptist with Salome. An Executioner (looking like the Duke) threatens the Baptist (resembling Faust), but the Duchess cries out that the Baptist must be saved. In an aside, Faust asks the Duchess to run off with him, but she is hesitant, if willing. The Duke declares the magic show concluded and announces supper. Mephistopheles warns Faust to flee, since the food is poisoned. The Duchess returns to tell Faust that she will accompany him. Mephistopheles, disguised as a court chaplain, returns with the Duke and advises him against chasing down Faust and the Duchess. Instead, he advises the Duke to marry the sister of the Duke of Ferrara, who is threatening war on the Duke of Parma.
Some students talk of Plato and metaphysics, with Faust present. After Faust has responded to a question by saying that "Nothing is proven, and nothing is provable", with a citation of Martin Luther
, the Catholic and Protestant students break into quarrel. Once that has subsided, Faust recalls his affair with the Duchess. Mephistopheles, disguised as a courier, brings the news that she has died and sent a gift to Faust. This is a baby's corpse, and Mephistopheles tosses it at Faust's feet. Mephistopheles tells the students of Faust's seduction of the Duchess, and subsequent abandonment. Mephistopheles then changes the dead infant into a bundle of straw and sets fire to it, from which comes a vision of Helen of Troy. The students recoil, and Mephistopheles departs. Faust attempts to embrace the vision, but it eludes him. In her place instead, the three Kraków students materialize, to demand the return of the magic book. Faust tells them that he has destroyed it. The students then tell him that he will die at the stroke of midnight.
Mephistopheles, in disguise as a Night Watchman, announces that it is eleven o'clock. Wagner, the successor to Faust as university Rector and now resident in Faust's former home, says good-night to a group of students. Faust enters, alone, and sees his old home. Voices from the church sing of judgment and salvation. Faust wants to try to redeem himself with one final good deed. He sees a beggar woman with a child, and realizes that she is the Duchess. She hands him the child, tells him that there is still time to complete his work before midnight, then vanishes. Faust then tries to enter the church, but the Soldier (from the Intermezzo) materializes to block his path. Faust tries to pray, but cannot remember the words. From the light of the Night Watchman's lamp, Faust sees the figure of the crucified Christ metamorphose into that of Helen of Troy. "Gibt es keine Gnade?" ["Is there no mercy?"], he sings. (At this point in the Beaumont version Faust sings "Euch zum Trotze ... die wir nennen böse.... An dieser hohen Einsicht meiner Reife bricht sich nun eure Bosheit und in der mir errungnen Freiheit erlischt Gott und Teufel zugleich." ["I defy you ... whom we call evil.... Your malice breaks on the superior insight of my maturity, and in the freedom gained by me, God and the Devil together cease to exist."]) In parallel with Prologue I, Faust forms a circle on the ground. He then steps into it with the child's body and, with one last supreme effort, he transfers his life-force to the child. The Night Watchman calls out the midnight hour; Faust falls dead; a naked youth arises with a blossoming branch in his right hand and steps forth into the night. The Night Watchman, now revealed as Mephistopheles, sees Faust's body on the ground, and asks "Sollte dieser Mann verunglückt sein?"["Has this man met with some misfortune?"]. In the Beaumont ending Mephistopheles throws Faust's body onto his shoulders and walks off; distant voices repeat Faust's final words: "Blut meines Blutes, Glied meines Gliedes, dir vermach' ich mein Leben, ich, Faust, ich, Faust, ein ewiger Wille." ["Blood of my blood, limb of my limb, I bequeath to thee my life, I, Faust, I, Faust, one eternal will."]
Video recording
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
with a German(?) libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by the composer himself, based on the myth of Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique 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...
. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time of his death. His pupil Philipp Jarnach
Philipp Jarnach
Philipp Jarnach was considered in the 1920s to be one of the most important composers of modern music....
finished it. More recently, in 1982, Antony Beaumont
Antony Beaumont
Antony Beaumont is an English and German musicologist, writer, conductor and violinist. As a conductor, he has specialized in German music from the first half of the 20th century, including works by Zemlinsky, Weill, and Gurlitt...
completed the opera using sketches by Busoni which were previously thought to have been lost. Nancy Chamness has published an analysis of the libretto to Doktor Faust and a comparison with Goethe's version.
Performance history
Doktor Faust was given its world premiere at the Sächsiches Staatstheater, DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
on 21 May 1925 using the version completed by Philipp Jarnach. The premiere was conducted by Fritz Busch
Fritz Busch
Fritz Busch was a German conductor.Busch was born in Siegen, Province of Westphalia. He held posts conducting opera at Aachen, Stuttgart and Dresden. In 1933 he was dismissed from his post at Dresden because of his opposition to the new Nazi government of Germany...
, produced by Alfred Reucker, and designed by Karl Danneman. Over the next few years the opera was performed in many of the opera houses of Germany including those in Dortmund
Theater Dortmund
Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904...
, Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
, Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, and Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
in 1925; Hanover and Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
in 1926; and Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Dortmund, Hanover, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and Frankfurt am Main in 1927. The opera finally reached Berlin on 27 October 1927 with a performance at the Staatsoper am Platz der Republik. The work was performed again in Hanover and in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, the first performance outside of Germany, in June 1928.
Its first performance in England was on 17 March 1937 in a concert version presented at Queen's Hall
Queen's Hall
The Queen's Hall was a concert hall in Langham Place, London, opened in 1893. Designed by the architect T.E. Knightley, it had room for an audience of about 2,500 people. It became London's principal concert venue. From 1895 until 1941, it was the home of the promenade concerts founded by Robert...
, London, conducted by Adrian Boult
Adrian Boult
Sir Adrian Cedric Boult CH was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London for the Royal Opera House and Sergei Diaghilev's ballet company. His first prominent post was...
. The opera was sung in the English translation prepared by Edward J. Dent and starred Dennis Noble
Dennis Noble
Dennis Noble was a noted British baritone and teacher. He appeared in opera, oratorio, musical comedy and song, from the First World War through to the late 1950s. He was renowned for his enunciation and diction, and for the metallic timbre of his voice...
as Faust and Parry Jones
Gwynn Parry Jones
Parry Jones , known early in his career as Gwynn Jones, was a Welsh tenor of the mid-twentieth century.-Life and career:...
as Mephistopheles. A second concert version was presented at the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, London, on 13 November 1959, again conducted by Boult but with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
in the title role and Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis (tenor)
Richard Lewis CBE was a Welsh tenor.Born Thomas Thomas in Manchester to Welsh parents, Lewis began his career as a boy soprano and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music from 1939 to 1941...
as Mephistopheles. However, the UK stage premiere did not occur until 1986, when it was mounted in London at the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
beginning on 25 April with conductors Mark Elder
Mark Elder
Sir Mark Philip Elder, CBE is a British conductor. He is the music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England.-Biography:Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, England, the son of a dentist...
and Antony Beaumont
Antony Beaumont
Antony Beaumont is an English and German musicologist, writer, conductor and violinist. As a conductor, he has specialized in German music from the first half of the 20th century, including works by Zemlinsky, Weill, and Gurlitt...
. Thomas Allen sang Faust and Graham Clark
Graham Clark (singer)
Graham Clark is an English opera tenor, mainly known for his character roles like Loge , Mime and the Captain...
, Mephistopheles. The performance was sung in Dent's translation and used the new ending by Antony Beaumont.
The opera received its Italian premiere at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
on 28 May 1942 under the baton of Fernando Previtali
Fernando Previtali
Fernando Previtali was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially Verdi operas....
and starring Enzo Mascherini
Enzo Mascherini
Enzo Mascherini was an Italian operatic baritone, one of the leading baritones of his generation....
as Faust, Renato Gigli as Mefistofele, and Augusta Oltrabella as the duchess. Previtali conducted another notable production of the opera at that house in 1964 with Renato Cesari as Faust, Herbert Handt as Mefistofele, and Luisa Maragliano as the duchess. La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
staged the opera for the first time on 16 March 1960 under conductor Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen was a German conductor.-Life:Scherchen was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens...
with Dino Dondi in the title role, Aldo Bertocci as Mefistofele, and Margherita Roberti
Margherita Roberti
Dame Margherita Roberti is an American operatic soprano who had an active international career that spanned from 1948 to 1988. Although she performed throughout the world, Roberti achieved her greatest success and popularity in Italy. A dramatic soprano, Roberti drew particular acclaim for her...
as the duchess.
The first performance of Doktor Faust in France occurred at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
on 19 June 1963. Shortly thereafter, the work had its United States premiere on 1 December 1964 in a concert format presented by the American Opera Society
American Opera Society
The American Opera Society was a New York City based musical organization that presented concert and semi-staged performances of operas between 1951 and 1970...
at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. The production was conducted by Jascha Horenstein
Jascha Horenstein
Jascha Horenstein was an American conductor.Horenstein was born in Kiev, Russian Empire , into a well-to-do Jewish family; his mother came from an Austrian rabbinical family and his father was Russian....
and starred Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
in the title role with George Shirley
George Shirley
George Irving Shirley is a renowned tenor opera singer.He is a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.-External links:*** by Bruce Duffie...
as Mephistopheles and Ingrid Bjoner as the Duchess of Parma. The first United States staged performance of the work was given on 25 January 1974 in Reno, Nevada, by the Nevada Opera Company conducted by Ted Puffer
Ted Puffer
Merle "Ted" Puffer was an American voice teacher and translator.He taught the mezzo-soprano Dolora Zajick when she was launching her career....
at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts
Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts
The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno, Nevada was designed by the Oklahoma City architectural firm of Bozalis, Dickinson and Roloff as a concrete structure with a distinctive gold geodesic dome roof. It was completed in 1967 with 987 seats on the main level and 513 seats in a balcony...
. The opera was given in an English translation by Ted and Deena Puffer and starred Daniel Sullivan as Faust and Ted Rowland as Mephistopheles.
Although certainly not one of the most frequently performed operas, Doktor Faust has been produced a number of times over the last twenty-five years. Companies which have staged the work include: the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Teatro Comunale di Bologna
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy, and is one of the most important opera venues in Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season....
(1985), the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
(1989), La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
(1989), the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
(1992), the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
(presented by the Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon
Opéra National de Lyon is an opera company in Lyon, France which performs in the Nouvel Opéra, a modernized version in 1993 of the original 1831 opera house.The inaugural performance of François-Adrien Boïeldieu's La Dame blanche was given on 1 July 1831...
, 1999), the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (2006), and the Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
(2008) among others. The Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
mounted its first production of the work in 2001 with Thomas Hampson in the title role, Robert Brubaker
Robert Brubaker (tenor)
Robert Brubaker is an American operatic tenor. Born in Manheim, Pennsylvania, he is an alumnus of the Hartt College of Music. He began his career at the New York City Opera as a baritone in the opera chorus...
as Mephistopheles, and Katarina Dalayman
Katarina Dalayman
Katarina Dalayman, born January 25, 1963 in Stockholm, is a Swedish soprano who has found critical acclaim singing major operatic roles by composers such as Wagner, Berg, Shostakovich and Bartók, among others...
as the duchess. The San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
performed the work for the first time in a co-production with the Staatsoper Stuttgart
Staatsoper Stuttgart
The Staatsoper Stuttgart is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, Germany.-History:The Stuttgart Staatsoper forms part of the Stuttgart State Theatre , which is a a three-branch-theatre complex and represents the largest theatre of its kind in Europe...
in 2004 with Rodney Gilfry in the title role, Chris Merritt as Mephistopheles, and Hope Briggs as the duchess. A 2006 performance of the opera at the Zurich Opera
Zurich Opera
Oper Zürich is an opera company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...
was filmed live and released on DVD. The production starred Thomas Hampson in the title role and was conducted by Philippe Jordan
Philippe Jordan
Philippe Jordan is a Swiss conductor, and the son of conductor Armin Jordan. He began to study piano at age 6. At age 8, he joined the Zürich Sängerknaben. His violin studies began at age 11....
(see additional details here).
Roles
Instrumentation
The orchestra consists of: 3 flutes (piccolo), 3 oboes (English horn), 3 clarinets (bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (contrabassoon); 5 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba; tympani, percussion (triangle, drum, military drum, cymbals, tam-tam, xylophone, bass drum, glockenspiel, celesta), 2 harps; organ; strings. Stage music: 3 trumpets, 2 trombones; bells; tympani; strings (violin, viola, cello).Symphonia
Orchestral introduction: Easter Vespers and Augurs of Spring. The orchestra begins with bell imitations; later the chorus, behind the curtain, sings the single word: "Pax".The poet speaks
In front of the curtain the poet speaks to the spectators explaining why he abandoned his earlier ideas of using MerlinMerlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
and Don Juan
Don Juan
Don Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
as subject matter in favor of Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
. This spoken introduction emphasizes the play's origins in puppet theater. (This section is often omitted.)
Prologue I
Wittenberg, Germany, during the Middle Ages.Faust is Rector Magnificus of the university. While he is working on an experiment in his laboratory, Wagner, his pupil, brings word of three students from Kraków, who have arrived unannounced to give Faust a book on black magic, Clavis Astartis Magica (The Key to the Magic of Astarte). Faust reflects on the power that will soon be his. The students come on stage, and tell him that this book is for him. When Faust asks what he must give in return, they say only "Later". He then asks whether he will see them again, and they respond "Perhaps." They then depart. Wagner reappears, and after questioning from Faust, tells his teacher that he saw no one enter or leave. Faust concludes that these visitors were supernatural.
Prologue II
Midnight that same evening.Faust opens the book and follows its directions. He makes a circle on the floor, steps into it and calls upon Lucifer to appear. A pale light is seen around the room, and then unseen voices materialize. Faust then wishes, as his 'Will', for spirits at his beck and call. Five flames appear, servants of Lucifer, but Faust is not impressed at their claims of speed. The sixth flame/voice, Mephistopheles, claims that "I am as swift as the thoughts of man" ("als wie des Menschen Gedanke"). Faust then accepts Mephistopheles as a servant. He demands that all his wishes be granted, to have all knowledge and the power of genius. Mephistopheles, in return, says that Faust must serve him after death, which Faust recoils from at first. Mephistopheles reminds Faust that his creditors and enemies are at the door. With Faust's approval, Mephistopheles causes them to fall, dead. Then, with the chorus in the distance singing a 'Credo' on Easter morning, Faust signs the pact in blood, wondering what has become of his 'Will'. He faints upon realizing that he has forfeited his soul. Mephistopheles gleefully takes the contract in hand.
Intermezzo
By this point, Faust has seduced the maiden Gretchen. At a chapel, her brother, a soldier, prays to find and punish the violator of his sister's honour. Mephistopheles points out the soldier to Faust, who wants to kill him, but not with his own hands. Mephistopheles disguises himself as a monk and offers to hear the Soldier's confession. A military patrol, surreptitiously directed by Mephistopheles, enters and kills the Soldier, claiming that the soldier had murdered their captain. The soldier's death is then to weigh on Faust's conscience.Scene I
The Ducal Park of Parma, ItalyThe wedding ceremony for the Duke and Duchess of Parma is in process. The Master of Ceremonies announces a guest, the famous magician Dr. Faust. Faust enters with his herald (Mephistopheles). The Duchess is immediately smitten with Faust; the Duke surmises that "Hell has sent him here." Faust alters the atmosphere to night to be able to perform his magic feats. The first, at the Duchess' request, is vision of King Solomon and Queen Balkis, who respectively resemble Faust and the Duchess. Second is Samson and Delilah. Third is John the Baptist with Salome. An Executioner (looking like the Duke) threatens the Baptist (resembling Faust), but the Duchess cries out that the Baptist must be saved. In an aside, Faust asks the Duchess to run off with him, but she is hesitant, if willing. The Duke declares the magic show concluded and announces supper. Mephistopheles warns Faust to flee, since the food is poisoned. The Duchess returns to tell Faust that she will accompany him. Mephistopheles, disguised as a court chaplain, returns with the Duke and advises him against chasing down Faust and the Duchess. Instead, he advises the Duke to marry the sister of the Duke of Ferrara, who is threatening war on the Duke of Parma.
Scene II
At a tavern in WittenbergSome students talk of Plato and metaphysics, with Faust present. After Faust has responded to a question by saying that "Nothing is proven, and nothing is provable", with a citation of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, the Catholic and Protestant students break into quarrel. Once that has subsided, Faust recalls his affair with the Duchess. Mephistopheles, disguised as a courier, brings the news that she has died and sent a gift to Faust. This is a baby's corpse, and Mephistopheles tosses it at Faust's feet. Mephistopheles tells the students of Faust's seduction of the Duchess, and subsequent abandonment. Mephistopheles then changes the dead infant into a bundle of straw and sets fire to it, from which comes a vision of Helen of Troy. The students recoil, and Mephistopheles departs. Faust attempts to embrace the vision, but it eludes him. In her place instead, the three Kraków students materialize, to demand the return of the magic book. Faust tells them that he has destroyed it. The students then tell him that he will die at the stroke of midnight.
Scene III
A Wittenberg street, in the snow, outside the church.Mephistopheles, in disguise as a Night Watchman, announces that it is eleven o'clock. Wagner, the successor to Faust as university Rector and now resident in Faust's former home, says good-night to a group of students. Faust enters, alone, and sees his old home. Voices from the church sing of judgment and salvation. Faust wants to try to redeem himself with one final good deed. He sees a beggar woman with a child, and realizes that she is the Duchess. She hands him the child, tells him that there is still time to complete his work before midnight, then vanishes. Faust then tries to enter the church, but the Soldier (from the Intermezzo) materializes to block his path. Faust tries to pray, but cannot remember the words. From the light of the Night Watchman's lamp, Faust sees the figure of the crucified Christ metamorphose into that of Helen of Troy. "Gibt es keine Gnade?" ["Is there no mercy?"], he sings. (At this point in the Beaumont version Faust sings "Euch zum Trotze ... die wir nennen böse.... An dieser hohen Einsicht meiner Reife bricht sich nun eure Bosheit und in der mir errungnen Freiheit erlischt Gott und Teufel zugleich." ["I defy you ... whom we call evil.... Your malice breaks on the superior insight of my maturity, and in the freedom gained by me, God and the Devil together cease to exist."]) In parallel with Prologue I, Faust forms a circle on the ground. He then steps into it with the child's body and, with one last supreme effort, he transfers his life-force to the child. The Night Watchman calls out the midnight hour; Faust falls dead; a naked youth arises with a blossoming branch in his right hand and steps forth into the night. The Night Watchman, now revealed as Mephistopheles, sees Faust's body on the ground, and asks "Sollte dieser Mann verunglückt sein?"["Has this man met with some misfortune?"]. In the Beaumont ending Mephistopheles throws Faust's body onto his shoulders and walks off; distant voices repeat Faust's final words: "Blut meines Blutes, Glied meines Gliedes, dir vermach' ich mein Leben, ich, Faust, ich, Faust, ein ewiger Wille." ["Blood of my blood, limb of my limb, I bequeath to thee my life, I, Faust, I, Faust, one eternal will."]
Recordings
Audio recordings- Dietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-DieskauDietrich Fischer-Dieskau is a retired German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous lieder performers of the post-war period and "one of the supreme vocal artists of the 20th century"...
, William CochranWilliam Cochran (tenor)William Cochran was born on June 23, 1943, in Columbus, Ohio, and is an internationally-noted Heldentenor. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Martial Singher. A winner of the Lauritz Melchior Heldentenor Foundation Award, he debuted with the Metropolitan Opera, as Vogelgesang in Die...
, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Anton de Ridder, Karl Christian Kohn; Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and ChorusBavarian Radio Symphony OrchestraThe Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, in German Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks is the internationally renowned orchestra of the Bayerischer Rundfunk , based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the three principal orchestras in the city of Munich, along with the Munich Philharmonic...
; Ferdinand LeitnerFerdinand LeitnerFerdinand Leitner was a German conductor. Leitner studied under Franz Schreker, Julius Prüwer, Artur Schnabel and Karl Muck. He also was a composition student with Robert Kahn. Starting as a pianist, through the help of Fritz Busch, he became a conductor in the 1930s...
, conductor (Deutsche Grammophon; Jarnach version, taken from live performances, with cuts to the score; see additional details here).
- Dietrich Henschel, Kim Begley, Torsten Kerl, Eva Jenisova, Detlef Roth, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (speaker); Orchestre et Choeur de l'Opéra National de Lyon; Kent NaganoKent Nagano__FORCETOC__Kent George Nagano is an American conductor and opera administrator. He is currently the music director of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Bavarian State Opera.-Biography:...
, conductor (Erato; Beaumont edition, with choice of Jarnach or Beaumont final scene via CD player programming; see additional details here).
Video recording
- Thomas Hampson, Gregory Kunde, Sandra Tratmigg; Zurich Opera House Chorus and OrchestraZurich OperaOper Zürich is an opera company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...
; Philippe JordanPhilippe JordanPhilippe Jordan is a Swiss conductor, and the son of conductor Armin Jordan. He began to study piano at age 6. At age 8, he joined the Zürich Sängerknaben. His violin studies began at age 11....
, conductor (Arthaus Musik DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
; Jarnach version, taken from live performances, with cuts to the score; see additional details here).
Sources
- Amadeus Almanac (21 May 1925), accessed 4 February 2009
- Beaumont, AntonyAntony BeaumontAntony Beaumont is an English and German musicologist, writer, conductor and violinist. As a conductor, he has specialized in German music from the first half of the 20th century, including works by Zemlinsky, Weill, and Gurlitt...
(1985). Busoni the Composer, London: Faber and FaberFaber and FaberFaber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
. ISBN 0-571-13149-2. - Holden, Amanda, ed. (1993). The Viking Opera Guide. New York: VikingViking PressViking Press is an American publishing company owned by the Penguin Group, which has owned the company since 1975. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim...
. ISBN 0-670-81292-7. - Huynh, Pascal (1993). Booklet notes to the Nagano/Doktor Faust recording. Erato 3984-25501-2.
- Kindermann, Jürgen (1980). Thematisch-chronologisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Ferruccio B. Busoni. Studien zur Musikgeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts, vol. 19. Regensburg: Gustav Bosse Verlag. ISBN 3-7649-2033-5.
- Roberge, Marc-André (1991). Ferruccio Busoni: a bio-bibliography. New York:Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-25587-3.
- Smith, William (1855). Latin-English dictionary: based upon the works of Forcellini and Freund. London: John MurrayJohn Murray (publisher)John Murray is an English publisher, renowned for the authors it has published in its history, including Jane Austen, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lord Byron, Charles Lyell, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Herman Melville, and Charles Darwin...
. (Accessed on 5 February 2009.)
Further reading
- Crispin, Judith Michele (2007). The Esoteric Musical Tradition of Ferruccio Busoni and its Reinvigoration in the Music of Larry Sitsky: the Operas "Doktor Faust" and "The Golem" (preface by Larry SitskyLarry SitskyLazar Sitsky AM, usually referred to as Larry Sitsky, born 10 September 1934, is an Australian composer, pianist, and music educator and scholar...
). Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 0-7734-5407-1.