ExclusiveBerlioz: The damnation of Faust, Op. 24

【Classical music and nature 古典音樂小站】Hector Berlioz: The damnation of Faust, Op. 24. This beautiful piece was played by United States Marine Band. It has Creative Commons license (Public Domain Mark 1.0 Universal) and is provided through www.musopen.org.

La damnation de Faust op. 24 is a composition (original title: ‘Légende-dramatique’, ‘dramatic legend’) in four parts by Hector Berlioz with a libretto by Hector Berlioz and Almire Gandonnière based on the translation of Goethe's Faust I by Gérard de Nerval. The work has operatic characteristics as well as those of a choral symphony. It was premiered in concert on 6 December 1846 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.

What I can see, is this an extremely abbreviated version of Goethe's Faust and only shows vague outlines of the original.

And it seems to me that important parts of Goethe's Faust are not being told. When Faust is performed on stage, the performance lasts about 42 hours, with daily performances for a whole week. It is therefore not surprising if parts in this operatic piece are missing.

I would like to mention that in Goethe's Faust, thanks to love, Faust escapes from the clutches of Mephisto at the very last moment and the devil goes away empty-handed. Not as described below in the fourth part.

The prologue of the original Faust is also missing, in which Mephisto asks God for permission to tempt Faust to sin.

This is just to make it clear that this opera is not a true retelling of Goethe's Faust.

Part one
The first part takes place in the puszta landscape of Hungary. The wandering Faust awakens in the spring meadow, singing a melancholy song, contrasting with the singing of happy farmers and villagers. The famous Rákóczi March (Marche hongroise) is played, but it does not touch Faust, who is lost in his own thoughts and runs away.
Part Two
This and the following parts take place in Germany. Desperate, Faust sits in his study and contemplates suicide. Mephisto arrives and leads him to Auerbach's wine cellar. The wine is supposed to give him the gift of poetry, but to no avail, as Faust is unimpressed by the drunken bawling. Only on the banks of the Elbe does Mephisto achieve his goal. Elves and nymphs put Faust to sleep at Mephisto's behest, and in his dream, Margarethe, the Gretchen, appears to him. When Faust wakes up, he is desperate to see this vision and wants Mephisto to bring the woman to him.

Part Three
Part three begins with a view of Margarethe's room, where Faust has been hiding. Gretchen is braiding her hair and singing the ballad of King Thule. In the meantime, Mephisto has summoned his infernal cronies and strikes up a serenade. The will-o'-the-wisps dance a minuet to the music – it's all very ghostly. Faust and Marguerite eventually find each other, but their apparent happiness is put into perspective by Mephisto's cynicism.

Part Four
Part four shows a grieving Margarethe. Contrary to all his protestations, Faust has left her. Faust himself is now wandering alone through a mountain range when Mephisto joins him and tells him that Margarethe has been sentenced to death for murdering her mother. In his despair, Faust finally surrenders his soul to Mephisto if only Mephisto can save Margarethe. They set off, but their path does not lead to Margarethe, but down into hell. Mephisto has won.

Epilogue
Margarethe is redeemed and taken to heaven. A choir of angels announces her salvation.

The video was filmed by Christian Schlegel in Switzerland and was edited by Wenjing Ma.




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