Faust: The Grand Finale

Still trying to get over the shock received from the gloomy, symbolic and terrifyingly real Faust that I saw in the Lyric last Friday, here I am reporting that my review has made it to the front page of Bachtrack, so all you have to do this time is to go to http://www.bachtrack.com/ and click on the picture that says Faust in Baltimore.

The review pretty much covers it all, so (if you are back from reading it) you get the idea of what an incredible show it was. True, there might have been a couple of things in this production that I did not particularly care for. For instance, as much as I like projected images in contemporary productions, I am a firm believer that when it comes to using special effects in opera, less is always more.

At some point Uzan (undeniably a director with taste and sense of style) neglected this rule and made the opera look like a Power Point presentation on the loss of moral values in modern society. Of course, an image of a gradually wilting white rose in the scene of Marguerite’s seduction looked tacky and did not do much, not for me anyway.The cast, incredibly strong both vocally and dramatically, needed no illustrations of the sort. They really played and sang it all.

In the bigger sense, however, it was a superb production, and the fact that I am still thinking about it now, a week later, convinces me that it deserves every praise.

Another pic of Troy's beloved Le Nozze di Figaro (staged by Bernard Uzan)

It  
was a bold ultra-modern vision of Faust and quite a shocker from Uzan, whose lovely and
very conservative Le Nozze di Figaro (see the image on the right) Troy and I  just saw in the LOB last month, and whose staging style can be defined with one word: diversity.

Back to the production, allow me to share with you a couple of  creepy Faust details that did not make it to the review.

To me, nothing in this production could compare to the two most intense final scenes: in the church and in the mental ward (the latter replaced the prison scene offered by the traditional libretto).

Imagine a crucifix in the middle of the stage. A statue of Virgin Mary on the left. Statues of an archbiishop and a saint on you right. A large black cross lined with silver neon hanging above the stage.

A priest in a black robe holds Marguerite’s baby while she is trying to pray, blessing it in a really creepy way. Of course, it does not take us long to realize that this is none other than Mephistopheles! Marguerite, however, has no idea because she has gone mad. To anyone but Marguerite with her distorted mind and cloudy consciousness, it is clear that it has been a while since the church has turned into a diabolic sanctuary. Eventually, Marguerite learns that too, but not until every statue comes to life and starts moving around: the saint shakes his head in disapproval, the archbishop mouths nonstop curses, Virgin Mary points to her in disgust and Jesus Christ gets off the cross to tear the baby out of her hands and take it over to the Devil, obviously, for a sacrifice.

Terrifying, but very powerful, is it not?

And then, of course, the mental ward.

The finale in the production was disturbing, yet, offered so much to think about: Marguerite’s soul is saved, but Faust now dressed in a straitjacket is taken away in a wheelchair by his demonic doctor Mephisto.
The church. The hospital. Places we go to in search of physical health and inner peace.  How many of you ever wondered at some doctors or (oh, horror!) members of clergy and secretly questioned if they are worthy of the robes they wear? Bravo, Mr. Uzan - you have said what many have been thinking but did not dare to put in words!

Bryan Hymel at the curtain call

Of course, because none of my opera outings ever goes without a surprise, this time it could not go without one either.

A flash back to the year 2002… Wow, really? Was it really 10 years ago?

Anyway, at that time the good-old Lyric was in a much better financial shape than it is now, ran four operas and one recital a season and sold 2^nd row orchestra tickets for $20.00 each, 1 hour prior to the performance. As you can guess, I saw most Lyric performances sitting that close to the stage. Soon after I became a 2nd row regular, I started noticing that there was always the same group of people around me, most of whom were opera students.
One of the inevitable side effects (or beauties?) of being a teacher is that you develop a phenomenal memory for names and faces.  I remember two ladies who used to sit right next to me on the opening nights of every production. The younger one was a petite brunette, obviously a student. The older one was a tall blonde, probably the girl's mom or aunt. 

Then at one point they stopped coming, which, I figured, was because the girl had graduated.

Left to right: Kristopher Irmiter (Mephistopheles), Bryan Hymel (Faust), Stefania Dovhan (Marguerite)

Stefania Dovhan (Marguerite) and Lee Poulis (Valentin)

One night, during an intermission still in my 2nd row seat I got into a conversation with an elderly lady who told me that she was from Kiev, Ukraine and that her granddaughter Stefania got her degree in singing in Baltimore and was off to Germany to continue her studies there. When the elderly lady was approached by a tall blonde who turned out to be the one who used to accompany the young girl, it all fell into place: I was talking to that girl’s grandma. Well, at least back then I thought it all fell into place, but now, 6 or 7 years later, I know that it really fell into place last Friday, when I saw Stefania. On stage. Singing Marguerite. Stefania Dovhan, my friends, was one of the leads in this production - and may I just say, she was fantastic! See, my friends, it is a small world after all, even when it comes to opera.
On this happy note, I am concluding my Faust journey and signing off till next time.

 Remember to stay tuned for more musical adventures though. This blog will be a busy place before summer (also known as the dead season for Baltimore and DC music lovers).
Cheers!