Search - Charles Gounod, André Cluytens, Theatre National de L'opera-Comique Orchestre :: Charles Gounod: Faust

The best 'Faust' you'll run across

Joseph Curwen | 08/31/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Faust, it seems, has been dogged by ill luck in any attempt to record it since the invention of the grammophone. Whereas this set may not be near ideal, it is the best of a ho-hum lot.My biggest problem is Cluytens. He leads a tidy, prim recording; he makes his points & moves on. But what this opera needs is some panache to make this old warhorse come to life again. Even up to the late 50's it was such a staple of the opera house that it was already past charming and on the quick descent to boring.The singers,to me at least, have not been equalled since. Here we finally have a trio of voices that can cope well with the music & then some. Victoria De Los Angeles is the perfect Marguerite. Her sweet, gentle, and ravishing (in an innocent way) interpretation of the role sweeps aside any other rivals on record. Also, her attention to text & detail actually makes those long monologues interesting.Gedda is in fine form as well. Usually you can't get a Faust that can cope with the role; you always get some compromise vocally in one form or another. Not with Gedda though, he has a plushness & ringing nobility that has you thinking that the role was tailor made for this voice. My only reservation about him is a real lack of any dramatic interpretation. There really is no passion on his part for marguerite, he reminds one more of a school boy escorting his grandmother about town; respectful & a bit condescending. And now we come to Christoff. Even though the devil may appear dressed as a fine gentleman, Christoff certainly does not make him one. His Mephistopheles is a great roaring monster with terrible french. He thunders through every line as if he were sentencing someone to death. Personally, I rather like it. Mephistopheles propels almost every bit of action in the opera & so it seems logical to have such a powerful devil in the wings. At least it makes him seem more than a sneaky pimp for an old philosopher.If you only have plans to buy one 'Faust' this should be it. However, others should be checked out if you have more of an interest. Notably Bongyne for some terrific conducting."

Excellent Gedda

F. A. Heemskerk | 01/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For the fans of Nicolai Gedda, this performance is a must-have. Brillant!! No vocal bodybuilding and power, but pure music, like Gedda always does. You'll love it."