Search - Charles Gounod, Michel Plasson, Cheryl Studer :: Gounod - Faust / Studer · Leech · van Dam · Hampson · Mahé · Denize · Barrard · Capitole de Toulouse · Plasson

There isn't a better digital FAUST!

DILLON L HAYNES | MILFORD, OH United States | 05/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording really has it all! A first rate Faust in Richard Leech, he glids through the high notes with ease and confindence unlike anyone else I have heard. His voice is rich and full and doesn't tapper off in the high register. His "Salut... demeure" is such a pleasure. Cheryl Studer was the stand out suprise for me... I was expecting a washed down sloppy Marguerite, boy she really impressed me. She scaled down her signature tone under the ever watchful Plasson, who reads Gounods colorful score with a reserved passion fit to the likes of Beecham. Jose va Dam might not have the power of Christoff, but he is elegant and refined in his Mephistopheles, and you can't find any fault with his singing. And Hanpson gives a lovely reading of Valentin. You really can't go wrong here, there are no sour notes! Heads above the new Rizzi recording with a cast that can't compair."

A Fine French Faust

DILLON L HAYNES | 01/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not to many operaphiles and critics seem to enjoy this recording of Gounod's Faust, most likely because it's a lesser orbit next to the shining star recordings starring Joan Sutherland or the one with Placido Domingo and Mirella Freni or even the recording with Samuel Ramey, Jerry Hadley and Cecilia Gazdia. But this recording is very gratifying for me because Michel Plasson conducts it the way that Gounod would have done it. The innately French musical score is treated with reverence and bel canto-ish grace and grandeur. The singers are skilled and highly lyrical, to the sacrifice of dramatic interpretation.



Leech is by no means the greatest Faust, especially after you've heard Placido Domingo or Jerry Hadley. But Leech has a strong voice that has a beautiful tone and bloom. He is actually the only tenor who excelled in mainly French repertoire. Other roles he has sung with acclaim (in French-Canada) include Raoul from Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, not an easy role as he has a lot of difficult music and that opera is very long.



Cheryl Studer as Marguerite is equally beautiful and she holds her own opposite Leech. Her voice is bright, crystalline and feminine. She sings Marguerite with all the technical abilities of past Marguerites like Victoria De Los Angeles and even Christine Nilsson at the turn of the century. Thankfully, the sound is great and Studer's Marguerite sounds well on record. Her account of each aria is a vocal feast. But in this respect, she's like Joan Sutherland. It's all razzle-dazzle and beauty but she has killed all dramatic effect. She does not live her role nor attempt to sound dramatic, like Mirella Freni does in the Pretre recording with Domingo. It is true though that Gounod did not give enough drama to the role of Marguerite. If sung in an old-school manner, she's simply a coloratura vehicle in the tradition of bel canto heroines like Lucia. But if you're a devotee of Cheryl Studer, this is a must have, as she is in top form and sings with utmost confidence and beauty. I especially love her voice in the final trio "Ange Pure Ange Radieux".



Jose Van Dam does not excell in the role of the Devil. This is not how the Devil from Faust should be sung. If you want to hear how it should be sung, look for Nicolai Ghiurov in the Pretre recording with Domingo and Freni or Samuel Ramey in the Rizzo recording with Hadley and Gazdia. Van Dam does not have enough of a dark edge to his voice, nor does he put forth any true effort to sound devilish and nasty. It's simply a lot of bel canto singing in the bass voice.



Doesn't deserve 5 Stars but it's a beautiful recording and one that is the most French of the Fausts I've heard, thanks to the great conducting of Plasson. You should always keep in mind that he is always conducting in the old French school style when you hear his version of Bizet's Carmen or Massenet's Manon."