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DVD: Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust
Staatskapelle, Berlin
Conducted by Sylvain Cambreling
Stage directored by Alex Olle and Carlos Padrissa
Starring Vesselina Kasarova (Arthaus Musik)
Reviewed by Chris Forbes
The revival of interest in the music of Berlioz is one of the brightest spots in mainstream Classical music. Once relegated to the limbo of "connoisseur's music" with the significant exception of the Symphonie Fantastique, now more conductors are programming the full range of the Frenchman's work, and audiences are warming up to Berlioz' grand visions in works like Romeo and Juliet, or Les Troyens.
Though Berlioz was undoubtedly the most dramatic of the early romantic era composers, he only wrote three true operas, and only two of them are unqualified successes. However, his "Dramatic Legend" the Damnation of Faust is an opera in all but name, and, though the composer did not intend the work to be staged, perhaps due to the demanding nature of the scenario, many modern directors have leapt at the chance to bring the work to life. Berlioz fashioned the libretto, with a bit of help, from bits and pieces of the Faust legend. Goethe was of course the prime model, however the composer plays fast and loose with Goethe, particularly at the ending. The wild Romantic in Berlioz could not resist consigning Faust to Hell, accompanying with a wild orchestral ride, and a chorus of demons to greet him. But the main lines of the story are there. In an impressionistic opening, Faust, sung with passionate lyricism by Paul Groves, makes his bargain with Williard White's Mephistopheles. There is the expertly drawn student scene, complete with a rousing "Song of the Flea" from Mephisto, and the romance between Faust and Marguerite. Unlike Goethe, though, Berlioz is as interested in the atmospheric details of his score as the dramatic arc. Typically, Berlioz alters settings and scenes in order to add bits and pieces of his other scores. The opening is transported to the "plains of Hungary" in order to incorporate the Rakóczy March, and he inserts a beautiful section for "Will-o-the-Wisps" in the love scene. It is these moments, as much as the moments that refer to the dramatic action, that make the magic in this subtle score.
The DVD at hand is beautifully sung, particularly Groves and White, and Vesselina Kasarova's Marguerite is radiant. And the orchestra is elevated to another character, as befits a Berlioz piece. If the performance were released on CD I'd have no trouble completely recommending it. However, as a DVD release, the entire production must come in for comment, and I can't think of a worse example of over-though European Avant-garde theatrical mishandling than this production. The central conceit of the production, developed by Spanish outré theater group La Fura dels Baus, is that Faust is really chronicling the forging of a "new man" out of old elements. It is a valid Jungian take on the Faust legend, but the choices made are visually out of synch with the music. The stage is dominated by a great cylinder, which is supposed to be a crucible for "smelting the new person". All the characters dress in what is supposed to be a smelter's uniform, but it looks much more like the clothing of asylum inmates. The love scenes are played directly inside the smelter, significantly distancing us from the action. And the set is nearly devoid of color. This highly symbolic and expressionistic staging is completely at odds with the warmth and color of Berlioz' most Romantic score. Further, without reading the production notes, the conceits of the director are never clear. No theatrical staging of an opera should be so arcane as to make the audience spend more time figuring the staging out at the expense of listening to the music, but unfortunately, that is what this production does.
Were this a boldly avant-garde staging of an old warhorse of the opera stage, I might be tempted to be a bit more gentle with it. Though I am not fond of any off the wall staging concepts which distract from the music, I can see their point occasionally. But when married to a lesser known score, one which has not received many adequate traditional productions, I find this deeply disturbing. Berlioz' work is strong enough to make its point without needing all the hoopla that it is given in this production. Unfortunately, for the foreseeable future, this is probably the only DVD of the work that will be available. Good thing the singing is excellent. My suggestion is that if you get this work, listen to it mostly with the picture off. That way you can luxuriate in an excellent musical rendering of a masterpiece, without the distracting visuals getting in the way. With Berlioz, your own imagination can probably produce a better opera in your head than what's on this DVD!
© 2004 - Chris Forbes