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Gounod,  Faust: Soloists, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Chor de la Generalitat Valenciana, Conductor: Frederic Chaslin, Palau de les Arts de Valencia 2. 2.2009 (JMI)

Co -production: Royal Opera House, Opera Montecarlo, Opera de Lille and Teatro Giuseppe Verdi de Trieste

Direction: David McVicar (Original) Bruno Ravella (Revival)
Sets: Charles Edwards
Costumes: Brigitte Reiffenstuel
Lighting: Paule Constable (Original) Gary Dooley (Revival)
Choreography: Michael Keegan-Dolan (original) Esther Balfe (revival)

Cast:

Doctor Faust: Vittorio Grigolo
Marguerite: Natalia Kovalova
Mephistopheles: Erwin Schrott
Valentin: Gabriele Viviani
Siebel: Ekaterina Gubanova
Dame Marthe: Annie Vavrille
Wagner: Vittorio Prato

Faust - Vittorio Grigolo and Marguerite -Natalia Kovalova

The story of Faust has received a lot of attention from composers over the years and has been popular with opera audiences throughout the world. This season in Spain we have had, or are scheduled to have, this Faust in Valencia, Busoni’s  Doktor Faust  in Seville, Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust at the Teatro Real and Schumann’s  Scenes of  Faustus, as well as the world  premier of Faust-bal by  Leonardo Balada. The list of operas based on Goethe’s Faustus is very long, and there is no doubt that the most popular is Gounod’s Faust, now seen in Valencia. In spite of its popularity, it is not an opera which is often performed  in Spain. In the last years it has only been presented in Seville and Madrid, has been absent from the Liceu for almost 20 years, and still has not been performed in the new Euskalduna in Bilbao.

Gounod’s Faust is one of those operas that have suffered several changes, additions and cuts during its history, and it is always a matter of interest to find out which version will be offered. In the end, it was a traditional Faust with the ballet and without the scene between Marguerite and Siebel. There was a change in the original order of scenes in Act III, beginning instead with the church scene.

This production, by David McVicar, was premiered in the autumn of 2004 at Covent Garden bringing much acclaim to the diva Gheorghiu, and being revived two years later. McVicar directs well, conceiving the opera as a theatrical performance (the ‘theatre within the theatre’) and transposing the action from  medieval Germany to 19^th century Paris. It is a traditional production in good taste, in which everything seems to be the dream of the old doctor, who returned to his decrepitude at the end of the work. The sets consisted of a box from the Paris Opera to the left of the stage and an organ to the right, with houses further back at one side and gothic arches to the other. Suitable costumes and good lighting completed the show.

Perhaps the most original touch of the production was to change the carnival of the first act into a show by the Hell Cabaret, where Marguerite was a waitress. The Ballet was conceived around the plot of the opera rather than being incidental music, with a dancer in the guise of a pregnant Marguerite, while Mephistopheles presented the beauties of ancient times as Drag Queens. The choreography was a traditional ballet, but the continuous shouts and laughs of the dancers were an obstacle to listening to the music. Having Siebel with a limp seems to be a pure caprice.

Lorin Maazel was the expected conductor, but he cancelled due to illness and was replaced by  Frédéric Chaslin, who unfortunately could not make me forget Mr Maazel. He offered an accurate reading, with slow tempi in general, particularly in the important  scene in the garden. He was better at the dramatic moments than in the most inspired and intimate. The Orchestra was once again an excellent group of musicians and the Chorus was much improved.

The protagonist Faust was the young Italian tenor (31) Vittorio Grigolo.  He has a very natural light lyric tenor voice, perfectly projected  and very easy in the expansive notes. His youth, together with a very attractive figure, and his abilities as an actor, make him a credible Faust with an amazing agility to match. All the high Cs were easy and bright. He has some tendency towards an excess of open sounds, which gives him an unnecessary verismo touch but other than that he could be a reference Faust. Given his youth, his vocal means, his figure and stage abilities, he is ideal for the demands of modern opera. The length of his career will depend on his intelligence and whether he is able to attract bookings from the larger international opera houses.

Natalia Kovalova replaced as Marguerite the previously announced Cristina Gallardo-Domas. Kovalova is a young lyric soprano, whose career has taken place  largely in Dusseldorf/Duisburg. She is a soprano of some interest, but while the tessitura lies in her middle range, higher up she has serious problems, with a hard timbre and difficult notes. She seems very young to have this deterioration in her higher register, but the voice works fine up to around a high G.

I was very interested to hear Erwin Schrott in the role of Mephistopheles, since he is one of the most important bass-baritones of the present time. There are not many outstanding interpreters of this character and the Uruguayan should have been one of the best, but in the end I was not impressed by him, finding him somewhat lacking in vocal terms. The voice of Schrott lacks the power and authority for Mephistopheles. I was expecting more from him, but he clearly falls below the standard set by René Pape in the same role. But far from being a deficient Mephistopheles, he was simply not great. He is a very good singer and an outstanding  actor, but I believe that today he  is better as Figaro in Mozart than as the Devil in  Faust.

Gabriele Viviani was a good Valentin. This young baritone has sufficient voice, although he has tendency to open sounds and his top register is somewhat coarse. He could  also pay more attention to nuances.

The young Russian Ekaterina Gubanova disappointed  me somewhat as Siebel. Despite being regularly cast in Verdi roles, it seems to me that she cannot go very far beyond singing as a lyric mezzo-soprano. French Annie Vavrille was too light and young as Marthe Schwerdtline. Mephistopheles calls her “la vieille impitoyale”, a description that does not fit her at all.

There was the usual full house in Valencia and the public seemed to be quite happy with the artistic result. Erwin Schrott and Vittorio Grigolo were received with sonorous cheers.

José M Irurzun

Picture © Palau de les Arts, Valencia

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