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R. Schumann,  Szenen Aus Goethes Faust: Soloists, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid. Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid, Coro de la Sinfonica de Madrid, Coro de Niños de la Comunidad de Madrid. Conductor,Jesús López Cobos. Teatro Real de Madrid. 20.4.2009 (JMI)

Concert Version.

Cast:

Faust, Doctor Marianus, Pater Seraphicus: Tommi Hakala.
Gretchen, Una Poenitentium: Ofelia Sala.
Mephistopheles, Böser Geist: Michele Pertusi.
Ariel, Pater Ecstaticus: Matthias Klink.
Pater Profundus: Franz-Josef Selig.
Marthe, Sorge: Eugenia Enguita.
Not, Magna Peccatrix: Susana Cordón.
Schuld, Mater Gloriosa, Mulier Samaritana: Maria Radner.
Mangel, Maria Aegyptiaca: María José Suárez.
Tenor: Álvaro Vallejo.


The Artistic Directorate at Madrid’s Teatro Real continues to pursue the very interesting idea of offering several different visions of a particular operatic character in the same season. Two years ago we saw Gurlitt’s Wozzeck along with performances of Alban Berg’s opera on the same subject,  and  last year the comparisons were based on the  myth of Orpheus, with  Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice (French version) and the most interesting Krenek’s Orpheus und Eurydike, placed next to performances of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo. This year the character chosen is Faustus, first  shown in the world premiere of Balada’s  Faust-bal, and now seen through Schumann’s eyes in his  Szenen aus Goethes  Faust. Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust will follow in a couple of weeks. We might also add The Rake’s Progress to this series because of the relationship between Nick Shadow/Mephisto and Tom Rakewell/Faust. I sincerely hope that the fact that Antonio Moral will be leaving the Teatro Real soon will not mean the end of this most interesting initiative.

The Faust myth of  is one of the most common in the history of music in general  and particularly so for opera,  and the composers have  few who have resisted offering their particular vision of the character. This same year we also had Busoni’s Doktor Faust in Seville and Gounod’s  Faust both  in Valencia and Pamplona. Among the great operas on Faust, only Boito’s Mefistofele is currently missing from Spanish opera houses.

Robert Schumann was not a composer who made great contributions  to the world of the opera, with Genoveva remaining  as his only true excursion into the genre. Both Das Paradies und die Peri and Szenen aus Goethes Faust are not actually  true operas despite having appeared on stage in recent  years.  Schumann’s  own title for his  work - Scenes from Goethe’s  Faust - indicates clearly that this is more oratorio than opera although it is also fair to say  that it is very debatable whether any so-called Faust opera goes much beyond dealing with selected parts of the drama -  presumably since dealing with the complete Goethe text  would mean writing something  as complex and as long as Wagner’s  Tetralogy. After this performance of Schumann’s Faust however, my conclusion is that this work’s natural place is in the concert hall, particularly for its second half.

Leading the musical execution we had Jesús López Cobos again, whose reading was good but rather short on brightness, as is normal with him. The reaction of the public was quite  clear, without a hint of enthusiasm, which cannot be based on the lack of knowledge of the work, since last year’s reaction to an even less known opera like Krenek’s Orpheus, was much more exciting. I had the impression that the work was not sufficiently rehearsed, since the sound of  the orchestra was clearly below what Maestro López Cobos has drawn from them on other occasions. The second part of this work has enormous choral demands, which were covered satisfactorily.

The vocal casting was well done, particularly the performance  of  Finnish baritone Tommi Hakala as  Faust, Doctor Marianus and Pater Seraphicus. He is a lyric baritone with a very pleasant voice and he is a remarkable singer. Schumann writes some almost impossible notes during the first part of the oratorio and Mr. Hakala took on the challenge very successfully though with some visible effort.

Ofelia Sala was  a good Gretchen, in addition to the Penitent in the final scene. She was at her best in the scene with Mother Dolorosa. Michele Pertusi was made an note-correct Mephistopheles, but was rather short of vocal authority. Matthias Klink replaced  Burkhard Fritz and offered a decent interpretation of Ariel and Pater Ecstaticus. Franz Josef Selig was a very good  Pater Profundus.

There was a full house, as is usual at the Teatro Real. The public dedicated a tepid reception to the artists, although  Tommi Hakala was the most applauded.

José M Irurzun

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