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Gounod,  Faust : Soloists, Orchestre, Chorus and Ballet de l’Opera National de Bordeaux. Conductor: Emmanuel Joel-Hornak.  Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. 16. 3.2008 (JMI)

New production:

Directors: Jean-Philippe Clarac and Olivier Deloeuil
Sets: Philippe Miesch
Costumes: Thibaut Welchlin
Lighting: Giuseppe di Iorio
Choreography: Charles Jude

Cast:

Faust: Dimitri Pittas
Marguerite: Michelle Canniccioni
Mephistophélès: Alain Vernhes
Valentin: David Grousset
Siebel: Marie Lenormand.

Attending  a performance of Gounod’s Faust in France should be -  and in fact is - almost a guarantee of having a complete version, including the ballet, which is more than justified in this opera. It seems that the Director of the Opera of Bordeaux, Thierry Fouquet,  considered  this Faust one of the most important in this opera season, since he commissioned a new production. Setting the opera in medieval times, he decided to offer an integral version of the opera, and finally he presented two different casts with two young tenors who both  can be considered as really promising. Perhaps the most original aspect of this Faust has consisted reinstating the scenes in the order that they had at its premiere in Paris, placing  the Church scene after the death of Valentin. Apparently the tradition to offer the Church scene before Valentin’s death began with the first performance of at Paris Opera- the original premiere took place in Paris, but at  Théâtre Lyrique -  to achieve greater dramatic  impact. This  is the first time that I have seen  it like this and  I do not know any recording in which the scenes follow this original sequence. Despite the established tradition and impact, it seems to me a praiseworthy effort to return to the origin, since this is what both Gounod and Goethe wrote.

The new production has been commissioned from two natives of Bordeaux, Jean-Philippe Clarac and Olivier Deloeuil, who are  the artistic directors of Opera Française of New York  just now. As I said above, the action takes place in the Middle Ages. The production is very simple in  terms of staging, since the sets hardly consist of anything more  than a painted backdrop for the first half and  another in black for the second. The rest of the elements is somewhat figurative, showing a cemetery in the first act (Faust studies i corpses), a very attractive Holy Lamb (?Le Veau d’Or ) in the kermesse. The sets for Act IV are very poor, improving much for Walpurgis Night, returning to a bare stage with a cage, in which Marguerite is imprisoned.  One  interesting idea is the appearance of some angels at the beginning of the opera, who reappear at the end to take Marguerite to heaven. There is no particularly noteworthy  direction of actors nor much movement for the ensemble as a whole.  While one  can  expect some touches of originality in a new production this pfermonace had one of the most absurd I have ever seen on stage. At the end of Act III, when Marguerite comes to her window and sings  “Cher bien-aimé, viens!”, she exposes and and caresses one of her breasts, an unequivocal signal that the good doctor understands immediately.

Musical direction was entrusted of  Emmanuel Joel-Hornak, who  offered a sound version of the opera,  remarkably better in the dramatic passages that in the more  intimate ones. His reading was a little flat in the first act, conducting with determination the Walpurgis night ballet music and there were problems of tempo  between Mephistopheles and the pit during Le Veau d’Or. Overall however,  M. Joel-Hornaka drew good performance from the orchestra. The ballet was the highlight of the afternoon, shining better as an  ensemble  than particular individuals did.

Faust was sung by the young American tenor Dimitri Pittas, whose presence raised some high expectations, after his recent Macduff at the Metropolitan in New York.  He is a lyric tenor with good presence, a central register of good quality, a lower range far more sonorous than  is usual for this these voice type,  and a top of that is not so good. He was a reliable interpreter, lacking  a certain amount elegance in “Salut, demeure (or garden) chaste et pure”, delivering a high C with a kind of mixed-register voice. Unfortunately I could not stay in Bordeaux to see Korean Woo Kyun Kim, who is for me one of the most promising young tenors  at the moment.

Michelle Canniccioni was a sensitive Marguerite, who did not shine particularly brightly  in pure vocal terms. Her voice is lighter than the role requires and her  vocal volume is slightly too small -  which in this theater is not terribly  important, given its size and outstanding acoustics.  Veteran Alain Vernhes was a convincing Mephistophélès on stage. He is a good actor, but in vocal terms he leaves something to be desired, with  a very sonorous voice but without much ability   to sing softly.  David Grousset left a poor impression as Valentin on me, while Marie Lenormand made a good Siebel; with a small voice, but a good interpretation. In this version Siebel has much more to sing than usuual, since her duet with Marguerite in Act IV has been restored. In the secondary roles both Jean-Marc Bonicel (Wagner) and Marie-Thérèse Keller (Dame Marthe) were far better actors than singers.

This was the first of the 10 performances and the house was full. As I said above, the ballet had the biggest success and among  the singers, the greatest applause went to Alain Vernhes.  I don't disagree but should add that  both the conductor and the creative team  of 8 people were warmly applauded too.

José M Irurzun

Pictures © L’Opéra National de Bordeaux


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