Gounod: Faust

Featuring

Michel Plasson
Richard Leech
Cheryl Studer
Martine Mahé
José van Dam
Marc Barrard

Nadine Denize
Thomas Hampson
Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse
Chœur de l’Opéra national du Capitole de Toulouse
Le Chœur de l'Armée française
Charles Gounod

Did you know?

1/7

Cultural Impact

Faust's theatricality and sexual allure led to its appearance in famous fiction, including Ouida's Moths and Gaston Leroux's Fantôme de l'Opéra.

Critical Reception

Despite its popularity, the opera faced early criticism from figures like Wagner, who dismissed it as 'upmarket musical prostitution,' though this was a minority view.

Cultural Impact

The novelist Charles Dickens described Faust as 'A noble and sad story nobly and sadly rendered,' stating it 'sounded in my ears like a mournful echo of things that lie in my own heart.'

Composition History

Gounod continuously revised Faust for nearly a decade after its premiere, including removing spoken dialogue in 1860 and adding a cavatina for baritone Charles Santley in 1863.

Critical Reception

For over 50 years after its 1859 premiere, Gounod's Faust was considered the world's most popular opera, though its success abroad was even more sensational than in France.

Composer Biography

Charles Gounod, the composer, won France's prestigious Prix de Rome at 21 and developed a deep interest in German music and culture, studying in Vienna, Berlin, and Leipzig.

Composition History

The Paris Opéra initially rejected Gounod's Faust for lacking 'spectacle,' but it was taken up by Léon Carvalho, manager of the Théâtre Lyrique, whose wife, Caroline, created the role of Marguerite.