Customer Reviews

Berlioz - La damnation de Faust / von Otter · Terfel · K. Lewis · von Halem · PO · Chung

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of the best versions available. I agree with the reviewer from Charlottesville: Terfel is excellent here. I also think von Otter is marvellous--la chanson du roi de Thule would melt your heart. The conducting is wonderful; Myung-Whun Chung organizes the performance superbly, and finds ways to integrate phrases into larger wholes (that, for example, elude Munch). Keith Lewis (Faust) is, alas, not up to the part. There are a couple of recordings of this work with good tenors. Nicolai Gedda, joined by Janet Baker and Georges Pretre, is excellent (EMI), as is Andre Turp in Monteux's BBC recording with Regine Crespin (IMG Artists). The present recording joins those two at the top of the discography. All three excell in their sopranos and the quality of chorus and orchestra, and the sensitivity and attention to detail of their conducting. All three are well recorded, though DG has the definite edge in sound quality. You rarely hear such glorious recorded sound.

This is one of my favorite CD's. The work itself is electrifying, passionate Berlioz. Lust, drama, Heaven, and Hell. In Le Damnation of Faust, you have it all! Lewis is is an excellent Faust. His voice brings out the best in Berlioz's vocal writing. von Otter is a sympathetic Marguerite. The King of Thul ballad shows off her breath-taking voice and a drammatic yet innocent presence which I had never heard in her voice before this recording. I am normally not a big fan of Terfel, but in this recording he makes the perfect, seductive, evil, and even sometimes loveable Mephistopheles. The shining star of this recording, however, is von Halem as the Brander. His rather gruff tone allows the listener to picture a grotesque, hairy, and loud drunk. von Halem is the most believable Brander I have heard. The background "bar" chorus and Mephistopheles' "Flea Song" make the Ratskeller scene wild and vulgar--just as it should be! The chorus and orchestra also do a fantastic job of creating a frightening scene as demons in Hell, as Mephistopheles triumphs at conquering Faust's soul. The work ends in a well-conducted contrast when Marguerite is called into heaven.
The orchestra and Chung are top-notch in this recording. Chung brings out the contrasts and various dimmensions in the score. Great conductor, great soloists, great orchestra and chorus...what more could you ask for?

Something truly remarkable is happening; we're finally getting the kinds of recordings and performances of Berlioz that have been needed for years. This isn't a matter of a "new take" with Brahms or Beethoven, as we see often enough, this is a manifestation of a growing understanding of this incredibly misunderstood composer. Younger conductors are hearing the avant-garde qualities of the music and unapologetic-ally bringing out the extraordinary details. We're accepting that Berlioz knew exactly what he was doing. In a marvelous way one had to be brought through the experimentation of the last century in order to finally "get" him. Recording technology has also, and finally, reached Berliozian standards. It's as if he had been composing for us, not for his own time.

The still-brilliant, incredibly taut, Solti Faust had always been tops in my book but this version will probably supplant it in some ways. Years of listening to this exciting masterpiece and here I'm hearing imaginative details I'd never encountered before, the piece never sounded so modern. The interpretation is largely excellent, the vocalists outstanding with Terfel a brilliant Mephistopheles and von Otter great. Lewis strikes just the right note for his character. The sound is dazzling and the gut-wrenching tour of Hell can hold its own against the loudest rock. Just fantastic overall!

I think Myung Whun-Chung is the best conductor under 50, (yes much better than the much hyped Simon Rattle), and he proves it with this electrifying rendition of La Damnation de Faust. The singers are excellent too, especially Anne Sofie von Otter.

I own other versions of Le Damnation de Faust by Markevitch, Colin Davis, Munch, and Solti, all of wich have their viutes. But Chung's is the best overall, boasting excellent sound with tremendous impact, the best soloists on record (although the ones on the superb Markevitch set, also on DG, sound the most French of all), and exciting conducting. Among digital versions, this one is nearly flawless.

P.S. 2011 - Returning to this excellent recording, I'm surprised to see that my review was written the first month I started posting at amazon. back then I thought that short notes would be helpful, and I wouldn't change my brief remarks. But I should have commented on Bryn Terfel's dramatic Mephisto, matched for charisma only by Thomas quasthoff in the modern era. Chung has also greatly impressed me, and with his broad experience as a Paris-based conductor, this Faust has better Gallic credentials than all but the Markevitch set, even though none of the participants is French. Richard Lewis sings quite sympathetically as Faust and is better recorded than, say, Gedda for Colin Davis. The score has been fortunate on records, and anyone who owns a reading by Munch, Davis, or even Solti (who takes a traditional grand opera approach, all stops out) will be well satisfied.

I have been listening to these MP3s for a few months now, and I figured I would share my thoughts. I am certainly not an expert on opera, but I have been something of a fan of Berlioz since I was a kid and I heard Symphonie Fantastique.

I saw a production of Berlioz's Faust in my local cinema and enjoyed it so much I decided to buy an audio version. I picked this recording, and here are some of my thoughts, albeit somewhat random.

Mephistopheles' voice is beautiful and seductive in this recording. At some moments, the singing is playful and you find yourself smiling, and warming to this devil. But at the end, during the fall the voice becomes slimy and sends shivers up your spine. A wonderful performance.(please forgive the fact that I don't know which singers perform which parts)

"Nature immense" is a wonderful bit of music, and the singer of Faust's voice grows higher and higher, and the music builds, and every time I listen to it, I am brought to the verge of tears.

The ride and hell fall are suitably fast paced and powerful. When the chorus first comes in with their "haas haas" it sounds like the singing of the damned, forced and full of anguish.

The "Ballet des Sylphes" is very quiet. This exemplifies my only problem with this purchase. When I listen to it in my car on my zune, I turn my player's volume to maximum, and my car's volume to maximum. Even then I cannot hear the Ballet of the Sylphes. It is too quiet. I can hear it decently enough when I play it at home or at work, but the car has too many other noises.

The sound volume is my only issue with this purchase, and is the reason I took one star from my rating, but I would have preferred to have only taken half of a single star. Any recording that gets so much playtime, whether at work, at home or in my car deserves a near perfect score.

THis is the first time I've ever heard La damnation de Faust and I must say that this recording has an superb cast, especially Terfel and von Otter. I love both of their voices, which is why I chose to buy this particular recording, as I knew I would not be disappointed. This is an amazing recording, and not just for first time listeners, but for all. I'm sure that I'll listen to other recordings too, but I do know that I love the singing here and would suggest it to anyone.

the best recorded Damnation...soprano could have been better but the recording soundstage is terrific. A+