Customer Reviews

Gounod: Faust (Complete Opera); Domingo, Freni, Ghiaurov, Allen, Pretre

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Why haven't anyone reviewed this set yet?? This is THE Faust of our time.
To me, the most imposing figure in Faust is actually Mephistopheles. He is really the driving force of the entire opera, and needs a no-holds-barred, big-voiced treatment to be really impressive. This is exactly what we get here with the magnificent presence of Nicolai Ghiaurov. His huge basso is capable of producing terrifying dark splendor and suave persuasiveness of the devil. You'll feel chills going down your spine when you hear him sing "Vois qui faites l'endormie" or the scene in the cathedral.
Ghiaurov's wife, Mirella Freni is the ideal Marguerite, she perfectly captures an innocent soul fallen victim to the dark forces, but regaining her strengh and her faith in the end. Her voice has both the perfect creamy middle and radiant top, her portrayal is very involved and real.
Placido Domingo sounds ardent believable as a youthful Faust. While the character is not very sympathetic, he has some of the most beautiful music ever written in a tenor key, and Domingo's powerful dark spinto sound is most welcome for this role, just listen to the famous "Salut! Demeure chaste et pure".
Thomas Allen is a superb Valentin, I wish he had more music in the opera, but he makes the best of what's there.
Prêtre conducts with vigor, a bit faster than Richard Bonynge on Decca set. By the way, Ghiaurov also sang for Bonynge, alongside Corelli and Sutherland. While I had difficulty choosing a better one, I settled with the current set for Mirella Freni's performance, I just felt that the character of Marguerite needs to have a little more spinto sound than Sutherland to fully realize the final scene. Also, Domingo brings a fascinating tender touch to the role of Faust, whereas Corelli sounds more like a man possessed (no pun intended).
Anyway, if you haven't purchased this set yet, don't delay, it just may go out of print like so many great recording did already.

This performance demands comparison, of course, with the performance of deLosAngeles, Gedda, and Christoff, recorded in the fifties. The sound quality of this recording is, of course, superior. Another plus is the omission of several (minor) cuts in the earlier performance. The comparison of the singers is less clear. I prefer the Marguerite of deLosAngeles to that of Freni. Freni, at this stage of her career, sounds somewhat too matronly for this girlish role, although she is in excellent voice. Christoff and Ghiaurov were both the pre-eminent bassos of their day. Ghiaurov has perhaps the silkier sound, Christoff the more compelling vocal personality. I rate them a toss-up. I confess to having a preference for Gedda in the title role. At this youthful stage of his career, his voice was thrilling. Domingo's Faust, while excellent, provides another look at Placido's technique, with which we are all familiar. Overall, the listener cannot do wrong with either set.

What I mean by stating this is the most French of Faust recordings is that this recording is blessed by the strengths of 1) a French conductor, George Pretre and the Orchestra of the Paris Opera, 2) Placido Domingo and Mirella Freni are opera singers who are unbeatable in their French diction/phrasing, singing their parts with both lyric grandeur and compelling drama. The only other recording even worth hearing is the old classic from the 50's LP Era starring Victoria De Los Angeles and Nicolai Gedda. While that recording has its own merits for an old recording, this is perhaps the greatest modern recording of Faust, with supreme digital sound transfer and excellent sound quality. Placido Domingo LIVES the role. In the opening scene, employing a voice wrought with anguish and frustration, the aging alchemist makes a deal with the devil (Russian bass Nicolai Ghiurov in a stunning performance) and regains his lost youth in order to attract the beautiful Marguerite. Domingo is allowed enough time to sing lyrically and beautifully, expressing every Gaelic note with bravura, but since the conducting is dramatically potent, much of it is fast. Still, Domingo sings like no other, even eclipsing Franco Corelli, who try as he would, could not master the French repertoire, making it too "Italian". Domingo's love arias are exquisite and they change to dramatic despair in the final scene "Ange Pure, Ange Radieux". His Faust is dramatically gratifying and beautifully sung, with handsomely dark, rich textures. The same applies to Mirella Freni, whose Marguerite is a different animal from Victoria De Los Angeles or Joan Sutherland. Both De Los Angeles and Sutherland sing French without a problem and both lavish the arias/cadenzas with decorative coloratura and lyric pianissimi and other such vocal embellishments, but neither soprano sing it with enough LIFE and with enough dramatic force. Mirella Freni's lyric-spinto voice is wholly suited for the role of Marguerite. Marguerite makes a darker portrayal than the others. She is a woman who is in love and suffers for it, and is haunted by demonic forces which were at play in her falling in love with Faust. In the Church Scene, especially, Freni shines. Her high, but ungrating voice is supremely dramatic, especially when she lets out that scream and faints. She sings the Jewel Song without any of the usual fireworks that most sopranos give it but she is aware that even this song has its dramatic appeal. She sings it as if it were the song of a girl who is just being seduced, so there is a nearly sexual element to her singing. Mirella Freni's voice is sooooo womanly. Her middle voice was the strongest and this is her most feminine voice. She sings the final with a combination of despair and exaltation as she is whisked away to Heaven but can do nothing to save her beloved Faust. As for the Devil, Russian bass Nicolai Ghiurov (who later became Freni's husband and coached her to sing Russian repertoire) his is a powerful performance. He does not sing just to sound beautiful in the bass voice as Samuel Ramey does, who gives the role a bel canto character. Ghiurov sings the role with real fire, with dark edginess and danger. When we hear him sing L'veau d'or, the Calf Song, we are not treated to merely a showpiece but a powerful song of sin. His invocation of other demons is frightening. His voice, though low, is huge. If only George London had sung the Devil ( or did he ?) and recorded it! Ghiurov is quite possibly the worthiest successor to George London's legacy. So without further ado, get this recording and see for yourself why this is the best recording you are likely to find.

EMI had a best-selling Faust from 1958 with de los Angeles, Gedda, and Christoff (actually, they had two with the same cast, the earlier being in mono), and they must have hoped for a repeat in 1979 when they assembled this dream cast. A dream, that is, given the sad state of French opera singing; there were no international stars who actually came from France to cast, even in time-worn 'Faust.' Amazon reviewers love this set, but I find it seriously lacking in vital ways (as do most critics I've read).

To start at the top, Domingo has often been good in French opera, despite his faulty accent (even by opera standards), but here he seems to be going through the motions, applying a generalized passion that has little to do with the text. His Marguerite, Mirella Freni, would seem ideally cast, and she certainly makes Gounod's saqccharine victim-heroine emotionally credible, a feat in itself. But she sounds too mature, rather tired, and not up to the colorature the role demands. Marguerite needs to sparkle vocally--the character itself being flat--and Freni doesn't. Her husband, Nicolai Ghiaurov, is of course a charismatic bass, but he too is somewhat past his prime. In addition, he takes the Slavic approach to Mephistopheles, which is thick-voiced and ham-handed, lacking in wit and suavity. The supporting roles are well cast, including Thomas Allen as a fine Valentin..

It would be possible to voerlook these vocal flaws except that the conductor, Georges Pretre, does one of his worst jobs on record. Always a variable but at times exciting conductor, here Pretre swings between brash coarseness and rhythmic laxity. It's obvious this warhorse means nothing to him; Pretre doesn't even make a show of trying to revitalize the score, and his orchestra plays sloppily and inattentively as a result.
As you can see, my criticisms are at sharp odds with every other reviewer here, but I can't help hearing what I hear.

Faust hasn't been lucky on CD, but preferable to this set are three others: the Beecham pre-LP recording in good sound and something like the now-extinct French style, the stereo Cluytens on EMI with de los Angeles and Gedda (I prefer the stereo remake even though the singers are a bit less fresh than in the earlier mono production), and an altogether fine 80s version under Colin Davis on Philips, which is unfortunatley marred by a lax performance from Kiri Te Kanawa, sounding too mature and a bit frayed as Marguerite. I would seek out any of these before settling on the Pretre.

I absolutely agree with the above reviewer, this is definitely the most impressive Faust recording that I've ever heard.
The Mephisto is amazing, so are Faust and Maurgherite.
This version surpasses the Rizzi one by a long shot.

I'm sorry...I just had to chime in here. I would just like to say that, for the record, Placido Domingo and Mirella Freni do NOT have perfect French diction nor anything close to it. Placido is better than Mirella, but still not perfect...at least he's not as bad as Franco Corelli! Freni says "'che' de bijoux" like it's in Italian and "ou si je 'vaiyah'"...not sure where she got that from. The thing that confuses me is that Pretre is French so why didn't he correct these things...you'd think that would sound awful to his ears! His tempi tend to be sluggish and lack the energy that I'm accustomed to in this opera...I recommend Cluytens over Pretre here. If you want to hear good French diction, listen to Nicolai Gedda and Victoria de los Angeles...the latter tends to sing French as if it were spoken which sounds a bit strange but the pronunciation is correct. Boris Christoff's rough-around-the-edges bass lends itself perfectly to the role of Mephistopheles. Although I'm not a huge De los Angeles fan, I think Gedda is superb in French repertoire and Christoff is just about as menacing as you could ever want!

This is a great recording of a beautiful opera. Mirella Freni is the largest voiced Marguerite on record (she was Aida at the time) and I love it! A must buy!

This is my "Desert Island" recording of Gounod's Faust. Although it is not musically "cool" to love this opera (if one does indeed love Faust, one might be susceptible to ridicule in music circles), I DO love it and own many recordings of same. However, this recording, hands down, is my very favorite and has been since it was first released on vinyl in the 1970s. The main reasons for my adoration is its principal singers--all are in their sublime primes!

I have never heard the role of Marguerite sung any better than Mirella Freni sings it in this recording. (This recording turned me into an ardent fan of Mirella Freni). More than 30 years later her singing in the prison scene still sends chills up and down my spine--her lyric/spinto soprano just soars over orchestra, chorus and the other singers; her high Cs are GLORIOUS! Domingo was in his prime singing like a god. His voice is dark, rich and full; he sings with golden lyrical tones. Nicolai Ghiurov makes for a wonderfully sinister and dark sounding devil. A very young Thomas Allen is wonderful too singing with a rich baritone voice--gorgeous! All is held together masterfully by George Pretre and the Orchestra of the Paris Opera.

If you want to hear that marvelous wore horse of an opera Gounod's "Faust" sung as it, I am sure, will never be sung again (certainly not in my life) buy this recording. (Now if the powers that be would release on DVD the "Faust" that was televised from the Chicago Lyric in the 1970s with the same conductor and almost the same singers, I could die very happy!)

EMI has done a great job transferring this recording to the CD format. Having played and heard the vinyl recording, I feel that the sound on CD is far richer and fuller!

Things I like about this recording:
-Every single tempo the conductor chose, down to each subtle rubato
-Most of the singers make me happy
-No obvious mistakes (My Furtwangler Ring has a painfully obvious flubbed note at the pinnacle of the 'sword theme' at the end of Rheingold--ouch!)
-It sounds clear enough to me

Thing I don't like about this recording:
I've spent the past week watching all the Mephi arias on YouTube I could find, and I've decided that most of the other men's performances thrill me more than the singer on this recording. Christoff is in my opinion the best (although I wish he sounded more tender in the B part of the Serenade), although Morris is probably my favorite instead because he got under my skin when I was six via a Hoffmann telecast. Bryn is cool, too. Anyway, this guy is *enough*, but he's not Christoff. But I guess that's a good thing because if it was TOO thrilling, I wouldn't be able to listen to it while driving!

Unhappily, I disagree. The conducting and playing are appallingly sloppy, given that this is a studio recording, not a live performance recorded. Frequently, the soloists are ahead of the orchestra, and the chorus exists in its own space warp. The ssoloists, yes, are wonderful, but they do NOT displace and in fact hardly compete with the line-up of Gedda, Christoff, and de los Angeles. I was shocked at the inaccuracies of the ensemble work, and the muddy acoustic swallows many instrumental and choral lines that are perfectly coherent and balanced in the much earlier Angel recording from 1959 (likewise and French conductor and orchestra and a Russian Mephistopheles). How far standards fell merely 20 years later. The editions of the opera in both sets are not quite the same (a couple of scenese are cut from the beginning of Act IV), but the overall clarity and French lilt of the earlier Angel set make it, in my opinion, demonstrably superior with respect to sheer correct musicianship.