Customer Reviews

Gounod - Faust / Gedda · de Los Angeles · Christoff · Gorr · Cluytens

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

 

 

Faust is one of the most staged operas in the world, and there are several reasons for this: unbeatable music, majestic choirs, solid libretto. With so many existing representations it becomes difficult to identify the better, but I am sure this is it. Gedda's soft voice but great spirit define Faust. Boris Christoff encarnates Mephistopheles, with all the cynicism and intelligence of the character. And Victoria de los Angeles is the face of all the innoncence and courage of Marguerite. Last but not least, Cluytens manages to offer a supreme conduction. This is truly an unforgettable Faust.

Teaching oneself about opera is not easy. I have been trying and struggling with this for years. But it is clear that Faust is one of the most popular operas of all time. Of the countless recorded versions available, I have purchased about five, and of them, this is by far the best. It is sheer heaven to listen to this entire opera, no exaggeration. The most marvelous moment occurs near the end when Mephistopheles, Faust, and Marguerite are singing together with an amazing, powerful and harmonius culmination, and Marguerite pleads for her soul. Mephistopheles pronounces, "Jugée!" and a choir of angels contradicts him, "Sauvée!"

A beautiful and moving version of an unforgettable story.

We find all of the principal singers, Gedda, De Los Angeles, Christoff, Blanc, and Gorr in their glorious prime. Gedda's portrayal of the main character is the model by which all other Tenors essaying this role should follow. His "Salut! Demeure Chaste Et Pure" is sheer perfection. De Los Angeles offers a very sympathetic performance of Marguerite. Her "Spinning Aria" is very beautifully sung here. Christoff is a very menacing and sinister Mephistophole. Both the "Golden Calf Aria" and his "Serenade" are done to perfection. The final act Trio is breathtaking here! Ernest Blanc may not be considered a "great" singer by some, but his Baritone voice was used very tastefully and subtly and his "Avant De Quitter Ces Lieux" is done very well, and in the original (higher) key. Gorr's Siebel is sung in her typical expert fashion. This, in this reviewer's opinion, is THE Faust to own.

This is "the Faust". With the fact that Charles Gounod's masterpiece is so popular, there are many recordings and interpretations. I had previously made the mistake of purchasing an old WWII Era recording sung in English with no noted singers. The best Faust is in its original French diction, with superb singers. Nicolai Gedda, who is the most recorded tenor still alive, sings the role of Doctor Faust with brilliance and we are moved by his reflective arias which muse on love, life and salvation. Besides Gedda, Placido Domingo makes an even greater Faust, but it is the story and the music set to this particular recording, plus Gedda's superb acting and singing voice that makes it so good. De Los Angeles is a diva and a strikingly touching Marguerite in this performance. This is an undeniably the greatest Faust recorded. The story of a man, driven by ambition to seek forbidden knowledge, sells his soul to the Devil, his love for Marguerite, which almost, but not quite saves him from damnation is an unforgettable operatic experience. For opera lovers, and novices, Faust is a good opera to start with, especially if you are beginning to embark upon the French class operas. With Bizet's Carmen at the head of the list, and Tales Of Hoffman second, Faust comes in third, in my opinion, of the great French grand operas. And this Faust is the grandest recording of them all, using effective ensembles and chorus, a beautiful waltz and serenades of love. This is the ultimate. Why else would it be first item on the Amazon list ? Although you are free to select of any of the Faust recordings, I suggest you discover for yourself how this is truly the ultimate Faust.

Source: Studio recording made in Paris at Salle de la Mutualite on September 23-27, 29, 30 and October 1-4, 6-9, 1958 and at Eglise Saint-Roch on December 4, 1958, then issued on Lp by EMI in 1959.

Sound: State of the art analog stereo for 1958. (This recording was made to cash in on the new stereo craze only a few years after virtually the same cast had made a widely appreciated mono version.) A digital remastering in 2003 has been generally successful. By present standards, the sound is slightly dry and compressed, but still pleasing. Some sharp-eared persons have noted distortion on the highest notes and occasional audible tape joins. I do not search out such things and none have forced themselves upon my attention.

Text: This recording presents the standard performing text, dating back to the 1869 production at the Paris Opera. "Faust" was originally premiered in Paris in the form of an opera comique, that is, with dialogue separating musical numbers. In 1860, Gounod having had second thoughts, banished the spoken dialogue and wrote musical recitatives. In 1863, the singer who had sung Valentin at the London premiere had earned such success than Gounod wrote him an aria, "Avant de quitter ces lieux," as a reward. In 1869 came the big payday of a production at the Paris Opera, so the endless, dreary ballet sequence in Act V was added to meet the inflexible requirements of that house.

Cast: Faust - Nicolai Gedda; Marguerite - Victoria de los Angeles; Mephistopheles - Boris Christoff; Valentin - Ernest Blanc; Siebel - Liliane Berton; Marthe - Rita Gorr; Wagner - Victor Autran. Conductor: Andre Cluytens with the Orchestre et Choeurs du Theatre National de l'Opera.

It has been said that all that is required to make "Faust " a great opera is the presence of the greatest singers in the world. Of all the recordings that I have heard, the one that comes closest to that mark is a broadcast from the old Metropolitan in the early 1950s that offers Jussi Bjorling, Dorothy Kirsten and Cesare Siepi. [All you linguistic purists, just sit down, put your heads between your knees and breathe deeply. You'll be fine in a few minutes.] Bjorling is ... Bjorling--thrilling! Kirsten is dramatically involved, sings beautifully and offers a wholly unexpected trill. Siepi, in gorgeous voice, is a wonderfully lyric and suave Mephistopheles of a sort not to be found today. Alas, this being a Met broadcast, it was captured by microphones apparently made out of old tuna fish cans. The deplorable chorus was absolutely overwhelmed by the requirements of the score but made up for it by vigorously stomping their feet on the echoing stage. And Kirsten's King of Thule song was accompanied by the world's most creaky, clackety spinning wheel. [That "Faust" is available up here in Canada, at least, on a set recently issued in the Naxos Great Operatic Performances series.]

Critical opinion about this early stereo version of "Faust" is all over the place, as can be seen in these Amazon reviews and elsewhere, too. The good, grey, English magazine, The Gramophone gives a rather grudging nod to this set as the best of a ho-hum lot because it has a "Mephistopheles with the presence of Christoff and a Marguerite with the charm and pathos of los Angeles." I can't fault that statement. Christoff is all presence. He is a member of the harsh, snarling, roaring school established by Chaliapin. And he's jolly good at it, too! Though I think that Siepi, as a suave, seductive Mephistopheles, easily sings rings around him, it cannot be doubted that Christoff's approach is today's accepted style. The Marguerite of De los Angeles is undoubtedly sweet and charming, but she is too much a passive victim for my taste. Given the choice, I'd always take Kirsten. Gedda was a brilliant tenor, elegant, nuanced, suave, a fine linguist and--dare I say it?--intelligent. Nevertheless, he lacked intensity. Unlike Bjorling or, say, Corelli, he doesn't lift his audience over those wonderful tenorial uplands that sometimes rise out of Gounod's sugary tunes.

Gedda, De los Angeles and Christoff provide an early example of today's jet-setting international stars. The remainder of the forces assembled for this "Faust" are French, through and through. The excellent Rita Gorr can only be described as luxury casting for the small part of Marthe. As Valentin, Ernest Blanc is, as always, good but never the best. Liliane Berton has drawn some high praise for her Siebel, but I find her too thin of voice and ultimately lacking in fire.

Andre Cluytens served for many years as music director of the Opera-Comique in Paris. Some find his conducting here to be loving, experienced and direct. I find it competent but uninspired. This recording was made at just about the last moment that the characteristically French sound of the orchestra and chorus held out against the current international style.

All in all, this remains the best choice for a recording of "Faust" in more or less decent sound. There still remains plenty of room, however, for something better to come along.

This set, like the Bjorling-Beecham "La Boheme," has achieved such mythic proportions that anyone who says anything negative about it is immediately branded as "insensitive" or a "misanthrope." But like the late Feodor Chaliapin, I do not JUST listen to the principals in judging the worth of a work. I listen to every aspect of a piece, including the conducting, bit parts, theatrical atmosphere (if any) and how sensitively the singers interpret the words and lyrics.

Christoff, for all his vocal gold, is his usual snarly self. Yes, he had an unbelievably glorious voice, but he sang EVERYTHING snarly, whether it was Silva in "Ernani," Ramfis in "Aida," Padre Guardiano in "Forza del Destino," Mefistofeles or even Boris Godunov. This works in Boris and as Ramfis, but not so well elsewhere. Mephistopheles is occasionally supposed to be joking or subtle, for instance when approached by Martha Schwertlien in the garden scene, but Christoff (as usual) just snarls. Glorious sound, though, so I give him a B+.

Nicolai Gedda was the quintessential "French" tenor of his era, but Faust was never one of his favorite roles. He felt the character too one-dimensional, and so just approached it as a singing job from the outside in, not an interpretation from the inside out. Again, glorious voice, but in my honest opinion Faust's character fails to make as much of an impact as Jerry Hadley's performance on the outstanding Carlo Rizzi-conducted set, where Faust's bitterness, doubts, passion, ecstasy and fear are all interpreted with stunning conviction.

De los Angeles was a perfect Butterfly in her earlier set with di Stefano and Gobbi, and a perfect Antonia in "Tales of Hoffmann," but here as in most other roles, her Marguerite simply does not come across as a convincing character. She is sweet, ladylike, and reserved, but that's about all. It is fascinating to compare her Marguerite to the multi-faceted interpretation given by Cecilia Gasdia, in which one feels Marguerite's vulnerability but also her kindness, loneliness, fears and sorrows.

Ernest Blanc is a competent, dry-voiced Valentin. On the earlier mono version of this recording, which also had de los Angeles-Gedda-Christoff (all in better voice, by the way), the baritone was Jean Borthayre who was a much more splendid singer, and who characterized a little; but neither has a patch on Alexandru Aguche's multi-dimensional portrayal of the soldier.

Rita Gorr, as usual, is spectacular as Siebel. No one can touch her; this is the one true "golden-age" singing AND interpreting job on this set.

Andre Cluytens was, really, a vastly overrated conductor (just as Paul Kletzki and Jonel Perlea were vastely UNDERrated). His tempi are slow but not dramatically "sustained," as for instance the slow tempi of Furtwangler, Toscanini or Kempe could be. (To understand what I mean, imagine stretching a piece of rubber out two feet from end to end - there is still tension there - then imagine stretching a piece of taffy the same length - and watching it sag in the middle, no tension.) His singers often save the day for him, but in the end there is nothing one really remembers of his conducting except for the loud, bashing portions of the score.

Now that the Rizzi set is available, really, there's no reason to venerate this set any longer, just as the new Chailly "Boheme" has made both the Beecham and Karajan sets sound old-fashioned and the Gergiev "Boris" has eclipsed Abbado and Dobrowen. Some older opera sets, by virtue of some extraordinary performances or conducting, will indeed live forever, but this "Faust" isn't one of them. It reflects an older, brown-and-serve conception of the opera that simply does not hold up in our day. However, if all you want from "Faust" is a healthy sing, by all means get it.

This recording is the second of two recordings of Faust with the same three principals and the same conductor.The only difference of the two is that the first recording of 1953 is in a mono sound but with an excellent Valentine in Jean Borthayre.While the second
Studio performance was recorded in an excellent stereo sound.All of the performers are in their prime.Victoria de Los Angeles as
Marguerite is a possessor of a beautiful cream e voice ,which she which she uses it to perfection.In the third act ,in her song "There once was a King of Thule" her singing being beautiful is very nostalgic while in the jewel aria "What is this I see" she is naive and very excited.This is great characterization on her part.In the long duet with Nicolai Gedda she blends her voice beautifully with his.As Faust Nicolai Gedda a possessor of beautiful lyric tenor sings marveoleusly like a young men who is in love.
The third character ,The great Boris Christoff is magnificent in the role of Mephistopheles.His voice is beautiful ,very expressive ,full of splendid colors.In his book " The Grand Tradition" John Steane wrote: with Christoff there is immediate presence ,more strongly satanic and exotic ,soon to be recognized as more vivid and varied.One sees his smile ,shares his fun ,knows exactly when he has arrived at the Kermesse -he never needs to announce " Mei voici " again. Ernest Blanc as Valentine sings also
Beautifully,but I prefer the singing and characterization of Jean Borthayre from the earlier recording of 1953 .
Liliane Berton as Siebel and Rita Gorr as Marthe are also distinguished artist's portraying their roles beautifully.
Conductor Andre Cluytens a master of all musical styles leads an excellent chorus and orchestra of Theatre National de L 'Opera with great spirit and precision.To my knowledge this is the best recording of Faust currently available ,and I recommend it
To every ,music lover ,who enjoys great opera- at it's very best.
To music enthusiast's who would like to hear a recording of Faust ,sung by French singers in a French style I recommend as a second choice the 1931 studio recording with Mireille Berthn, Cesar Vezzani,Marcel Journet conducted by Henri Buser.

This is a splendid recording of Faust, with great conducting and with singers that give nuances to their characters.
This is full of passion...
So why wait? Get this one!

The singers are quite accomplished but the recording is so bad that I refuse to listen to it. I would not recommend this recording.