Фауст: Опера в пяти действиях Шарля Гуно

Grand opera in five acts by Charles Gounod
the opera by Charles Gounod

Faust is an opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part One. It debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris on 19 March 1859, with influential sets designed by Charles Antoine Cambon and Joseph Thierry, Jean Émile Daran, Édouard Desplechin, and Philippe Chaperon.

The original version of Faust employed spoken dialogue, and it was in this form that the work was first performed. The manager of the Théâtre Lyrique, Léon Carvalho cast his wife Caroline Miolan Carvalho as Marguerite and there were various changes during production, including the removal and contraction of several numbers. The tenor Hector Gruyer was originally cast as Faust but was found to be inadequate during rehearsals, being eventually replaced by a principal of the Opéra Comique, Joseph Théodore Désiré Barbot, shortly before the opening night. The opera was given for the first time in Italy at La Scala in 1862 and in England at Her Majesty's Theatre, London (in Italian) in 1863. In 1864, when the opera was given at the same venue in English, Gounod took a theme from the prelude to the opera and wrote a new aria for the star baritone Charles Santley in the role of Valentin, 'Even bravest heart may swell' (with words by Henry Chorley). This number was then translated into French for subsequent productions as "Avant de quitter ces lieux" and has become one of the most familiar pieces from the opera. It was Faust with which the Metropolitan Opera in New York City opened for the first time on 22 October 1883. It is the eighth most frequently performed opera there, with 753 performances through the 2012–2013 season. It was not until the period between 1965 and 1977 that the full version was performed (and then with some minor cuts), and all performances in that production included the Walpurgisnacht ballet. A recording was made in 2018 of the 1859 version, by Les Talens Lyriques conducted by Christophe Rousset, which endeavoured to present the opera as first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique "closer in kinship to the traditional opéra comique in its interleaving of musical numbers with spoken passages". The recording, produced by Bru Zane, featured Véronique Gens, Benjamin Bernheim and Andrew Foster Williams in principal roles.

+RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 19 March 1859Conductor: Adolphe DeloffreFaust, a philosopher and metaphysiciantenorJoseph Théodore Désiré BarbotMéphistophélès, a familiar spirit of Hellbass baritoneMathieu Émile BalanquéMarguerite, a young maidensopranoCaroline Miolan CarvalhoValentin, a soldier and Marguerite's brotherbaritoneOsmond RaynalWagner, friend of ValentinbaritoneM. CibotSiebel, a youth in love with Margueritesoprano(breeches role/travesti)Amélie FaivreMarthe Schwerlein, Marguerite's guardianmezzo soprano or contraltoDuclosYoung girls, labourers, students, soldiers, burghers, matrons, invisible demons,church choir, witches, queens and courtesans of antiquity, celestial voices