Event Calendar
A note on Opera: Charles Gounod’s “Faust"
Charles Gounod’s “Faust," loosely based on Goethe's "Faust. Eine Tragödie."
The phrase “to take the world by storm” is overused, but “Faust” did just that. Within practically no time following its 1859 Paris premiere, "Faust" was anywhere opera was performed. London, St. Petersburg, Madrid, Constantinople, New Orleans, San Francisco, Buenos Aires – everywhere you went, you heard the music of “Faust.” It was performed frequently on both sides during our Civil War. The Metropolitan Opera’s very first production was of “Faust.” Especially in the Anglophone world, “Faust” and “opera” became almost synonymous. From the Victorian England of Charles Dickens through the New York of Edith Wharton to the Edwardian world of George Bernard Shaw, if a character is at the opera, then they’re seeing “Faust.” For decades, it was unequivocally THE most popular opera in the world!
Except in Germany...
Over the last 40-odd years, “Faust” has steadily regained some of its former popularity. Join us to find out what makes "Faust" so legendary an opera.
To be taught in English by David Kerr. No pre-existing knowledge of either music or French required.
Admission:
Goethe-Zentrum and Alliance Française members: $20.00. Non-members: $25.00
