Now I am not saying that I hated this production, I didn't. At the end of the day, I just didn't care for it. It did have potential, a great cast, Rene Pape I was especially looking forward to, and the fact that Faust is such a wonderful opera. Also it is from the Met, and although they have had some misses(Tosca, Hansel and Gretel) I always look forward to what they do. On the technical side of things, the High Definition is splendid as it always is. The picture and sound quality are also fine.
The costumes and sets aren't bad as such, in fact they did have an interesting and inventive look to them, and I didn't mind the updating to World War 2. In fact they weren't the problem. The main problem was the staging, if I had to sum it up in two words they would be lifeless and confused, and no this is not just the time travelling(I think the going back from WW2 to WW1 was not as obvious as it could've been at first). The most problematic act is by far the fourth one, especially with Valentin challenging Faust to a dual, and here's the catch, he challenged him to a duel with swords. This jarred with the updated setting, not just because of the fact it was swords rather than something military like a gun but also because duelling for a woman's honour may have happened in Gounod and Goethe's times but not during World War 2.
Also disappointing were the acting of the secondary characters and the chorus. The movement on stage was unenthusiastic and static on the whole, and the secondary characters were mainly there for backdrop purposes and little else. The chorus' singing was actually good, while the vibrato is a tad too wide the balance and pitch are great. The problem is that stage director Des Macanuff doesn't give them much to do. Take for example Ainsi Que La Brise Légère in Act 2. You can see four couples waltzing, but what do the chorus do? That's right, standing there in the background.
The camera work is suitably smooth, but there are also one too many revealing close-ups. I wasn't as bothered about seeing sweat on Pape's brow, I see it all the time whether in opera or anything related to music performance. But there is one part that really quite irked me, and that is although Valentin is supposed to be dead, you can clearly see him breathing.
I was really disappointed in Marina Poplavskaya as Margherite. I actually do like her, I found her affecting as Liu, Amelia(Simon Boccanegra) and Elisabetta DeValois(Don Carlo), and loved the quality of her flute-like voice. Sadly her voice isn't as appealing as they were in those roles, no longer flute-like but strained and lacking in agility, with the Jewel Song not understated or delicate enough complete with a mediocre-at-best attempt at a trill. I thought her acting would be better, but again that wasn't the case. She does spend a lot of time looking stone-faced, in the reprise of the Jewel Song Marthe was much more energetic than her, and there is no passion between her and Kaufmann making their love fall flat. I also think her features(as handsome as they are) are too masculine for Margherite, Siebel's a male and you know there's something wrong when Siebel looks more feminine than Margherite.
Speaking of Jonas Kaufmann, he is overall very good as Faust. Handsome presence, acting that is heartfelt, amazing musicality especially his trademark soft singing and a beautiful voice, though of the many Fausts I've heard Kaufmann has one of the darker and more baritonal timbres. His Salut Demure Et Chaste Pure is heart-melting, though in regard to this aria I prefer Kraus' phrase fluidity and lighter tone. Michele Losier and Wendy White are respectably very good as Siebel and Marthe, especially White, even shining in scenes where she's not the main focus.
Russell Braun is a powerful Valentin, vocally and dramatically, but the best asset of the production is Rene Pape, in a performance that is just as good as his King Marke, Sarastro and Boris Godunov, as opera's favourite devil Mephistopheles. Not only does Pape possess one of the most beautiful and warmest voices of any bass of recent times, but he is very sarcastic and menacing. Wasn't entirely sure about the dance moves though during Le Veau D'Or(still a great performance of the aria) The orchestra play Gounod's wonderful music(more than a few good arias, there's also the act 2 chorus and the final trio) and the conducting is exemplary. All in all, not terrible, but it was disappointing for me. 6/10 Bethany Cox
The costumes and sets aren't bad as such, in fact they did have an interesting and inventive look to them, and I didn't mind the updating to World War 2. In fact they weren't the problem. The main problem was the staging, if I had to sum it up in two words they would be lifeless and confused, and no this is not just the time travelling(I think the going back from WW2 to WW1 was not as obvious as it could've been at first). The most problematic act is by far the fourth one, especially with Valentin challenging Faust to a dual, and here's the catch, he challenged him to a duel with swords. This jarred with the updated setting, not just because of the fact it was swords rather than something military like a gun but also because duelling for a woman's honour may have happened in Gounod and Goethe's times but not during World War 2.
Also disappointing were the acting of the secondary characters and the chorus. The movement on stage was unenthusiastic and static on the whole, and the secondary characters were mainly there for backdrop purposes and little else. The chorus' singing was actually good, while the vibrato is a tad too wide the balance and pitch are great. The problem is that stage director Des Macanuff doesn't give them much to do. Take for example Ainsi Que La Brise Légère in Act 2. You can see four couples waltzing, but what do the chorus do? That's right, standing there in the background.
The camera work is suitably smooth, but there are also one too many revealing close-ups. I wasn't as bothered about seeing sweat on Pape's brow, I see it all the time whether in opera or anything related to music performance. But there is one part that really quite irked me, and that is although Valentin is supposed to be dead, you can clearly see him breathing.
I was really disappointed in Marina Poplavskaya as Margherite. I actually do like her, I found her affecting as Liu, Amelia(Simon Boccanegra) and Elisabetta DeValois(Don Carlo), and loved the quality of her flute-like voice. Sadly her voice isn't as appealing as they were in those roles, no longer flute-like but strained and lacking in agility, with the Jewel Song not understated or delicate enough complete with a mediocre-at-best attempt at a trill. I thought her acting would be better, but again that wasn't the case. She does spend a lot of time looking stone-faced, in the reprise of the Jewel Song Marthe was much more energetic than her, and there is no passion between her and Kaufmann making their love fall flat. I also think her features(as handsome as they are) are too masculine for Margherite, Siebel's a male and you know there's something wrong when Siebel looks more feminine than Margherite.
Speaking of Jonas Kaufmann, he is overall very good as Faust. Handsome presence, acting that is heartfelt, amazing musicality especially his trademark soft singing and a beautiful voice, though of the many Fausts I've heard Kaufmann has one of the darker and more baritonal timbres. His Salut Demure Et Chaste Pure is heart-melting, though in regard to this aria I prefer Kraus' phrase fluidity and lighter tone. Michele Losier and Wendy White are respectably very good as Siebel and Marthe, especially White, even shining in scenes where she's not the main focus.
Russell Braun is a powerful Valentin, vocally and dramatically, but the best asset of the production is Rene Pape, in a performance that is just as good as his King Marke, Sarastro and Boris Godunov, as opera's favourite devil Mephistopheles. Not only does Pape possess one of the most beautiful and warmest voices of any bass of recent times, but he is very sarcastic and menacing. Wasn't entirely sure about the dance moves though during Le Veau D'Or(still a great performance of the aria) The orchestra play Gounod's wonderful music(more than a few good arias, there's also the act 2 chorus and the final trio) and the conducting is exemplary. All in all, not terrible, but it was disappointing for me. 6/10 Bethany Cox
