Faust (Spohr)
Encyclopedia
Faust is an opera
by the German
composer Louis Spohr
. The libretto
, by Josef Karl Bernard, is based on the legend of Faust
; it is not influenced by Goethe's Faust
, though Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy had been published in 1808. Instead, Carl Bernard's libretto draws mainly on Faust plays and poems by Maximilian Klinger and Heinrich von Kleist
. Spohr's Faust is an important work in the history of German Romantic opera
.
and taken up a post in Vienna at the Theater An der Wien
, which had recently been purchased by Count Ferdinand Palffy von Erdöd
. He composed the opera in less than four months, May to September 1813 but had difficulties with count Palffy that interfered with getting it staged in Vienna
. Though he took the manuscript score privately to Giacomo Meyerbeer
, who played it, with Spohr singing— supplementing his vocal range by whistling— it was not until Carl Maria von Weber
took an interest in the score that it received its premiere. Weber conducted the first performance of Faust at the Ständetheater, Prague
on 1 September 1816. Meyerbeer introduced it at Berlin
.
In its original form, the opera was a Singspiel
in two acts. In 1851, Spohr turned the piece into a grand opera
in three acts, replacing the spoken dialogue with recitative
. This "version (in an Italian translation) received its premiere at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden, London
on 15 July 1852. The Bielefeld Opera
rediscovered Faust in 1993 in the first staged production world-wide since 1931. Conducted by Geoffrey Moull
and directed by Matthias Oldag, the opera was given 8 performances and subsequently recorded for CPO.
which allows him to rescue Kunigunde from the clutches of the evil knight Gulf. Faust obtains a love potion from the witch Sycorax which he gives to Kunigunde during her wedding celebrations. Outraged at the sudden passion his bride shows for Faust, Count Hugo challenges him to a duel. Faust kills Hugo and flees. Meanwhile, Faust's first love, Röschen, drowns herself in despair. Mefistofeles seizes Faust and drags him down to Hell.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
composer Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Born Ludewig Spohr, he is usually known by the French form of his name. Described by Dorothy Mayer as "The Forgotten Master", Spohr was once as famous as Beethoven. As a violinist, his virtuoso playing was admired by Queen Victoria...
. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
, by Josef Karl Bernard, is based on the legend of Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
; it is not influenced by Goethe's Faust
Goethe's Faust
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is a tragic play in two parts: and . Although written as a closet drama, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages...
, though Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy had been published in 1808. Instead, Carl Bernard's libretto draws mainly on Faust plays and poems by Maximilian Klinger and Heinrich von Kleist
Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
. Spohr's Faust is an important work in the history of German Romantic opera
German opera
Opera in German is the opera of the German-speaking countries, most notably Germany and Austria...
.
Performance history
Spohr had left his court appointment at GothaGotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
and taken up a post in Vienna at the Theater An der Wien
Theater an der Wien
The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...
, which had recently been purchased by Count Ferdinand Palffy von Erdöd
Ferdinand Palffy von Erdöd
Count Ferdinánd Pálffy de Erdőd was a mining engineer and civil servant of the Austrian Empire who is better remembered for his role in managing the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, in pursuit of which he lost his not inconsiderable fortune and retired from his creditors in Vienna.The son of Count...
. He composed the opera in less than four months, May to September 1813 but had difficulties with count Palffy that interfered with getting it staged in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Though he took the manuscript score privately to Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
, who played it, with Spohr singing— supplementing his vocal range by whistling— it was not until Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
took an interest in the score that it received its premiere. Weber conducted the first performance of Faust at the Ständetheater, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
on 1 September 1816. Meyerbeer introduced it at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
In its original form, the opera was a Singspiel
Singspiel
A Singspiel is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera...
in two acts. In 1851, Spohr turned the piece into a grand opera
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterised by large-scale casts and orchestras, and lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on or around dramatic historic events...
in three acts, replacing the spoken dialogue with recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
. This "version (in an Italian translation) received its premiere at the Royal Italian Opera, Covent Garden, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 15 July 1852. The Bielefeld Opera
Bielefeld Opera
The Bielefeld Opera is the venue of Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a Dreisparten Haus , offering plays, music , and ballet...
rediscovered Faust in 1993 in the first staged production world-wide since 1931. Conducted by Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull
Geoffrey Moull is a professional conductor and pianist.- Education :Geoffrey Moull was born in London, Ontario, Canada and studied conducting with Kirill Kondrashin, Sergiu Celibidache and Martin Stephani...
and directed by Matthias Oldag, the opera was given 8 performances and subsequently recorded for CPO.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast Conductor: Carl Maria von Weber |
|---|---|---|
| Faust | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Johann Nepomuk Schelble |
| Mephistofeles | baritone | |
| Count Hugo | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
|
| Kunigunde his fiancée | soprano | Therese Grünbaum |
| Röschen a young girl | soprano | |
| Kaylinger a friend of Faust | baritone | |
| Wohlhardt a friend of Faust | tenor | |
| Wagner a friend of Faust | tenor | |
| Moor a friend of Faust | baritone | |
| Franz | tenor | |
| Gulf | bass | |
| Sycorax a witch | soprano | |
| Count Hugo's page | spoken role | |
Synopsis
Faust is torn between his love for the young Röschen and his desire for Kunigunde, the fiancée of Count Hugo. He makes a pact with the devil MefistofelesMephistopheles
Mephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore...
which allows him to rescue Kunigunde from the clutches of the evil knight Gulf. Faust obtains a love potion from the witch Sycorax which he gives to Kunigunde during her wedding celebrations. Outraged at the sudden passion his bride shows for Faust, Count Hugo challenges him to a duel. Faust kills Hugo and flees. Meanwhile, Faust's first love, Röschen, drowns herself in despair. Mefistofeles seizes Faust and drags him down to Hell.
Recordings
- Faust (1852 revision) Bielefeld OperaBielefeld OperaThe Bielefeld Opera is the venue of Städtische Bühnen Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany. It is a Dreisparten Haus , offering plays, music , and ballet...
, Soloists, Chorus, Bielefeld Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Geoffrey MoullGeoffrey MoullGeoffrey Moull is a professional conductor and pianist.- Education :Geoffrey Moull was born in London, Ontario, Canada and studied conducting with Kirill Kondrashin, Sergiu Celibidache and Martin Stephani...
(CPO, 1994). - Faust- Soloists (Bo SkovhusBo SkovhusBo Skovhus is a Danish opera singer .Skovhus studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, at the Royal Academy for Opera of Copenhagen and in New York with Oren Brown....
, Franz Hawlata, Robert Swensen, Brigitte Wohlfarth, Hillevi MartinpeltoHillevi MartinpeltoHillevi Martinpelto is a Swedish lyric soprano. She made her debut in Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini in 1987. She is best known for her work with John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir. With Gardiner, she has recorded Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Idomeneo, to considerable acclaim.-...
, others; Südfunkchor Stuttgart; Rundfunkorchester des SWF Kaiserslautern; Klaus Arp conducting; Capriccio CD label. (1994) This recording is of the original version.
Sources
- The Viking Opera Guide ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
- The Oxford Illustrated History of Opera ed. Parker (OUP, 1994)
- Del Teatro (in Italian)
- Amadeus Online