PS Un “blogger” non è un oracolo e commette inevitabilmente errori (il minimo possibile..). Ricevo spesso “correzioni” non sempre fondamentali e non sempre precise. Così come io mi sottopongo al giudizio altrui con nome e cognome così chi vorrà avere la bontà di segnalarmi eventuali errori o imprecisioni dovrà farlo unicamente mandando un commento: a ognuno la propria responsabilità. In base alla nuova normativa chi si fosse iscritto e desidera de-iscriversi è sufficiente che mi invii un messaggio e-mail..

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For once, I am breaking a rule which I have always adhered to: reviewing only performances I have attended in person. Owing to a series of circumstances, I was unable to be at La Scala on November 8, and therefore my observations are based on the television broadcast. Needless to say, this can never be equivalent to first-hand attendance, whether because of the atmosphere in the theatre, the television director’s choices, which for obvious screen-size reasons highlight only portions of the stage, or the quality of sound and voices, inevitably altered by transmission. Nevertheless, I believe that in this particular case the production lends itself to a review, albeit a “remote” one. I should state at the outset that anyone familiar with Goethe’s Faust will find that the grand opéra libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré bears only a vague resemblance to the original text, and not always to its advantage. For the director Johannes Erath, it serves primarily as an opportunity to display a phantasmagorical concept in which Hell becomes a circus populated by Pierrots disguised as devils, Walpurgis Night turns into an acrobatic spectacle filled with references to past successes, not least Fassbinder’s Querelle de Brest, and the protagonists’ redemption becomes something of a riddle, almost as though they had not been forgiven. As always, La Scala has spared no effort in the quality of its production values, which in this case are particularly dazzling and extravagant. The entire performance is populated by “doubles” in the Artaudian sense, and Faust himself appears simultaneously as both the young man and the old man destined for death. The production revives the perennial question of whether one should remain faithful to the substance of the original work or whether one is dealing with something entirely different that merely retains a distant memory of its source, used essentially as a title and a literary allusion. Here we are consistently confronted with the latter. The assessment is therefore twofold: on the one hand, disappointment at seeing a cornerstone of German literature fragmented and diluted; on the other, admiration for the visual brilliance and inventiveness of the staging. For old-fashioned conservatives such as myself, and I suspect for a substantial portion of the audience, the former reaction predominates. Yet it is also true that the reviewer’s task is to evaluate what is actually presented on stage, not to act as a literary censor. Even so, the prevailing impression is one of disorientation, leaving the audience uncertain whether it is witnessing an opera or a musical version of the “Cirque du Soleil” show. One is repeatedly distracted by spectacular visual inventions that ultimately overwhelm the musical and vocal fabric of the work. In Erath’s production, Mephistopheles, having “seduced” Faust with the promise of renewed youth, becomes a ringmaster complete with regular uniform and whip, presiding over this infernal circus. In the background appears a seductive female figure carrying a parasol, swaying flirtatiously, who is eventually revealed to be Marguerite. Credit is due to Marina Rebeka, who emerged unscathed from a costume concept that was aesthetically perilous. Mephistopheles then assumes a succession of different guises, not always sufficiently malevolent, despite Boito’s famous description of him as “the spirit that denies”. The remaining characters are often presented in ways that are difficult to understand. Marta appears as a nun, while her brother is also dressed as a Pierrot despite not belonging to the infernal company. To dwell further on these scenic inventions would be of little value. The production was, unsurprisingly, not received with unanimous enthusiasm, though perhaps provoking and, possibly, stimulating debate is precisely what the director intended. Turning to the musical side, conductor Rustioni is a distinguished specialist in Faust and succeeded in bringing out even the score’s most hidden threads, supported, as usual, by an orchestra of exceptional quality. He balanced the various sections with great skill while remaining attentive to the needs of the singers. Marina Rebeka once again confirmed herself as an outstanding artist in an extraordinarily demanding role performed under far from easy circumstances. She deserves unreserved praise. The same cannot, in my view, be said of Vittorio Grigolo, who, beside Marguerite, often appeared as an uncertain Faust, lacking the inner torment that ultimately leads him to surrender to Mephistopheles. Alex Esposito portrayed the devil with considerable skill, though he did not always succeed in conveying the sinister and insinuating nature of the character.The performance ended at 11:30 p.m., and as it was already late I switched off the television before seeing the audience’s reaction. My overall impression, however, is of a production marked by both lights and shadows.

PS. My posts lack the usual historical‑musical introduction to the opera that is standard practice in reviews. It seems pointless to duplicate what can easily be found in newspaper articles: Kurvenal deals only with what is staged, cutting away all the background

PS I would kindly ask the readers of this blog to  register  (which implies nothing) which can be easily made  by “clicking” the black square above each post. By so doing they will receive an e-mail message whenever a new post is published.

PS A “blogger” is not an oracle and inevitably makes errors (the minimum possible..). I often receive “corrections” not always fundamental and not always accurate. Just as I submit myself to the judgement of others with the name and surname so those who want to have the goodness to report errors or inaccuracies will have to do so only by sending a comment: everyone has his own responsibility.

Per un elenco aggiornato di tutti i precedenti  posts di questo blog con i corrispondenti links

PS  Vorrei ringraziare tutti coloro che inseriscono commenti  ai posts utilizzando l’opzione “Lascia un commento”  (o “commenti” se ne sono già stati inseriti) prevista nella sezione sinistra (o prima del testo per schermi ridotti come i tablets) dei posts stessi affinchè tutti possano leggerli.  Il dibattito è sempre interessante per tutti…..grazie (è indispensabile lasciare nome e cognome – i commenti anonimi non saranno pubblicati)!!