The Hallé: The Damnation Of Faust

Berlioz The Damnation of Faust (140′)

David Butt Philip tenor
 (Faust)
Rinat Shaham mezzo-soprano (Marguerite)
Laurent Naouri bass-baritone (Méphistophélès)
David Soar bass (Brander)

Hallé Choir | Hallé Children’s Choir | Trebles of the Hallé Youth Training Choir

‘Shakespeare and Goethe: the silent confidants of my torments; they hold the key to my life,’ Berlioz wrote in 1828 when he came to Goethe via a French translation. The Damnation of Faust is central to Berlioz’s creative personality, and Sir Mark Elder has assembled an appropriately stellar cast alongside massed choirs from the Hallé. In Berlioz’s graphic version of the legend, Faust, having sold his soul to Méphistophélès in exchange for eternal youth, is led by the nose through temptation, seduction, betrayal, humiliation and a terrifying ride into his inevitable damnation. Berlioz invested all his incredible talent for narrative in what he described as a ‘kind of opera’. It is more than seventy years since this great work was performed by the Hallé, whose founder did so much for the composer in this country. A rare opportunity to experience this spectacular masterwork is long overdue.