Faustus, The Last Night

As immortalized by Goethe, the story of Faust has attracted the attention of several composers—Berlioz, Liszt, and—of course—Gounod, whose romantic opera about the scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge has maintained its place in the repertory for more than a century. Less likely to stand the test of time is the new English-language production Faustus, The Last Night by Pascal Dusapin, presented here in its 2006 premiere at the Opéra de Lyon. The libretto, written by composer Dusapin, focuses on the final hours before Faustus is to be dragged off to hell, during which he and Mephistopheles pass the time by verbally jousting over questions related to reality and existence. The pair are periodically joined by others—an angel, the character of Sly from Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and a figure named Togod, whose name not only references the deity but is an anagram of Beckett's Godot (and so points to the theme of stasis and endless waiting). Staged on a gigantic slanted clock face that the singers must scamper across (often clinging to the moving hands), the production is admittedly visually striking, and the performances by the five-member cast and the orchestra are committed, but the music itself is hardly melodic—rumbling and shrieking with dissonance and percussive force—and the text is delivered in Sprechstimme style (i.e., the vocals spoken rather than sung). Presented with a Dolby Digital soundtrack, DVD extras include a bonus behind-the-scenes featurette with remarks by the composer, conductor, and singers. Optional. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)