La Damnation de Faust

Although it was originally produced as--in 19th century composer Hector Berlioz' phrasing--a "concert opera," commentators have called his take on Goethe's Faust "too dramatic for the concert hall and insufficiently stage-worthy for the opera house." To overcome this problem, the Staatskapelle Berlin gives it the Extreme Theatre treatment in this 1999 performance at the Salzburger Festspiele, setting the action within a large furnace in a futuristic "mind factory" during a solar eclipse. Cast into this colorful cylinder of swirling imagery, Faust discovers his feminine self (Marguerite) before being fused into a whole person with her and Mephistopheles. While it can be argued that the staging tends to overwhelm the music (and this is Berlioz!), the principals acquit themselves admirably, with strong vocal performances, supported by a sturdy chorus and ballet troupe (whose sequences are seen at a distance and are therefore pretty much lost in the dark). Formatted for widescreen, and presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 with the option of English or Japanese subtitles, those with esoteric tastes may savor this unusual production, but mainstream audiences are unlikely to respond favorably. An optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (J. Reed)