La Damnation de Faust - Baden-Baden Osterfestspiele (2015) - La Damnation de Faust - Baden-Baden Osterfestspiele (2015)

Description

A Faust who visits Hungary and ends up in hell? It is obvious that Berlioz’ reading of the Goethe opus was anything but academic. This romanticist transposed what he read with his exuberant imagination. He let it brew and then created a lavish piece of music which can best be described using film terms: cuts, flashbacks, cross-fades and collages. Berlioz was in fact Gustav Mahler’s predecessor. His work fascinates Sir Simon Rattle who has a soft spot for sums that don’t quite add up. So, is “The Damnation” a hidden opera, a ballet without dancers, an immense symphony or an oratorio? It is brilliant music which eludes all forms of stereotyped thinking. 

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