It’s always the devil who steals the show. Or so it seems, especially last week when the Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Hall presentation of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust filled Severance Hall with dazzling sonic waves and dramatic moments. Guest conductor Charles Dutoit adroitly led a massive, stage-filling assembly of instrumentalists, choristers and soloists that brought to life Berlioz’s larger-than-life creation.
In this well-managed, thrilling concert version, with soloists placed just in front of the conductor, it was easy to appreciate their nuanced performances. Tenor Paul Groves, singing the title role, convincingly assumed the eager, greedy and, ultimately, romantic persona of one so desperate he’d bargain with the devil himself. Ah, but it was the vocally commanding Willard White as Mephistopheles, a very persuasive devil, who was most appealing (I’m afraid that’s almost always the way it can be in real life) with his sly, seductive glances at poor Faust, the hapless intellectual bored with life. The bass-baritone owns the role he sang. It was a rare thrill to watch as his devil morphed into a smashing display of authority and power, all expressed by White’s commanding vocal range.
Baritone Christopher Feigum sang and swayed in a delightfully tipsy fashion as Brander, a drunken student, pondering the fate of a poisoned kitchen rat. Mezzo-soprano Ruxandra Donose, whose character (Marguerite) is both “maiden in distress” and heaven-bound woman, pleased ears and eyes as she charmed Faust and the audience.
The Cleveland Orchestra chorus brought the richness we’ve come to expect from this huge ensemble directed by Robert Porco. And just before the final scene, when we thought the stage already packed to capacity, the chorus shifted a bit to make room for a few members of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus (directed by Lisa Wong) and Children’s Chorus (directed by Ann Usher). The junior singers added melody and a sky-reaching vocal lift as they became the chorus of Celestial Spirits that musically realized Marguerite’s trip out of hell and into heaven.
Literary purists might find fault with Berlioz’s casual treatment of Goethe’s Faust, but I’m not one of them. Pour it on, Berlioz! Go Cleveland Orchestra!
Next opera up? Richard Strauss’s Daphne May 27 and May 30 conducted by Franz Welser-Most. Remember last season’s opera, The Cunning Little Vixen, with its clever staging? This promises to be more of the same as Vixen director James Darrah returns. He promises to turn the concert hall into a picture of nature as inspired by ancient Greek theater. Perhaps they will pass out mead and grapes to the audience? Now that would be truly lovely. For tickets go to clevelandorchestra.com/.
[Review by Laura Kennelly]