Charles Dutoit / Berlioz: Faust

Charles Dutoit, master of the French repertoire, returns to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia after many years – as part of the Symphonic Music Season at the Auditorium Parco della Musica – with Hector Berlioz's Damnation de Faust, a score that transports us into the abyss of the Romantic soul.

La Damnation de Faust, written between 1845 and 1846, is a composition for soloists, chorus, and four-part orchestra, described by the author as a "légende dramatique”, freely inspired by Goethe's Faust. Its first concert performance took place at Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1846. The opera tells the story of the philosopher Faust, who, disillusioned and tormented, makes a pact with the devil Mephistopheles, exchanging his soul for absolute knowledge and love.

The opera allows us to follow the protagonist in his desperation, amid peasant dances, military marches, and smoky taverns, dreaming with Faust of perfect love with Marguerite, until reaching the terrifying "Ride to the Abyss”, one of the most visionary pieces ever written.

Orchestra, Chorus, and Children's Choir of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
Conductor: Charles Dutoit
Margherita Marianne Crebassa, mezzo-soprano
Faust: Julien Dran, tenor
Mephistopheles: John Relyea, bass
Brander: Jonathan Lemalu, bass
Chorus Master: Andrea Secchi
Chief of the Children's Choir: Claudia Morelli

Photo: the Auditorium Parco della Musica official site