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- First reviewDecember 11, 2011
- Last reviewDecember 11, 2011
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Faust - Great Singing, Unsuccessful Staging
PostedDecember 11, 2011
LALev
from San Diego, CA
Great singing by Rene Pape (basses don't get to star very often) and Jonas Kaufmann. Fine acting by Marina Poplavskaya (she even learned to sew to add to the realism), but her singing lapsed at times. The staging was a typical McAnuff production from La Jolla Playhouse - intriguing, intricate, and great to look at - but what does it have to do with the silly potboiler plot of Faust? Is Faust looking back at the joys of World War I? How can you have a sword duel if this is the twentieth century? If McAnuff is going to talk about Jacob Bronowski, he needs to get a consistent vision from him (which he certainly had in person).
Met still needs to work more on acting. Poplavskaya was outstanding, but Pape needs to do more (he has a great big body to work with, but he's quite stiff) and Kaufmann (personable in his interview) does nothing on stage except sing (he is a nonentity Faust with a great voice). Also Joyce DiDonato looks great and seems nice, but doesn't get much out of her interviews (except with Poplavskaya).
An obvious star in the making is conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin, who does a great job (as good as Levine could do). No wonder Philadelphia has signed him up - I hope he'll still have time for the Met.
I'm glad Poplavskaya (replacing the originally scheduled Georghiu) understands the need for realistic acting (even in the sewing scenes), but she needs to work on her endurance. Operas tend to be very long, and she is noticeably weaker vocally at the end.
The telling note about the production came in the interview with the very talented Des McAnuff. He says that opera is no different from musical comedy. Sorry, Des, but that's not true. Opera is much bigger, much longer, and has much greater and deeper themes. Neat special effects, multiple levels, and spiral staircases aren't enough. We need a big vision to go with a big opera - and we don't have it here. To see how to update an old story with a big theme to the 20th century, look at the Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar.
A final note. Opera still needs to do something to enlarge its audience. The theater where I saw Faust had about 80 people with no one under 60 and an average age over 70. And this is a well-known opera with a local connection via Des McAnuff.
Yes, I recommend this movie.
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