Met's HD La Damnation de Faust Broadcast

Attended the Met's live HD broadcast of Robert Lepage's La Damnation de Faust at my local movie theater today. (For the uninitiated, La Damnation de Faust is a "dramatic legend" of some more than two hours length that has essentially all the necessities of an opera, however it was not written to be staged, but to be presented in concert form. Personally, I'll bet this was due to Berlioz' difficulties in getting his own works staged in Paris, having been a self-proclaimed and boorish enemy to the Parisian musical establishment from the beginning, rather than being the outcome he truly wished for such a work from the time Goethe first bewitched him.)

First of all, let me say that attending the opera in America invariably creeps me out. I don't think of myself as exceptionally young so finding myself the youngest person at any entertainment event is sure to produce the willies. The theater was nearly full and I can safely say I was the only person there under thirty (what am I saying? I was the only person there under 45).

This production was fantastic. Robert Lepage's much-hyped use of interactive projections was stunning and lived up to the buzz. The set was a wall containing multiple levels of shallow platforms, on to which were projected images from the front and the rear. Images of underwater dancers, fibers that moved in response to the motion of the live dancers (as far as I can tell, detected by sensors that felt their body heat) and real-time images of the singers were all effectively deployed without technology overwhelming the drama or music. One of the most striking projected images was in the scene that begins with Faust singing "Nature immense," the pillars of the set were shown to be the trunks of trees whose waving green branches were projected onto a screen above the top platform. As Mephistopheles entered and moved across the stage he touched each pillar, whose branches subsequently withered. Another excellent excellent effect was during the soldiers' song "Jam nox stella velamina pandit," young women sat at the base of each column as suspended soldiers walked vertically to the top of the set where they fell limp and were slowly lowered to the women's laps to be passionately mourned and then repeat. The novelty and beauty of the director's vision was a great addition to this spare drama.

Which brings us to the work itself. La Damnation de Faust is one of Berlioz' greatest works, which is to say it is a work everyone feels obliged to call a masterpiece, but no one genuinely feels to be such. In it we encounter Berlioz' flair for sonic ingenuity and boldness of gesture, his literary instinct as well as his stunted, inorganic and distinctly French conceptualization of his wild, whirling vision. Here, as much as in any of his works, Berlioz is unable to break from the dance, which both enchants and bores the listener. Luckily, this last aspect was well-exploited in this production with excellent choreography. Indeed, the half-formed nature of this work contributed brilliantly to this bold production, such a non-opera is a director's opera waiting to happen. (Also there is no cadre of die-hard traditionalist fans who would howl at the liberties.)

Musically, it was superb. (Need I say it was better than the first time I saw it under Keith Lockhart in Salt Lake in 2004?) Levine and the orchestra were fine, and the chorus was expressive and disciplined. Susan Graham as Marguerite was refined and sensitive. Marcello Giordani as Faust was uneven, but acquitted himself very well in his upper register, and his performance improved as the show went on and he warmed up. It goes without saying that John Relyea as the villain-who-will-not-be-named stole the show, his charismatic physicality detracting not one whit from his musical art. His costume, a red leather suit with black fur growing from the arms and a two-feather'd cap, was hideous, but he looked fabulous in it.

Regarding the broadcast, the amplification was poorly coordinated at times, particularly in choral passages, obscuring the chorus' careful artistry. Also the camerawork was occasionaly bizarre, showing closeups where it should have shown wide shots to allow us to take in the carefully choreographed spectacle. I've appreciated seeing productions recently (this and Dr. Atomic) that use the stage's full vertical space.

Lastly, Hector Berlioz, I speak to you who are beyond the grave. In denying Faust salvation or even an intecessory prayer on his behalf, you have not done a disservice to a great piece of literature, but to the very fabric our civilization. You have denied us hope, and in case you haven't been watching the news lately, hope is very hot right now.