Roadtrip Rationale: Vancouver Opera
When it’s sunny out, even driving long distances is a joy, which is why Seattlest was more than happy to ride up to Vancouver with a friend last weekend to see Faust, by Charles Gounod, at Vancouver Opera. The day had been so nice and sun-filled that it felt strange to venture inside the opera house – while it was still light out – to sit in the dark for three hours. But we were very glad we did.
Faust is the story of an old man who summons the Devil, in the form of Méphistophélès, to help him recapture youth, filled with “a mad orgy of emotion for the heart and senses.” In other words, dude wants a lady (in this case, one named Marguerite). Méphistophélès agrees, in exchange for Faust’s soul (of course). The two men proceed to seduce Marguerite (who, up until this point, has been the epitome of chaste innocence) with jewels and other trappings of the earth-bound life, like, oh, sex.
Things do not end well for anyone. Of course not; it’s grand opera. Marguerite has Faust’s baby, Faust abandons her, Méphistophélès taunts Faust, Marguerite’s brother returns from war only to be killed by Faust, Méphistophélès threatens Marguerite with damnation, Marguerite kills her own baby and then goes crazy. The rest of the opera is a powerful struggle between good and evil. And at one point, we thought evil would win.
The real reason to go see this production (you’ve got two more chances: tomorrow, April 29th, and Tuesday, May 2nd) is the woman who sings Marguerite. Seattlest is a little bit in love with soprano Erin Wall. She did not sing a sour note the entire night, and she’s a very convincing actress. Peter Volpe is also marvelous as Méphistophélès. His bass voice is wonderful in the low, devilish notes, and he seems to have fun with the character’s occasional lewd behavior. Rounding out the trio of main characters is Darío Schmunck as Faust, whose tenor voice is well-balanced: tender or harsh in all the right places.
Stage Director Nic Muni used color, perspective and geometry to tell the story. Rather than using the normal red as Méphistophélès’ calling card, for instance, Muni used a yellow-green, which tied Faust and Méphistophélès together, and kept them apart from the rest of the cast. As Muni puts it in an interview in Playboard magazine,
“The idea behind this production is to re-focus the piece more on Faust by creating an atmosphere that is austere, starkly dramatic and hard-edged – more in keeping with Faust’s rather cool, cynical and scientific character. The piece begins in a somewhat antiseptic 19th Century room, which serves as Faust’s study. With the entrance of Méphistophélès, this room splits apart and the remainder of the opera takes place in a huge version of the room, as if his experiences in love remain within the confines of his initial reality.”
So in case you missed it above, you’ve got two more chances to take in this Pacific Northwest neighborhood treasure. Faust plays tomorrow night, April 28th, at 7:30 pm, and Tuesday night, May 2nd, at 7:30 pm. Buy tickets here.
