Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act II scene ii

The curtain falls for the change of scene. When it rises again, Marguerite is in the same position; the prison has risen around her. Faust and Mephistopheles come in; Faust attempts to bring her away with him. She has lost her mind; she only speaks of their first meeting, and the evening in her garden. [...]

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act II, scene ii (3)

Marguerite enters the church to pray for her brother’s soul. But there she finds no peace–only torment from hellish voices. The Devil appears to her even then, in the guise of a priest. Overcome with remorse and terror, Marguerite senses fail her, and she falls fainting to the floor. Her friends and neighbors crowd around [...]

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act II, scene i (2)

Things are going from bad to worse. The soldiers, led by Valentin, have returned, and he has found about the shame that his sister Marguerite has brought upon their family. Mephistopheles and Faust return, and the Devil sings a scurrilous serenade outside the home that Valentin and Marguerite share. Valentin comes outside to avenge her [...]

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act II, scene i (1)

We’re back, and immediately find that things are not going well for Marguerite. Faust has left her, alone and pregnant. We’ve included the often cut Spinning Song, powerfully sung by Christina. This is usually followed by an aria for Siebel called “Si le bonheur.” That aria was written a few years after the premiere in [...]

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 INTERLUDE

One of the prizes that is bid on at our annual auction is the chance to conduct the Eugene Opera Orchestra and Chorus. This year’s prize was to conduct the Soldiers’ Chorus. Judge Michael Hogan of the United States District Court has just made his operatic debut doing so!

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act I, scene iii (5)

The garden has turned a gorgeous blue, suggesting a moonlit night. Faust and Marguerite sing the most enchanting of love duets, observed by the Devil and his courtesans. Marguerite’s fears and scruples are overcome, and she grants Faust admission to her house and bed. The act ends, and all seems well. And yet…

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act I, scene iii (4)

Eugene favorite Bereniece Jones enters as the nosy neighbor Marthe, and we’re into the wonderful quartet. Bereniece, a doctoral student at the University of Oregon, represents the strong dedication that Eugene Opera has to furthering the education of young singers. Besides Bereniece, there are students in the chorus from UO, Lane Community College, Sheldon High [...]

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act I, scene iii (3)

Christina Pier, our Marguerite, enters for her first sustained singing of the evening. She’s beautifully gowned in a rich velvet blue dress with touches of white in the bodice and sleeves. She sits at the spinning wheel to sing the song of “Le roi de Thule”. Halfway through, the courtesans hide upstage to observe her. [...]

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act I, scene iii (2)

Scott Ramsay sings a beautiful “Salut demeure chaste et pure,” with a full throated high C, and a lovely voix mixte A directly afterwards. He gets a warm reception from an appreciative audience.

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Live Blog: FAUST, 12 March 2010 Act I, scene iii (1)

Marguerite’s garden has a bower with a statue of the Virgin, a cart with flowers, and her spinning wheel. The fine young mezzo Elizabeth Pojanowski has gotten a warm reception for “Faites-lui mes aveux.”

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