Faust - an opera

Faust poster, Milan, 1863
link

'Faust' is a grand opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a
French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from
Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1. It debuted at
the Théâtre Lyrique (Théâtre-Historique, Opéra-National,
Boulevard du Temple) in Paris on 19 March 1859


Miolan-Carvalho as Marguerite, 1860
link

Caroline Carvalho as Margueurite in
the opera 'Faust' by Gounod, 1873
link

Marie Caroline Miolan-Carvalho was a famed French
operatic soprano, particularly associated with light lyric
and coloratura roles. Caroline Carvalho was married to
Théâtre Lyrique's manager Léon Carvalho who casted
her for the opera. At first Faust was not well-received.
The publisher Antoine Choudens, who purchased the
copyright for 10,000 francs, took the work (with added
recitatives replacing the original spoken dialogue) on tour
through Germany, Belgium, Italy and England, with
Marie Miolan-Carvalho repeating her role.

It was revived in Paris in 1862, and was a hit. A ballet had
to be inserted before the work could be played at the Opéra
in 1869: it became the most frequently performed opera
at that house and a staple of the international repertory,
which it remained for decades, being translated into
at least 25 languages.
link

John Anster Fitzgerald (ca. 1819-1906):
'Faust and Marguerite', 1861

link



Caroline Carvalho as Marguerite in the opera
Faust by Gounod, as she appeared at the premiere at
the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris on 19 March 1859
link


Lithograph depicting the vision of Margeurite in Faust's
study in Act 1 of Gounod's opera Faust as performed at
Covent Garden in 1864
link

Alfred Roller (1864-1935): 'Before a Palace',
for Goethe's Faust, Part II, Act V, Scene 17, 1911
link


Prologue in Heaven' from 'Faust', 1908
by Willy Pogány (1882-1955)
link