Faust is an 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 Goethe's Faust, Part I. It debuted at the Théatre-Lyrique in Paris on March 19, 1859. Charles Gounod Charles François Gounod (June 17, 1818 – October 18, 1893) was a French composer, best known for his opera Faust. ... Jules Barbier (8 March 1825 - 16 January 1901) was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often wrote in collaboration with Michel Carré. His writings include: Bizet - La Guzla de lÉmir (1-act comic opera; never performed and probably destroyed) Gounod - Faust, Romeo et Juliette, Le Médecin... Michel Carré (1822-1872) was a prolific French librettist. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pronounced [gø tə]) (August 28, 1749–March 22, 1832) was a German writer, politician, humanist, scientist, and philosopher. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). ... 1859 (MDCCCLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ...

Faust was declined at the National Opera House, on the grounds that it was not sufficiently "showy", and its appearance at the Théatre-Lyrique had been delayed for a year because Dennery's drama Faust was currently playing at the Porte St. Martin. The manager Leon Carvalho (who cast his wife Marie Caroline, née Felix-Miolan, as Marguerite) insisted on various changes during production, including cutting several numbers. Faust was not initially 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 Caroline Carvalho repeating her role. It was revived in Paris in 1862, now a hit. A Ballet Act had to be inserted before the work would be played at the Grand Opera in 1869: it became the most frequently performed opera at that house and a staple of the international repertory. Its popularity has declined in the ensuing years. However, according to Opera America, it is still the eighteenth most performed opera in North America. City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ... 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Opera America, officially OPERA America, is a service organization in North America promoting the creation, presentation, and enjoyment of opera. ...

In music, a tenor is a male singer with a high voice. ... A bass (or basso in Italian) is a male singer who sings in the deepest vocal range of the human voice. ... Baritone (French: baryton; Deutsch: Bariton; Italian: baritono) is most commonly the type of male voice that lies between bass and tenor. ... A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role) is a role in which an actress appears in male clothes (breeches being tight-fitting knee-length pants, the standard male garment at the time breeches roles were introduced). ...

Synopsis

The opera is set in 16th century Germany, and is in five acts. The New Opera in Oslo, Norway The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

Act I takes place in Faust's 'cabinet'. Faust attempts to kill himself (twice) with poison but stops each time when he hears a choir. He curses science and faith and asks for infernal guidance. Méphistophélès appears (duet: Me voici) and, with a tempting image of Marguerite at her spinning wheel, persuades Faust to buy Méphistophélès's services on earth in exchange for Faust's in Hell.

Act II occurs at the city gates. A chorus of students and soldiers and villagers sing a drinking song, Vin ou Bière. Valentin, leaving for war with his friend Wagner, entrusts the care of his sister Marguerite to his friend Siébel. Méphistophélès appears and sings about the Golden Calf (Le veau d'or). Méphistophélès maligns Marguerite, and Valentin tries to strike him with his sword, which shatters. Valentin and friends use the cross-shaped hilts of their swords to fend off what they now know is an infernal power (chorus: De l'enfer). Méphistophélès is joined by Faust and the villagers in a waltz Ainsi que la brise légère. Marguerite refuses Faust's arm out of modesty.

Act III takes place in Marguerite's garden. Siébel leaves a bouquet for Marguerite (Faites-lui mes aveux). Faust sends Méphistophélès in search of a gift for Marguerite and sings a cavatina Salut, demeure chaste et pure about nature. Méphistophélès brings a trunk of jewels. Marguerite enters, pondering her encounter with Faust at the city gates, and sings a ballad about the King of Thulé, Il était un roi de Thulé, Marthe, Marguerite's neighbour, says the jewels must be from an admirer. Marguerite tries on the jewellery and sings her famous aria, the Jewel Song (Ah! je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir). Méphistophélès and Faust join the women in the garden and romance them. Marguerite allows Faust to kiss her (Laisse-moi, laisse-moi contempler ton visage), but then asks him to go away. She sings at her window for his quick return, and Faust, listening, returns to her.

In Act IV, in Marguerite's room. Impregnated and abandoned by Faust, Marguerite has given birth and is a social outcast. She sings an air at her spinning wheel (Il ne revient pas). Siébel stands by her. Marguerite goes to the church and tries to pray there but is stopped, first by Méphistophélès and then by a choir of devils. She finishes her prayer, but faints when she is cursed again by Méphistophélès. Méphistophélès sings a lover's serenade under Marguerite's window (Vous qui faites l'endormie). Valentin returns and asks who debauched his sister. Faust and Valentin duel and Valentin is killed. With his dying breath he condemns Marguerite to Hell.

Act V is set in the Harz mountains on Walpurgisnacht. Méphistophélès and Faust are surrounded by witches (Un, deux et trois). Faust is transported to a cave of queens and courtesans, and a feast is held. Faust sees a vision of Marguerite and asks for her. Méphistophélès helps Faust enter the prison where Marguerite is being held for killing her child. They sing a love duet Oui, c'est toi que j'aime. Mephistopheles returns to urge Faust to hurry, and Marguerite recognizes him as the devil. She calls for divine protection as Faust urges her to hurry away with him and Mephistopheles tells them both that time is running out. Marguerite listens to neither of them, and sings an invocation to angels ("Anges purs, anges radieux"). At the end she hallucinates that Faust's hands are covered in blood, repulses him, and faints; while Mephistopheles cries out that Faust has been judged. Faust prays, while Marguerite's soul rises to heaven (Christ est ressuscité). Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton in Swedish, Vappu in Finnish, Volbriöö in Estonian, Valpurģu nakts or Valpurģi in Latvian, Walpurgisnacht in German) is a holiday celebrated on April 30, in Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Germany. ...

Popular impact

Parts of the opera have seeped into popular culture in Europe over more than a century. Faust was so popular in the United States that in New York the opera season began with a performance of it every year for several decades in the late nineteenth century, a fact to which Edith Wharton makes great reference in her Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Age of Innocence. The Argentinian author Estanislao del Campo wrote a satirical poem, Fausto (1866), which describes a gaucho's impressions during the performance of Gounod's opera. A performance of this opera is part of the back story of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux and appears in some of the film adaptations of that novel such as The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Jeanette MacDonald performs several scenes from the opera in the 1936 film San Francisco, complete with costumes, sets and orchestra. The biggest impression has perhaps been left by the famous aria sung by Marguerite – the jewel song – since children all over the world have been reading very short extracts from it in several stories in The Adventures of Tintin. In this series of graphic novels or comic strips our hero Tintin and his sidekick, Captain Haddock, often encounter a bombastic opera singer called Bianca Castafiore. Her trademark is the jewel song, which she always sings at high volume, never saying more than Ah! je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir or a few words more from other lines. The waltz from Gounod’s 'Faust' was used on British television in the third series of Monty Python comedy programmes, first shown in 1972; the music was used in the soundtrack of the 34th episode, entitled ‘The Cycle Tour’. This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Edith Wharton (January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and designer. ... The Pulitzer Prize is an American award regarded as the highest national honor in print journalism, literary achievements, and musical composition. ... The Age of Innocence is a 1920 novel by Edith Wharton which won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize. ... Estanislao del Campo (February 7, 1834 November 6, 1880) was an Argentine poet. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Gauchos taming horses in Corrientes Province, Argentina. ... This article is about the Gaston Leroux novel. ... Gaston Leroux. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... See also: 1924 in film 1925 1926 in film 1920s in film years in film film Events Top grossing films Ben-Hur His People The Unholy Three The Freshman Movies released Movies released in 1925 include: Ben-Hur, starring Ramon Novarro. ... Jeanette MacDonald Jeanette MacDonald (June 18, 1903 – January 14, 1965) was a singer and actress best remembered for her musical films of the 1930s with Maurice Chevalier (Love Me Tonight, The Merry Widow) and Nelson Eddy (Naughty Marietta, Rose Marie, and Maytime). ... The April 18, 1906 San Francisco earthquake is the historical background for San Francisco, a 1936 movie romance film between Blackie Norton, a gambling hall tycoon, played by Clark Gable, and a promising but impoverished singer, from Colorado, Mary Blake, portrayed by singer Jeanette MacDonald. ... The main cast of the series. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... Tintin and Snowy (Tintin et Milou) Tintin and Snowy (original French language names: Tintin et Milou), a journalist and his canine companion, are a pair of adventurers who travel around the world in The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books drawn and written by the Belgian cartoonist Georges... Captain Haddock (Capitaine Haddock) Captain Archibald Haddock (Capitaine Archibald Haddock) is a character in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. ... The Adventures of Tintin has several minor characters: General Alcazar General of the army of San Theodoros, Alcazar switches with comedic frequency between being president of the country and leading a rebellion to battle the government led by his arch-rival General Tapioca. ...

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