Faust at Folkoperan autumn 2010
Folkoperan will present the opera Faust by French composer Charles Gounod in autumn 2010. The production will be directed by Folkoperan Artistic Director Mira Bartov under the musical direction of Folkoperan Music Director Joakim Unander.
Faust was first performed in Paris in 1859 with the libretto loosely based on Goethe’s play Faust. In the opera God and the Devil make a wager as to whether good or evil is the stronger side in humans. A group of people in a small quarter of Paris are chosen for the experiment.
“There is an intimate beauty to the music. It penetrates deep into your soul,” says Bartov. “Apart from the inexhaustible theme of good and evil in relation to our free will, the work asks the following questions: How much can a person genuinely withstand? Where does the line go between a setback crushing us or invigorating us?”
The opera features several much loved operatic treasures including Faust’s aria (“Salut! demeure chaste et pure”) and Marguerite’s Jewel Song. At Folkoperan Faust will be sung in Swedish by three teams of singers.
“Folkoperan’s Faust is a concentrated Grand opéra in this intimate space, an experimental version which focuses on the six main characters,” says Joakim Unander.
Faust: Nikola Matiŝić/Daniel Johansson/Mats Carlsson
Marguerite: Charlotta Larsson/Ulrika Mjörndal/Natalie Hernborg
Méphistophélès: Johan Schinkler/Kosma Ranuer/Marcus Schwartz
Valentin: Anders Larsson/Carl Ackerfeldt
Siebel: Tove Dahlberg/Marie Alexis
Marthe: Lena-Susanne Norin/Eva Marklund
Music: Charles Gounod
Libretto: Jules Barbier and Michel Carré loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s play of the same name.
Swedish translation & directed by: Mira Bartov
Musical direction: Joakim Unander
Conducted by: Joakim Unander/Daniel Blendulf/Jonas Dominique
Orchestral arrangement: Anders Högstedt
Scenography & Costumes: Monika Frelin
Lighting: Torkel Blomkvist
Masks & Wigs: Therésia Frisk
Premieres with three separate casts on 15, 16 and 19 September. The opera will then be performed five evenings a week until 31 October with a possible extension.
For further information and interviews, please contact:
Elenor Wolgers, +46 8 616 07 17, +46 733 44 64 34, elenor.wolgers@folkoperan.se or
Frida Edoff, +46 8 616 07 18, +46 709 50 53 52, frida.edoff@folkoperan.se.
