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PermalinkGreat Performances At The Met: Faust
Airs Sunday, June 24, 2012 at 12 p.m. on KPBS TV
Above: Marina Poplavskaya as Marguerite and Jonas Kaufmann as the title character in this new production of Gounod’s “Faust,” set in the first half of the 20th century.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Three of the opera world’s leading stars—Jonas Kaufmann, Marina Poplavskaya, and René Pape—sing the principal roles in a new production of Gounod’s "Faust," directed by Tony Award winner Des McAnuff in his Met debut. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.
Above: René Pape as Méphistophélès, Jonas Kaufmann as the title character and Marina Poplavskaya as Marguerite in this new production of Gounod’s “Faust,” set in the first half of the 20th century.
Above: Michèle Losier as Siebel in this new production of Gounod’s “Faust,” set in the first half of the 20th century.
Kaufmann makes his Met role debut as the title character, and Poplavskaya makes hers as Faust’s love interest and eventual victim, Marguerite; Pape returns to one of his greatest Met roles, the wicked tempter Méphistophélès.
French-Canadian mezzo-soprano Michèle Losier makes her house role debut as the student Siébel and Russell Braun makes his in the role of Marguerite’s soldier brother, Valentin.
Gounod’s opera has been a staple of the Met’s repertory since 1883, when it was the first opera ever presented at the old Metropolitan Opera House.
McAnuff’s design team for "Faust" includes two Tony nominees in their Met debuts: scenic designer Robert Brill and costume designer Paul Tazewell. Peter Mumford, whose work at the Met includes "Madama Butterfly," "Carmen," and "Peter Grimes," designed the lighting for the production.
Choreographer Kelly Devine and video designer Sean Nieuwenhuis also made their Met debuts with this production. Mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato hosts. Barbara Willis Sweete directs the telecast.
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