La Damnation de Faust
(The Damnation of Faust)

by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869).
Légende dramatique in four parts. 1846. Libretto by the composer and Almire Gandonnière, after Gérard de Nerval's translation of Goethe's Faust.
First performance in concert by the Paris Opéra-Comique at the Salle Favart on 6th December 1846..

Designed initially for concert performance, La Damnation de Faust is an expansion of the composer's 1829 Huit scènes de Faust (Eight Scenes from Faust). It opens on the plains of Hungary, an opportunity for the use of the patriotic Rákóczi March. Faust in his study draws comfort from the singing of the church congregation revealed to him, but is persuaded by Méphistophélès to seek pleasure instead. In Auerbach's cellar Brander sings the Song of the Rat, with a drunken Amen fugue to cap it. Méphistophélès sings his Song of the Flea. Sleeping by the banks of the Elbe, Faust sees the Dance of the Sylphs and a vision of Marguérite. In her house, where Faust is concealed, she sings the ballad of the King of Thule, a chanson gothique. Méphistophélès sings a serenade, and Faust and Marguérite join in a love duet. In the following scene she laments her unhappiness, now deserted. In a final scene Faust invokes nature, there is a Ride to the Abyss, a vision of Hell, with the redemption of Marguérite, taken up to Heaven.

In concert the Rákóczi March is very familiar, followed by the Ballet des Sylphes (Ballet of the Sylphs), while Une puce gentille (A gentle flea), the song of Mephistopheles, has a special place in bass repertoire. The whole work was first staged in Monte Carlo in 1893 and has subsequently been mounted in various opera- houses throughout the world.