Faust

Synopsis

Faust is a man of middle age who has grown tired of life and yearns only for sensual pleasure and for his lost youth. He summons up Mephistopheles, who agrees to grant his desires - but at the price of his eternal soul. An innocent woman, Marguerite, falls victim to this diabolical pact when she is seduced by Faust: the result is her destruction. But whilst for Marguerite there is hope of redemption, for Faust there is none.

Our Review:

19 September 2010

"I believe in Science" screamed a placard in Trafalgar Square on English National Opera's opening night of the season.  The discarded slogan was a remnant of the protest to the papal visit earlier in the day but it could have been an advert for Des McAnuff's new production of Faust at the Coliseum. 

The curtain rose on the sight of the good doctor, surrounded by the trappings of a life of scientific exploration, embarking on a spiritual struggle to the death.  

As if to help us keep our aggressive secularism in check, McAnuff sets the first act in a nuclear installation, a reminder that science has also led us to the edge of total annihilation.  When Faust is propelled back to his youth, we find ourselves at the time of the First World War, that other arena of mechanised mass destruction.  

If the pope’s visit is a fortunate accident of timing for the production, giving it a fleeting topicality, the American d...

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Latest User Review

Lauren Michelle - 28 September 2010:

I totally agree with review. Except to say that I would go further and say that it was "dull" "duller" and dullest! The dramatic plot points were glossed over- the metamorphosis of Faust from old to young- (a quick walk in walk out from a waft of smoke machine) to the quick dipping of a dolls head in what appeared to be a washroom basin- (the infanticide that leads to the female protagonist's demise.) The performers did well with the dire, confused direction imposed on them. Oh and lets not forget the dancers- doing a near rendition of the routine from the Thriller video! Oh dear. Three hours of your life you'll never get back! What an embarrassment ENO....

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