The Damnation of Faust
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The Damnation of Faust (French: La damnation de Faust) is a work for orchestra, voices, and chorus written by Hector Berlioz (he called it a "légende dramatique").
The libretto was adapted by Berlioz from Goethe's Faust. It was first performed in Paris in 1846.
The Damnation of Faust is performed regularly in concert halls and occasionally staged as an opera. There are a number of recordings of it. Three sections of it, the Marche Hongroisse (Hungarian March), Ballet des sylphes, and Menuet des folles are sometimes extracted and performed as "Three Orchestral Pieces from La Damnation de Faust."
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[edit] Synopsis
[edit] Part I
As the piece opens, Faust is in the mountains of Hungary (Berlioz added this part of the plot himself, it appears in no other versions of the Faust legend.) He hears peasant songs and dances, but cannot find it in himself to be happy like them. Distant strains of a march are heard, and Hungarian soldiers march past in the famous "Marche Hongroisse," based on a Hungarian gypsy tune.
[edit] Part II
Faust sits in his study, deeply depressed. He decides to commit suicide, but just as he is bringing the cup of poison to his lips he hears the ringing of church bells and the strains of an "Easter Hymn." This returns to Faust his will to live. Suddenly, the devil, Mephistopheles, appears, represented by a quick trombone figure and a woodwind trill. He offers to take Faust on a journey, to which Faust agrees. Mephistopheles takes him to a real tavern, known as Auerbachs Keller in Leipzig. Brander, one of the drinkers, sings the "Song of the Rat." The drinkers then "improvise" an ironic chorale-like fugue based on the words "Requiescat in pace, Amen," after which Mephistopheles sings the "Song of the Flea." Faust is disgusted and asks Mephistopholes if there is nothing else he can be shown. Mephistopheles takes him to a country field, where Mephistopholes enchants Faust and shows him a vision of a woman named Marguerite, causing Faust to fall in love with her. Faust falls into a dreamy sleep, and awakes crying "Margarita!" Mephistopheles offers to help him get to her. He accomplishes this by having them march into the town where Marguerite lives, hidden among groups of students and soldiers.
[edit] Part III
Faust and Mephistopheles sneak into Marguerite's house and hide. Marguerite approaches and sings the "Gothic Song" ("The King of Thule"). Mephistopheles leaves and summons spirits, who dance around Marguerite's house in the "Menuet des Follets." Faust reveals himself to Marguerite, who confesses that she had dreamed of him. They sing a love duet, on which Mephistopheles intrudes and tells Faust that they must leave because Marguerite's mother has been alerted and she and the townspeople are coming towards Marguerite's house. Faust and Marguerite say goodbye, then Faust and Mephistophoeles leave.
[edit] Part IV
Marguerite sits in her house, singing the "Spinning Song" as she waits for Faust to come back. The students and soldiers march by again, but Faust is not among them. The action cuts to a scene of forests and caverns, in which Faust sings the "Invocation to Nature." Mephistopheles then informs Faust that Marguerite, in her despair, accidentally gave her mother too much sleeping draught and killed her. Marguerite is now in prison and will be hanged the next day. Faust panics, but Mephistopholes tells him Mephistopheles can save Marguerite if Faust signs one document--the document relinquishing Faust's soul. Faust signs it. (As he does, the recitative momentarily pauses and the percussion play one note, an omen of doom.) Mephistopheles summons horses and he and Faust ride off (the "Ride to the Abyss"). Faust thinks they are going to save Marguerite, but he grows terrified when he begins to see grotesque visions. They stop momentarily, but Faust hears bells, signifying that Marguerite's execution is near, and they redouble the pace. The landscape grows more and more horrible and grotesque, with blood raining from the sky and skeletons by the road. Then Mephistopheles cries out to his "infernal cohorts," and he and Faust fall into the pit of hell. (This is another departure from the original story, which has Faust being saved in the end.) The devil princes ask Mephistopheles if Faust freely signed away his soul, to which Mephistopheles assents. A chorus of demons then sings triuphantly in an "infernal language," naming the demon princes and dancing around Mephistopheles.
[edit] Epilogue
A narrator-like chorus sings of the terrors of hell and the "mystery of horror." Then comes the Apotheosis of Marguerite, in which, in accordance with the document signed by Faust, Marguerite is saved from death and brought up into heaven by a chorus of heavenly spirits.
[edit] Parodies
- The piece, "L'Éléphant" (The Elephant) from Camille Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals (1886) uses a theme from Hector Berlioz's "Danse des sylphes" from "The Damnation of Faust" played on a double bass.
