On Sunday afternoon, 6/20/04, we attended the third and final opera of our three opera SF weekend: Busoni’s Doktor Faust. Let me begin by saying that any similarity between Gounod’s Faust and Busoni’s Doktor Faust is purely coincidental. OK, the old Faust does make a pact with Mephistopheles and there is a soldier whose sister has been wronged by Faust; otherwise it’s a different world. We know this right away because while Gounod’s Faust is a tenor and Mephistopheles a bass, in Busoni, Faust is a baritone and Mephistopheles a high tenor. Moreover, although a synopsis of the opera indicates such diverse settings as Faust’s studio and the setting in Parma of the wedding of the Duke & Duchess (of Parma) this production takes place in one locale, namely a warehouse type set which begins as Faust’s studio with his bed prominently located upstage center with Faust in it, and where he spends a goodly portion of the opera.

Faust’s student, Wagner, is first seen working away at a laptop, occasionally interrupting his work to use a cell phone. Obviously, this is not set in the time of Goethe’s Faust, nor even Busoni’s time (1925). Nevertheless, the staging worked. Somehow, as the scenes changed, enough of the sets, props and lighting changed to convey the differences, though one could not escape the feeling that maybe, just maybe, the action was largely going on only in Faust’s mind.

Fortunately, the music and the setting(s) worked well together. The music is heavily orchestrated and if I had to choose other composers with whom there could be similarities I would say Busoni’s sound is closer to Stravinsky or R. Strauss than anyone else I can think of, but still different. Busoni makes rather great vocal demands on the singers requiring them to be at the top of their range for extended periods while the orchestra is also cranking out lots of sound.

The opera begins with an overture which is called a Symphonia during which Faust is in his bed sleeping (mostly) while Wagner is working away on his laptop. In the first scene, called Prelude 1, Wagner announces that three students have arrived from Krakow. They are wearing University of Krakow T-shirts and show Faust a book of magic. After they leave, Wagner comments that he didn’t see anybody, so right away we know strange things are happening. In the next scene, called Prelude 2, Faust, using the magic from the book brought by the students, summons six spirits, hoping to find the solution to his depression over his feelings that he’s been a failure. Although these spirits have such serious titles as Jurist, Theologian, etc., in this production one is a pizza delivery man and the last one, Mephistopheles, appears looking like a homeless man not knowing where he is. At the end of this scene, Faust’s studio is surrounded by his creditors, but Mephistopheles kills them all instantly at Faust’s request, convincing Faust that here is the answer to his prayers. At this point Faust signs, in blood, his deal with the devil. Between the end of this scene and the beginning of the next scene called a Scenic Intermezzo, Mephistopheles changes out of his homeless rags into a suit and converts one wall into an organ, right before our eyes, and begins to play the organ as a soldier in full body armor enters from the rear. The soldier is looking for the man who ruined his sister, but before he can do anything to Faust, other soldiers, in more modern dress, and presumably at the behest of Mephistopheles, come in and kill the soldier. We are now close to two hours into the opera, almost as long as the entire Cunning Little Vixen, but the time has flown by. There was so much to see and so much going on in the music. And all of the performers delineating fascinating characters. There will be one intermission and lots more opera to come. Thinking of Cunning Little Vixen and Doktor Faust, it is remarkable how different these operas sound (and look) even though they premiered within one year of each other.

After the intermission, Part II began with the Duchess of Parma scene. We knew it was a wedding celebration because we had read the synopsis and also because now stage right was brightly lit and as the choristers entered the men were wearing tuxes and the women evening gowns. There were also numerous jewelry cases of the type seen in jewelry stores displaying presumably diamond jewelry. The guests sat down in front of the cases to admire the jewelry. Although we were sitting house right and could see the entire scene, I think that most of the audience in house left would have had their views of the chorus and jewelry cases severely restricted. This is the only aspect of the set with which I would find fault. During this scene, Faust supposedly displays his magical powers by conjuring up Samson & Delilah, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and Salome & John the Baptist, causing the Duchess to forget all about the Duke and fall in love with him (Faust). Faust, played by Rodney Gilfrey, has spent the early part of this scene, you know where, in his bed. Now he’s up and jumping around with a Polaroid in his hand and taking photos of himself which he hands to anyone near him. Are the photos actually of him? Or of those he’s supposedly conjuring up? Anyway, the Duchess falls for him to the Duke’s great consternation.

There are two more scenes, both grim and Faust does end up dead. His death is announced by The Night Watchman/Mephistopheles asking, ironically, “Has this man met with some misfortune?” Although Busoni died before he completed the opera, and San Francisco only performed what Busoni wrote, the ending seemed appropriate enough. I do hope this production has legs and will be seen elsewhere. It’s eminently worthwhile and the music is entirely appropriate to the stage action and the ideas being conveyed.

Rodney Gilfry had sung the role of the Marquis of Posa in San Diego’s Don Carlo just a couple of months ago, and some thought he had reached the limit of his abilities in that role, but it seemed to me that this Faust was extremely demanding and he carried it off well. His voice was consistent throughout its range the entire afternoon, and he cut through the orchestra where necessary. Chris Merritt was an extraordinary Mephistopheles, both as an actor and a singer. He was bewildered and helpless as a homeless person, and suitably commanding as the devil he really was. The demanding tessitura called for him to sing many high Cs which he did without forcing or screeching or tiring. Jay Hunter Morris, who sang the role of Tichon in San Diego’s Katya Kabanova this season, once again was cast in the role of an unhappy husband as the jilted Duke of Parma. And he really is an awfully nice guy.

Hope Briggs was the Duchess of Parma. Here is someone new on the major operatic scene that we will probably hear more in the future. The Mercury News (San Jose) featured her story in a recent article telling how she had been paying her dues for years getting virtually nowhere, when she auditioned for Pamela Rosenberg last August and was offered the Duchess role on the spot. Interestingly, we learned that she also was one of the “Three Mo’ Divas” at the San Diego Repertory Theater earlier this year (March, I think, and which unfortunately we did not see).

And I can’t help but make one comment about Pamela Rosenberg’s announced departure from San Francisco. All in all she has probably done a terrific job for San Francisco. Certainly the three productions we just saw were superb. In announcing that she would not renew her contract after the 2006 season, she cited three factors. Her family (children and grandchildren) is in Germany, she will have many more productions (per year) to work with, and she doesn’t like having to be so involved in fund raising. Well, these are all good reasons to want to go back to Germany, but you would think she would have been aware of all of these factors before she signed up with San Francisco.

Next, Lohengrin in Seattle in August. Please let me know whether you’d like to hear about it, or whether these commentaries bore you to tears.

Marty