What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus than with a mighty work that calls upon a virtuoso performance from its members? Joined by the men of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, they embodied various forms of humanity along with creatures from infernal and angelic realms as depicted by Hector Berlioz in his magnificent “Legende dramatique” or operatic oratorio, The Damnation of Faust.
Because of certain challenges inherent in this work, performances are relatively rare, although Victorian Opera did give one in early 2010, shortly before Hamer Hall was closed for its major overhaul. Melbourne audiences have been fortunate indeed to have Berlioz’s masterpiece presented again with such a superb line-up of performers. The only limitation of the MSO’s version was the absence of surtitles. Perhaps opera companies are more accustomed to providing them nowadays; they have certainly been a boon in sustaining audience interest and maintaining patronage. Even Les Arts Florissants saw fit to enhance audience enjoyment by providing them in their recent performances at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
While it could be argued that Berlioz expresses the essentials in his music and that a guiding list of numbers and a synopsis should be able to fill the gaps, it is clear that knowing the details adds much to the understanding of musical subtleties. Providing a link to an online libretto in MSO online promotion material is not really sufficient.
Fortunately, the soloists did all they could to communicate the mood and general sense of the scenes by displaying great involvement in their roles. Bryn Terfel struck a happy medium between an oratorio-like contemplation of his score when not singing and reveling in Mephistopheles’ evil machinations. The way he smiled at Faust as he reeled him in was absolutely chilling. His voice ranged from soft seduction to commanding power: exactly what any self-respecting demon would have required. Always authoritative, he exhibited every quality that has made him one of the brightest stars in the international vocal firmament.
As his quarry, Andrew Staples was a youthful-sounding but highly credible Faust; he immersed himself in the role to such a degree that it would have been difficult to imagine a more convincing performance of the Angst-ridden scholar. His fine burnished tenor voice was strong and passionate in the more dramatic moments and negotiated the formidable high notes at a couple of points with a remarkably skillful blending of falsetto. Always beautiful, there was sufficient vibrancy in the quality of his voice to carry to the upper reaches of Hamer Hall.
Appearing only in three of the twenty scenes, Marguerite has comparatively little to sing, but what she does have is ravishing and calls upon a singer of exceptional control and beauty of tone to do it justice. Accompanied by the most poignant extended solo passages for cor anglais, softly shimmering strings and a heartbeat pulse, “D’amour l’ardente fleur” is a song of ecstatic longing as Marguerite waits for a lover who has abandoned her. Croatian mezzo-soprano Renata Pokupic’s lovely warm creamy voice and expressive demeanour were at once beguiling and very moving indeed. Her earlier account of “Le Roi de Thule” was similarly impressive, aided by some effective solo playing on the part of the guest principal violist Kyle Armbrust. The trio that ends Part 3 was superb, with Terfel, Staple and Pokupic celebrating their characters’ respective impending triumphs in a glorious outpouring of vocal magic.
In fact, in addition to inspired orchestration, Berlioz displays a wonderful sense of theatre. Each of the four parts ends in a thrilling climax. Part 1 ends with the famous Hungarian March, where the MSO unleashed its full war-like force in a frenzy of brass and percussion; Part 2 ends with the rhythmic phenomenon of the intersecting choruses of students and soldiers, expertly handled by the male members of the chorus; and the concluding passages of the work belong to the celestial voices. Dimity Shepherd’s rich mezzo was added to the pure angelic voices of the MSO Chorus sopranos and, finally, the full chorus as they called on the overly loving but naïve spirit of Marguerite to join them.
Along with all the passion and melancholy Berlioz interweaves a surprising degree of irony and humour into this work. The role of Brander requires the bass soloist to sing only piece: “The Song of the Rat”. Shane Lowrencev displayed his customary flair for comedy singing this mock-tragic tale with gusto, particularly when joined by the male chorus for the sacrilegious fugal “Amen”, his fine bass voice rising easily above the orchestra and chorus.
The MSO under Sir Andrew Davis was in great form, especially on the second night, when the various components of this performance were even more confident and better integrated. Whether delineating the delicacy of the sylphs or the tuba-weighted threats of war and infernal forces, this extraordinary score was treated with expert and loving care. It was clear that Berlioz has a devoted exponent in Maestro Davis.
The standing ovation given by Saturday night’s audience indicated that, whatever future plans the MSO may have regarding works by Berlioz, this performance of The Damnation of Faust will remain amongst the most exhilarating.
