La Damnation de Faust

Dramatic legend by Hector Berlioz

Dramatic legend by Hector Berlioz
Libretto by Hector Berlioz, Almire Gandonnière and Gérard de Nerval after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Faust”
World premiere on December 6, 1846 in Paris Opéra-Comique
Concert performance in the Estonian National Opera on October 19, 2024

Conductor: Arvo Volmer
Estonian National Opera soloists, Chorus and Orchestra, Estonian National Male Choir

“La Damnation de Faust” that the composer called a dramatic legend, concert opera or oratorio, was first performed in 1846. In his grandiose and fantastic work, Berlioz treats the subject of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s philosophical poem “Faust” quite freely, combining the Romantic attachment to nature, the search of lost youth and ideal love, a Satanic pact, passionate seduction, damnation and salvation. It is a unique masterpiece among the composer’s oeuvres that clearly portrays Berlioz’s witty fantasy as a poet and an orchestral colourist. 

Louis Hector Berlioz (1803–1869) was a French Romantic composer who was captivated by Goethe’s immortal poem already in his youth. In 1829, he composed a cantata “8 Scenes from “Faust”” that he later used in “La Damnation de Faust”. He recalls his fascination with Goethe’s masterpiece in his diary, “This marvellous book fascinated me from the very beginning. I could not put it down. I read it incessantly, during meals, in the theatre, in the street, everywhere.” Sixteen years later he again poured his fascination into music. The premiere of “La Damnation de Faust” was positively received by the critics, but the audience was confused by its hybrid genre and the following concerts were half empty. Ironically, it obtained notable success abroad and after the composer’s death it became one of the most popular pieces performed in France, often in staged versions.