Faust: synopsis, roles, arias and diction notes

Faust is a grand opera, a genre that emerged in Paris during the first half of the 19th century and is typically five acts long². This guide covers the roles, the synopsis by act, the arias with their first lines and the performance history; more guides are in the operas section.

Origins and composition

Gounod wrote the opera in five acts to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré¹. The text is drawn from Carré’s play Faust et Marguerite, itself loosely based on Goethe’s Faust, Part One¹. Barbier was a French poet, writer and opera librettist who often worked in collaboration with Carré⁶.

Faust debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique on the Boulevard du Temple in Paris on 19 March 1859¹. The first version included spoken dialogue in addition to the singing^1,4. The tenor Hector Gruyer was first cast as Faust but proved inadequate in rehearsal, and Joseph-Théodore-Désiré Barbot replaced him shortly before opening night¹. After a successful initial run, the publisher Antoine Choudens, who purchased the copyright for 10,000 francs, took the work, now with recitatives replacing the spoken dialogue, on tour through Germany, Belgium, Italy and England¹. Faust achieved success only after the dialogue was replaced with recitatives, and it then spread to many European stages⁴. The manager of the Théâtre Lyrique, Léon Carvalho, cast his wife Caroline Miolan-Carvalho as Marguerite¹.

In 1861 the opera appeared in Dresden under the title Margarethe, the first house to bill it that way rather than as Faust^1,4. Its first Italian performance was at La Scala in 1862, and England saw it at Her Majesty’s Theatre, London, in Italian in 1863¹. In 1869 a ballet was inserted into the Walpurgis Night scene before the work could be played at the Opéra, which solidified its status as a grand opéra^1,4. It then became the most frequently performed opera at that house¹. The Walpurgisnacht ballet from Act 5 is usually omitted from modern staged performances¹.

Roles and voice types

Faust is a tenor, a philosopher and metaphysician¹. Méphistophélès is a bass-baritone, the devil who tempts Faust and facilitates his desires^2,1. Siebel is a breeches role: a young man’s part sung by a mezzo-soprano¹. The Polish bass Edward Reszke became renowned for his interpretation of Méphistophélès⁴.

For the baritone Charles Santley, Gounod wrote a new aria for Valentin in 1864, which was later translated into French as Avant de quitter ces lieux¹. It has become one of the most familiar pieces from the opera¹.

Synopsis

Act 1

Faust, an aging scholar, determines that his studies have come to nothing¹. Méphistophélès appears in the duet Me voici with a tempting image of Marguerite at her spinning wheel¹. He offers Faust youth and the love of a beautiful woman, and asks for Faust’s soul in return². Faust makes a fateful pact with Méphistophélès: his soul in exchange for youth and sensual pleasure⁵.

Act 2

A chorus of students, soldiers and villagers sings a drinking song¹. Valentin entrusts the care of his sister Marguerite to his youthful friend Siebel¹. Méphistophélès sings Le veau d’or, the Golden Calf, in this act². The Soldiers’ Chorus is also in Act 2².

Act 3

Marguerite enters, pondering her encounter with Faust at the city gates¹. Faust sends Méphistophélès in search of a gift for Marguerite and sings the cavatina Salut, demeure chaste et pure, idealizing her as a pure child of nature¹. Marguerite sings a melancholy ballad about the King of Thule, Il était un roi de Thulé¹. She sings the Jewel Song in this act². She allows Faust to kiss her¹.

Act 4

After being made pregnant and seemingly abandoned by Faust, Marguerite has given birth and is a social outcast¹. Méphistophélès sings a mocking burlesque of a lover’s serenade under her window, Vous qui faites l’endormie¹. With his dying breath Valentin blames Marguerite for his death and condemns her to hell¹.

Act 5

Méphistophélès and Faust are surrounded by witches on Walpurgis Night¹. Méphistophélès then helps Faust enter the prison where Marguerite is being held for killing her child¹. Faust’s passion leads to her ruin, and also to her salvation⁵. A voice on high sings Sauvée! (Saved!)¹. Anges purs, anges radieux is the trio for Marguerite, Faust and Méphistophélès³.

The famous arias

The Jewel Song begins Ah! je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir¹. Le veau d’or begins Le veau d’or est toujours debout³.

Barbier died on 16 January 1901, so his text is in the public domain⁶. Here are lines in the original, each with our own plain translation:

Original	Our translation
Salut, demeure chaste et pure1	Greetings, dwelling chaste and pure
Il était un roi de Thulé1	There was once a king of Thule
Ah! je ris de me voir si belle en ce miroir1	Ah! I laugh to see myself so lovely in this mirror
Le veau d’or est toujours debout3	The golden calf still stands
Vous qui faites l’endormie1	You who pretend to be asleep