<p>We spent St. Patrick’s Day doing one of my favorite things – going to the opera!&#160; We saw Hector Berlioz’s <em><a href="http://www.lyricopera.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=9009">The Damnation of Faust</a>. </em>The Boy surprised me with tickets last week and I was so excited because this was one of my favorite works (Christopher Marlowe’s version is the one I am familiar with) and because it was a modern staging.</p>  <p>I can’t stop gushing.&#160; This was the last showing of this opera for the season and the cast did a stupendous job -&#160; I rarely feel like standing ovations are deserved but I literally jumped out of my seat.&#160; First the score was divine – the music was creepy, elating, daring, and will make the little hairs on your arm stand up on end.</p>  <p>Second, Susan Graham as Marguerite gave <em>the </em><em><strong>best female voice performance</strong></em> that the <em>Lyric Opera</em> has ever seen.&#160; we’ve sat through many operas and thought wow, her voice as an A- or an A (at the <em>Lyric</em> it is rarely lower), but nothing that deserves an A++.&#160; The male stars tend to have glorious voices.&#160; Yesterday, I was blown away by Graham and moved to tears during her performance.&#160; Graham puts it best when she says:</p>  <p><em>One of [Berlioz’s] hallmarks is amazing musical characterizations. Whenever the devil sings, you always know it’s his music, whether wicked or seductive. Whenever Faust sings, it’s usually tormented. Whenever Marguerite sings, she’s the picture of beautiful innocence. These characterizations are so&#160; complete, and the picture-painting with the orchestral colors is the most compelling thing of all. The music is creepy and ominous wherever it needs to be, but at the same time, nothing could be more beautiful than the redemption chorus at the end.</em></p>  <p>I can’t imagine a better description and no one will ever fill this role for me like Ms. Graham.</p>  <p>Third, the staging was modern and stunning– which filled me with trepidation because I disliked <em>Lulu </em>and <em>Dr.&#160; Atomic. </em>The Boy reminded me those were modern operas whereas this is a 200 year old story set to a modern stage.&#160; It’s true – I love opera because I love larger than life stories and it tends to be 18th and 19th century French or Italian works that always move me.&#160; Also, <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040536/">Letter from an Unknown Woman</a></em> like plots tend to populate those eras and those are my favorite stories!</p>  <p>There was a huge collaborative effort:&#160; stage director Stephen Langridge, designer George Souglides, lighting designer Wolfgang Göbbel projections designer John Boesche and choreographer Philippe Giraudeau used shadow boxes for the stage and brilliant lights to evoke the torture in Faust’s soul, the innocence of Marguerite, and creepy evil of the devil.&#160; At moments, the play is absolutely terrifying – I could feel Faust’s torment and <a href="http://www.lyricopera.org/tickets/damnationoffaustbios.aspx#relyea"><strong>John Relyea</strong></a> is a sexy devil, charming and enticing him to his inevitable doom.&#160; You get caught up in Faust's plight – you want him to make a different bargain but you know how impossible that is.</p>  <p><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/01-paulgrovesdamnationoffaust_lhk52841.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-621" title="01-paulgrovesdamnationoffaust_lhk5284" style="border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom: 0px" height="311" alt="" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/01-paulgrovesdamnationoffaust_lhk52841.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/02-paulgrovesdamnationoffaust_blk4251.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="02. Paul Groves, DAMNATION OF FAUST _BLK4251" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="02. Paul Groves, DAMNATION OF FAUST _BLK4251" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/02-paulgrovesdamnationoffaust_blk4251_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/03-johnrelyeapaulgrovesdamnationoffaustrst_1969.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="03. John Relyea, Paul Groves, DAMNATION OF FAUST RST_1969" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="03. John Relyea, Paul Groves, DAMNATION OF FAUST RST_1969" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/03-johnrelyeapaulgrovesdamnationoffaustrst_1969_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p>The play was also graphically sexual which was an interesting departure from more traditional version.&#160;&#160; Attractive models were shown stripping and attacking Faust – which makes sense, no?&#160; If Faust wants earthly pleasures, how else are we supposed to understand those pleasures?</p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/12-susangrahamdamnationoffaustdbr_69641.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="12. Susan Graham, DAMNATION OF FAUST DBR_6964(1)" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="12. Susan Graham, DAMNATION OF FAUST DBR_6964(1)" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/12-susangrahamdamnationoffaustdbr_69641_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p>The voice of an angel – befitting.</p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/15-susangrahampaulgrovesdamnationoffaustrst_2549.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="15. Susan Graham, Paul Groves, DAMNATION OF FAUST RST_2549" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="15. Susan Graham, Paul Groves, DAMNATION OF FAUST RST_2549" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/15-susangrahampaulgrovesdamnationoffaustrst_2549_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/14-partthreedamnationoffaust_clk6486.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="14. Part Three, DAMNATION OF FAUST _CLK6486" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="14. Part Three, DAMNATION OF FAUST _CLK6486" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/14-partthreedamnationoffaust_clk6486_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p>The shadow box stages.&#160; So creative and so different and so interesting.</p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/26-christianvanhorndamnationoffaustdbr_7172web.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="26. Christian Van Horn, DAMNATION OF FAUST DBR_7172 web" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="26. Christian Van Horn, DAMNATION OF FAUST DBR_7172 web" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/26-christianvanhorndamnationoffaustdbr_7172web_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p>There were still moments of tradition horror.&#160; Christian Van Horn is much more handsome then this makeup shows!</p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/21-paulgrovesdamnationoffaust_blk4499.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="21. Paul Groves, DAMNATION OF FAUST  _BLK4499" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="21. Paul Groves, DAMNATION OF FAUST  _BLK4499" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/21-paulgrovesdamnationoffaust_blk4499_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/25-partfourdamnationoffaust_clk6664.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="25. Part Four, DAMNATION OF FAUST _CLK6664" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="25. Part Four, DAMNATION OF FAUST _CLK6664" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/25-partfourdamnationoffaust_clk6664_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p>My favorite scene…</p>  <p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/24-partfourdamnationoffaust_clk6652.jpg"><img class="aligncenter" title="24. Part Four, DAMNATION OF FAUST _CLK6652" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" height="311" alt="24. Part Four, DAMNATION OF FAUST _CLK6652" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/24-partfourdamnationoffaust_clk6652_thumb.jpg" width="550" border="0" /></a></p>  <p>The devil claims Faust!</p>  <p>We were in China last October so we missed the Charles Gounod’s <em>Faust</em> which is the luxuriant, grand, and full off beautiful conventional costumes.&#160; I would have loved to see this version some day not only to compare but because this is how <em>Faust </em>would have been imagined in the 18th and 19th century since this the staging that debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in the late 1880’s AND stayed on the stage for the next hundred years.&#160; The story of Faust, like the story of Othello, inspired and captivated those centuries and this modern staging captured me.</p>  <p>All pictures and quotes are property of the <a href="http://www.lyricopera.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=9009">Lyric Opera</a> company.</p>