Gounod's Faust
Denis Podalydès (stage director), Louis Langrée (conductor) – With Julien Dran (Faust), Vannina Santoni (Marguerite)...
Cast
Denis Podalydès — Stage director
Laurent Delvert — Assistant stage director
Éric Ruf — Set designer
Christian Lacroix — Costume designer
Bertrand Couderc — Lighting designer
Cécile Bon — Choreographer
Véronique Soulier-Nguyen — Hair and makeup
Louis Arène — Masks
Program notes
The Opéra de Lille plays devil’s advocate in this exciting new production of Gounod’s Faust, a beloved classic of the operatic canon and one of the most performed French operas in the world! Highly acclaimed stage director Denis Podalydès, known for his “entertaining and accessible” adaptations of classic operas (Bachtrack), presents a captivating version of the legendary tale with striking costumes by Christian Lacroix. The original spoken dialogue from 1859 is set to Gounod’s vibrant, expressive music conducted by Louis Langrée.
Award-winning tenor Julien Dran portrays the aging philosopher Doctor Faust who is growing tired with life and decides to surrender his soul to Mephistophélès (Jérôme Boutillier), the Devil himself, in exchange for an elixir of youth. Faust’s love affair with Marguerite (Vannina Santoni, known for her performances in major operas including Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette) follows the Devil’s wicked plan — but divine forces and Marguerite’s love may prove more powerful than he anticipated…
Photo © Simon Gosselin
