Program

Robert Schumann, Scenes from Goethe's Faust

Overture

I, 1: Szene im Garten

I, 2: Gretchen vor dem Bild der Mater dolorosa

I, 3: Szene in Dom

II, 1: Sonnenaufgang

II, 2: Mitternacht

II, 3: Faust's Tod

III: Faust's Verklärung

III: "Gerettet ist das edle Glied" (Angels, Blessed Boys, Chorus)

III: "Hier ist die Aussicht frei" (Doctor Marianus)

III: "Dir, der Unberührbaren" (Doctor Marianus, Magna Peccatrix, Mulier Samaritana, Maria Aegyptiaca, Penitent, Blessed Boys, Gretchen, Mater Gloriosa)

III: "Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis" (Chorus)

Schumann's Scenes from Goethe’s Faust

Jürgen Flimm (stage director), Daniel Barenboim (conductor) – With Roman Trekel (Faust), Elsa Dreising (Gretchen) and René Pape (Mephistopheles)

Subscribers

Cast

Jürgen Flimm — Stage director, dramaturgy

Markus Lüpertz — Set designer

Ursula Kudrna — Costume designer

Gail Skrela — Choreographer

Olaf Freese — Lighting

Detlef Giese — Dramaturgy

Roman Trekel — Faust, Doctor Marianus

Elsa Dreisig — Gretchen, Una Poenitentium

Program notes

Watch Schumann’s sublime oratorio Scenes from Goethe’s Faust in a staged version by Jürgen Flimm, with the brilliant Daniel Barenboim conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin and extraordinary soloists Roman Trekel, Elsa Dreisig, and René Pape!

Schumann, typically a fast worker, devoted nine years of his life to his oratorio on Faust, from 1844 to 1854. Although Schumann initially intended to set Goethe’s entire work to music, he ultimately selected only a few scenes, including just three from Part One. In fact, two-thirds of the composition is taken from Part Two, the more profound and abstract portion of the text, reflecting the composer’s deeply philosophical aspirations. The result is a lyrical composition, warmly melodic, beautifully orchestrated, and infused with romantic exaltation with a near-spiritual resonance.

A closer look: featured composers

Robert Schumann