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)
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
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.
