by Daniel Hathaway
The legend of Dr. Faust — the world-weary scholar who makes a deal with the Devil to gain superhuman knowledge and powers — has fascinated writers since Christopher Marlowe made the story into a famous play in 1604. The tale became a rich source of inspiration to German composers as well, after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe published the first part of his own enormous play, Faust, in 1808. Those composers included Liszt and Mahler, who based symphonic movements on Goethe’s final chorus, and Robert Schumann, who created his full-length oratorio Scenes from Goethe’s ‘Faust’ over a period of years.
This weekend, The Cleveland Orchestra will present three performances of Hector Berlioz’s imaginative version of the tale in the form of the oratorio (or is it an opera?) La Damnation de Faust. [Read more…]