MOT's 'Faust': Long in the tooth but an oily ooze of evil
The Devil is once again prowling the stage of the Detroit Opera House, his eyes peeled for a man so desperate to turn back the clock of his life to the studly glory days of his youth that he'd be willing to make a shady, back-loaded deal with a smooth-talking Mephistopheles.
Hey, there's an aged philosopher cursing God. Pardon me, Dr. Faust. Can I interest you in a young maiden named Marguerite? She's quite a looker.
Yes, Michigan Opera Theatre has revived Charles Gounod's "Faust" for the first time in a decade, although the roots of the production that opened Saturday go back to 1978, when a version of Paul Steinberg's darkly abstract and minimalist set design was first employed by the company. Plenty went right with the production, which opened Saturday, especially bass Matt Boehler's oily ooze of evil, expressive singing and pinpoint diction as a recognizably human and handsome Mephistopheles.
Also on the plus side of the ledger: The full-bodied intensity of the MOT orchestra under conductor Steven Mercurio and stage director Bernard Uzan's thoughtful attention to detail and probing of psychological motivation. Donald Thomas' brooding lighting design complemented the drama.
Yet there were also vocal inconsistencies Saturday among the ragged chorus and the young cast, all of whom were making debuts in these roles. And there was a nagging sense of not everything blending into an organic whole, a disconnect between Uzan's agile meditations on Goethe's morality tale and a monolithic production design that looks tired, more than 35 years and several directors removed from its original conception.
The set's dominant construct, expanded in 1994, is a large raked circular expanse that perhaps evokes the timeless parade of souls but whose implications were mostly ignored in favor of Uzan's greater focus on intimacy, personal relationships and the fragility of the human mind. The current production makes use of some of the other original elements — a statue of Bacchus, a large cross affixed with Christ who climbs down from his perch in the church scene. (In an effectively spooky twist this time around, Uzan has Mephistopheles take Christ's place on the cross).
But sometimes the singers seemed to exist in a sea of bland vaguely 19th-Century nothingness; there's a difference between minimalist and barren.
Ah, well, there were still the timeless pleasures of Gounod's melodically ravishing score, which despite longueurs, still speaks in the present tense. Tenor Russell Thomas as Faust brought impressive vocal power to the role but his attack was rather blunt and his acting stiff. Soprano Caitlin Lynch, a metro Detroit native, dug beneath the surface as Marguerite; she convincingly made the journey from innocence to single motherhood, infanticide and, finally, madness. She sang with appealing warmth, but also was bland in showpieces like the ornamented "Jewel Song."
In key smaller roles, baritone John Viscardi's Valentin was suavely sung, and mezzo-soprano Kimberly Sogioka cut a sharp profile as Siebel. In all, the evening offered rewards, but I couldn't help but feel there should have been more.
Contact Mark Stryker: 313-222-6459. mstryker@freepress.com
Gounod's 'Faust'
Two out of four stars
Presented by Michigan Opera Theatre
7:30 p.m. Wed. and Sat., and 2:30 p.m. Sun.
Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway Ave., Detroit. 313-237-7464. www.michiganopera.org. $25-$125
David Miller, Jamie Offenbach and Sarah Joy Miller sing the roles of Faust, Mephistopheles and Marguerite on Sunday.