Audiences may hope that musicians enjoy the music they are performing, but rarely is the confirmation so evident as during the EIF performance of La Damnation de Faust with the Hallé Orchestra. When not singing, tenor Michael Spyres was visibly totally engaged – his eyebrows playing along with the strings.

In Berlioz’ légende dramatique after Goethe’s Faust, Laurent Naouri’s Méphistophélès was suave and elegant as a matinée idol, affable, reasonableness itself as he offered Faust his wildest dreams. The Serenade before Marguerite’s chamber was beguiling. The contrast in delivery between his anecdote about a well-bred flea and Brander’s boozy tale of the poisoned rat was pointed. As Brander – jacket-less, tie-less, shirt not tucked in – David Soar egged on the chorus of drunks and conducted them in the fugal Amen, hammily sung by the Gentlemen of the Hallé Choir and the gentlemen of the Edinburgh Festival Chorus.

There is plenty work for the chorus, of which the high points were the Easter hymn, the chorus of soldiers and students at the end of Part II, the peasants praying to the Virgin Mary, the Pandaemonium in its made-up language and the gorgeous Heavenly Spirits in Marguerite’s Apotheosis, including the voices of the National Girls Choir of the National Youth Choir of Scotland. The dynamic range was impressive – chorus masters Christopher Bell and Matthew Hamilton had worked them well.

Marguerite, the girl of Faust’s dreams, who had loved him before she met him (thanks to Mephistopheles) was beautifully sung by Michèle Losier. When first Faust entered her chamber, the vibrato in her voice perfectly matched the surprise in the libretto and music. Her distress when the crowd were shouting outside was very real as was her dejection when she accepted Faust would not return. It was a charming and unaffected performance, as befits the character.

Michael Spyres sang Faust with style. From Faust’s initial romantic enjoyment of nature to his disillusionment with life, when his voice drooped with despair as he contemplated suicide. His joyous top notes, when Mephistopheles has delivered him Marguerite, were clear and light. If there was maybe a lack of chemistry between Faust and Marguerite, why should there be? It was all a diabolical trick. He brought out Faust’s sudden terror on realising what was happening in the ride to the abyss.

The Hallé’s playing was excellent, creating a tremendous volume of sound in the Marche Hongroise and Pandaemonium, light and delicate in the Ballet des Sylphes, yet always in balance with the singers. The brass players, in particular, were forever on the move, yet conductor Mark Elder held all together, including the off-stage fanfares and choruses, proving that staging is not necessary for drama.