The Devil Is in the Details

“Oh my, but art is long and our life is fleeting.”
Wagner, Faust: Part One, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The Opera Birmingham Chorus knows well the meaning behind Goethe's statement, voiced by the character of Wagner in Faust: Part One. By profession, the chorus is made up of lawyers, doctors, teachers, financial advisers, and students. By avocation, we are singers who hope to create together an enduring work of musical art. For us, being a part of opera productions is a labor of love. We hope that, though the performance is indeed ephemeral, it will have a lasting impression on you like it has on us.

The story of Faust and his deal with the devil has its roots in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s epic poem Faust: Part One, written in 1806. The story then developed into a play called Faust et Marguerite by French writer Michel Carré. Charles Gounod, a famous French composer, then wrote the grand opera Faust to a French libretto authored by Carré and Jules Barbier. The opera debuted at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris in 1859. Interestingly, the Metropolitan Opera in New York opened for the first time on October 22, 1883, with Gounod’s Faust.

Now, more than 200 years after the story was born and more than 150 years after the opera was written, Opera Birmingham brings you this production of one of the most-loved operas of all time.
The story of Gounod’s Faust, from the perspective of the Opera Birmingham Corus, began in September when we had our first music rehearsal. From rough and humble beginnings so many months ago, now we have mastered the French libretto and learned by heart the enchanting, sometimes raucous, and often haunting music. Good thing, because when the principals arrived and staging rehearsals began earlier this month, we had to be “off-book” and ready to block our scenes.

Our stage director, Dona Vaughn, had more than mere blocking in mind; she had us waltzing like whirling dervishes almost from day one! At one point in the waltz scene, the chorus sings, “Valsons encore; valsons toujors,” meaning “let’s waltz again; let’s waltz forever!” The staging and the music reflect this sentiment precisely. Just try not to sway along in your seats when you see this scene performed!

Our intense focus on stage movement can (temporarily) draw our attention away from the musical nuances, dynamics, and diction so carefully honed over the past several months of singing rehearsals. (Much to the chagrin of our fair maestro, Israel Gursky, I am sure.) Our sitzprobe, our first rehearsal with the orchestra, was last Thursday evening, and I think it allowed us to regain our focus on the precision and emotion of the music. At one point in the show, Méphistophélès bewitches tavern-goers (the chorus) with his odd and oddly enthralling song about a golden calf and a dance led by Satan. The chorus is so entranced that we begin to sing along, "et Satan conduit le bal, conduit le bal!" If you are entranced to sing along too, as you very well may be, you can honestly say the devil made you do it!

Yesterday our rehearsals moved into the Wright Center at Samford University, where the show will open on Friday. Our first rehearsal on the stage is always the most challenging, because those of us on stage must adjust our stage blocking to take into account the size of the stage, the set, and our costumes; the stage manager, the ever-patient Carol Brian, and her crew must learn to set and change the scenes precisely and swiftly; the lighting and sound technicians begin to add their touches to the production; and the singers and maestro must work to preserve our connection to one another with the maestro in his new perch in the orchestra pit.

As the saying goes, the devil is in the details, and we are down to the finer details at this point!

I do hope you will join us on Friday evening or Sunday afternoon. This production promises to be outstanding. Our principal cast is more talented than I can describe. Dona has brought to life a visually impeccable interpretation of the story that will captivate you. Israel has coaxed every ounce of joy, fury, allure, mystique, danger, mocking, fire, and forgiveness from the music that there is.

The chorus is pretty good, too.