Faust Opera Music in Five Acts

5R Charles Gounod with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. Paris ca. 1880. 

Notes

The opera Faust is a five-act French opera composed by Charles Gounod with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based loosely on Part I of Goethe’s Faust. Premiering in 1859, it became one of the most popular operas of the 19th century.

In the story, Dr. Faust, an aging scholar despairing over the emptiness of his life, makes a pact with the devil, Méphistophélès, trading his soul for renewed youth and worldly pleasures. Rejuvenated, Faust becomes infatuated with the innocent Marguerite, whom Méphistophélès helps him seduce. Marguerite’s life unravels—she becomes pregnant, is shunned by society, and her brother Valentin is killed by Faust in a duel arranged by the devil. Driven to madness and imprisoned after the death of her child, Marguerite rejects Méphistophélès’s offer of salvation through him, choosing instead to turn to God; she dies repentant as angels proclaim her redeemed. The opera blends romantic lyricism, dramatic tension, and religious themes, and it remains Gounod’s most famous and frequently performed work.

Description

Red pebbled leather with gilt lettering on upper cover and spine. General wear to hinges and bumping to points. Marbled endpapers and minimal foxing throughout.