About this concert
Hector Berlioz’s turbulent opera La Damnation de Faust is in good hands with Stéphane Denève. The conductor specialises in French repertoire and has a unique talent for theatre music. We are looking forward to our new collaboration with this leading conductor, the Dutch National Opera, its acclaimed chorus and the fantastic soloists.
As a young man in his twenties, Berlioz fell under the spell of Goethe’s play Faust, in which the erudite Faust sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for unlimited knowledge. Faust ends up ruining the life of the woman he loves. Ideals, ambition, love, disaster: the drama encapsulated everything Berlioz found interesting and inspiring. The result was a sprawling music drama. Unfortunately, the public’s response did not meet his high expectations. Audiences were not yet ready to accept this unorthodox mixture of cantata and opera. Success would come, but only years later. And how! Many opera directors and theatre makers have since taken on the work, irrefutable proof that Berlioz’s music captivates the imagination.
Ideals, ambition, love, disaster: the drama encapsulated everything Berlioz found interesting and inspiring.
