La Damnation de Faust at Deutsche Oper Berlin

Conventional and moderate he was not, in life as in art, and so it is with Hector Berlioz' musical rendition of the Faust myth, which explodes all conventions and genres. Berlioz initially called his DAMNATION OF FAUST an “opera concertante”, then a “dramatised legend”. Ultimately, the work is one thing above all else – a grand spectacle incorporating all conceivable forms. Here we are presented with a score made up of opera, oratorio and symphonic elements, lieder, dances, marches, drinking songs, large-scale chorus pieces, a fugue parody and a quodlibet of superimposed troopers' songs. Musically speaking, a composition from the mid 19th century could hardly be more heterogeneous.

And this complexity is also a reflection of the title character himself. The world of Berlioz' Faust has ceased to be describable in a linear, unified fashion. The work gives us episodes from the life and death of a romantic, one who does not deal actively but is rather gripped in the ennui of a Lord Byron. Faust is trapped in this boredom and lethargy; nothing can tear him from it – not the crash of battle nor folklore nor anything that Mephisto can serve up in terms of musical and theatrical brouhaha.

Christian Spuck is one of the top choreographers of the younger generation. In recent years he has left his imprint as house choreographer at the Stuttgart Ballet and has been Director of Ballet at the Zurich Opera since 2012. Christian Spuck increasingly straddles the genres of opera and dance. Berlioz' DAMNATION OF FAUST, which he directs and choreographs, marks his Berlin debut.