Want to learn a few tips from a master of seduction? Come watch Faust put Don Juan and Casanova to shame as he performs his Gallic magic on the innocent Marguerite -- with a little help from his friend, Mephistopheles -- when Yale Opera presents Act II of Charles Gounod's "Faust" as part of the School of Music's annual "Opera Scenes" sampler Friday and Saturday, Nov. 1 and 2.
Hans Nieuwenhuis, the general director of the Netherlands International Opera Center, will direct the "Opera Scenes" selections, which will be different each night. The performances, which are free and open to the public, will be held at 8 p.m. each evening in the Morse Recital Hall of Sprague Memorial Hall, 470 College St.
"The fall 'Scenes' program is a tradition here at the School of Music," says John Baril, opera program coordinator. "We tickle an audience's fancy with two nights of famous, and not so famous, operatic scenes. The audience becomes familiar with, and hopefully excited about, the new voices, enticing them to attend our future productions, particularly the spring production at the Shubert."
For the students in the opera program, "Performing scenes in the fall lets every singer have an equal opportunity to develop -- and get a real workout with the director," says Doris Yarick-Cross, artistic director of Yale Opera and professor of voice.
Act II of "Faust," one of the most frequently produced operas in the world, centers around the developing romance between Marguerite and Faust. In Act I, the latter had sold his soul to the devil, Mephistopheles, who transformed the aged scholar into a handsome young man.
Ms. Yarick-Cross characterizes this famous seduction scene as "glorious music combined with an intriguing love story."
The act begins with another suitor visiting Marguerite and leaving flowers. Faust, not to be outdone, enters her garden and leaves a casket of jewels to woo her. He serenades the house in an aria that climbs to a high C.
"The C in Faust's aria is one of the most exposed -- as well as beautiful -- moments in all of tenordom," says Mr. Baril. "As you will hear, we are fortunate to have Pablo Veguilla as Faust this season." Lori Trustman, reprising her role as Marguerite from last year's "Scenes," launches into the "Jewel Song" upon her discovery of the casket. Faust returns, and the seduction begins.
"The climactic moment of the scene is the duet between Faust and Marguerite," says Mr. Baril. "It is an overwhelmingly romantic and sweet piece of music, and, as in all French opera, very colorful." The duet signals the victory of Faust's mission. As the curtain falls on the two lovers embracing, the audience can hear the devil cackling in the distance.
The "Opera Scenes" sampler will include Act I from Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" and scenes from Donizetti's "L'elisir d'Amore," Verdi's "Falstaff" and Rossini's "L'Italiana in Algeri" on Friday night. In addition to "Faust," the Saturday night highlights include the duet between Romeo and Juliet from Bellini's "I Capuleti ei Montecchi," scenes from Rossini's "Il barbiere di Siviglia," and Act III from Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel," which climaxes with the two children baiting the wicked witch into her own oven.
Yale Opera is composed of 16 singers who pursue an intensive two-year program under the aegis of the School of Music. In addition to a major opera performed at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven in February, the students take roles in regional performances throughout the year with companies such as the Hartford Symphony and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. This December, Yale Opera will provide the entire cast for the Waterbury Symphony's semi-staged production of "Hansel and Gretel." Alumni of the program have gone on to roles in notable opera companies around the world, and frequently perform with current Yale students.
For more information, call 432-4157.
-- By Carter Brooks, student intern