Faust / Sutherland, Corelli, Ghiaurov; Bonynge

I love this recording! It has no single weak part.Sutherland, Corelli, Ghiaurov and Massard are a great cast. Bonynge conducts with perfect style.This and the Cluytens recording are not to be missed ...

just what my son wanted.

Good item, good price and fast shiping.

Decca assembled a pretty breathtaking cast for this 1966 recording of Gounod's Faust. One possible objection to the whole idea is that the singers represent a motley crew of French accents and pronounciations, but for those of us less versed in the French language the problem is less, uh, pronounced. Besides, it was always difficult to figure out what Joan Sutherland was singing - or even what language she was singing in - anyway. I nevertheless count myself as a great fan of La Stupenda, but I will have to admit that her singing here is some distance away from her very spectacular best.To take the best things first, Franco Corelli is simply stunning in the title role. I cannot imagine a more colorful, dramatically powerful, nuanced or indeed overall glorious account of Faust. He doesn't even pretend that he is trying to sing something other than late Verdi or Puccini (or in Italian, for that matter), but that is relatively easy to forgive for such a brilliant display of vocal magnificence. Nicolai Ghiaurov's Mephistopheles has a lot going for him as well; gracefully flowing but sinister and extremely well sung. The smaller roles are very good as well, in particular Robert Massard.As for Sutherland, we certainly get technical excellence; the trills are spectacular and the voice blooming - but she sounds more disengaged than usual, and her voice is not as beautiful as it often was in the 60s - the voice is a little too sharp and a little to dry-sounding. (Is it the recording that ends up doing her few favors?) In any case some of the scenes sound decidedly swamped by emotional excess, and Bonynge does not even attempt to rein it in, even though he does a very fine job for most of the opera - the ballet, for instance, is spry and lively. The sound is generally good though the singers are variably balanced, as if someone were trying to artificially capture stage movement (which may very well have been the case).Overall, this is a Faust with plenty of qualities, and for a large part it probably remains among the best in the catalogue. But it is not completely without its flaws, and the obvious lack of any attempt to really capture the style of the work may be a serious objection for many. Recommended, to be sure, but not completely without caveats.

This was the first recording I heard of this wonderful opera, but even listening to most of the other usually recommended recordings, including the classic one with Victoria de los Angeles and Nicola? Gedda (EMI), I couldn't find some important aspects that I can find in this incredible recording made in 1966.First of all, the orchestra is excellent and Richard Bonynge manages to conduct it with softness and power simutaneously. The result is that we can notice some wonderful details that simply don't exist in other versions. Besides, (if well conducted) Faust is a show of wonderful melodies and ecstasy moments!Although some people may imagine the cast is not "French" enough, you can't realize what these voices can do!Franco Corelli has a sweet but large voice and his voice blends very well with Sutherland's voice in the romantic duets. He was also a successful singer in many French roles (Romeo in Rom?o et Juliette, Don Jos? in Carmen, Raoul in Les Huguenots, etc.), so he was completely aware of the French style of singing. He'sDame Joan Sutherland was in her ultimate prime, with a huge and heavenly voice that had such a "tearful tone" that could be perfectly applied to romantic-tragic roles like Marguerite. In her first coloratura aria (Ah! je ris de me voir), her voice is youthful and agile, while later in the opera it tends to be darker and heavier, indicating Marguerite's torment. Her characterization is really moving. I like Joan Sutherland's interpretations a lot not only because of her voice, but because she had a rare talent: she could express happiness, sadness and pain while singing perfectly and with the most beautiful tones. She doesn't need to breathe, to cry or to do any other "theathrical elements" to make her characterizations sound interesting to our ears.I suppose I don't need to talk many things about Nicolai Ghiaurov's Mephistoph?les. He was one of the best basses of the 20th century (unfortunately this great singer and man passed away this week) and probably the best bass of the last fifty years, and Mephistoph?les was one of his greates roles. His voice is enormous and dark and his interpretation of the role is the most viril and sarcastic I have ever heard.And when these three legendary voices joins, it's spectacular! The final trio is dazzling, one of the greatest moments of the recorded history of Opera!Since I cannot talk about every great singer in this recording (there are so many!), I would like to mention the elegant Valentin of Robert Massard, the sweet Siebel of Margreta Elkins and the interesting Martha of Monica Sinclair. With such a great cast, nothing can go wrong in this opera!If you want to know this great masterpiece composed by Gounod, or if you are just adding one more recording to your collection, please buy this recording! You CAN'T be disappointed!

Just a short review for now- I love this performance. Corelli, Sutherland, Massard (A FINE Valentine!), and Ghiaurov are all in excellent voice. True, this is not a showcase of proper French style, so if you prefer that, one of the others would be preferable. (I simply don't know which other version of Faust is truly in a French style. Of the other Fausts I've heard, the one with Cluytens conducting Gedda, De Los Angeles, and Christoff should be the closest to the French style. It's also an excellent performance!) As for this one- it's very Italianate and passionate in its approach. To me, Corelli does not come off as a lout- just impetuous and VERY much in love.Sutherland's voice might not be perfect for the role, but she captures the character quite well for me. Massard is a prim and proper sounding Valentine (And he's also quite French!), with a beautiful voice. In other words, he fits perfectly. And what can I say about Ghiaurov here? The voice is simply stunning and his characterization is superb. Also, as another reviewer mentioned, the orchestra and choruses are simply superb... and I love the way Bonynge conducts this opera.

I am familiar with most of the best sets available and am listening to them between performances of the opera at Covent Garden. Some time ago BBC Music Magazine offered their four best recordings and although I have yet to hear the 1930 Busser I get the impression they have picked the best horses in a very tight field:Cluytens in stereo is universally admired.Bonynge with probably the best Marguerite on record but the Faust , Corelli, sounds from the outset that he does NOT need the help of Mephistopheles.Beecham in his EMI studio recording from 1947/48 which fits on two CDs as it omits the ballet music shows how elegance and style and a mainly Francophone cast can bring out the best in this score.Busser which I have not yet heard reputedly the French version to have.Decca's stereo recording is clear and transparent and that will sway many in its favour. Bonynge was a famous ballet conductor and in his version I enjoyed the ballet music enormously. But the star turn is Sutherland.A post script. This reminded me what a startling voice that son of a shipyard worker Franco Corelli possessed. I have a number of his studio recordings but none of his live ones and none of the early Cetra recordings. So I was delighted to find a French Forlane issue of no less than eight live opera recordings and many of the Cetra ones on 16 CDs offered very cheaply. There is a ***** review on French Amazon.Getting back to Faust I have just reviewed the 1929 Beecham recording in English. A golden oldie indeed.

Cette version de Faust est de loin la meilleure! Franco Corelli, Joan Sutherland et Nicolai Ghiaurov sont ici au sommet de leur Art.Je conseille donc vivement cette version Decca de Faust. Rien que pour les chanteurs, elle en vaut la peine et la beauté de l'opéra même complète ce coffret.Tout grand amateur d'opéra se doit de le posséder!

This is a fantastic, all-round recording of Faust, slightly edging out the wonderful stereo recording on EMI with Christoff, De Los Angeles and Gedda.Franco Corelli blasts his way through the title rolee but there are times when he shows great finesse (eg: act 3 duet) but be warned: he slides all over the place and his top notes are at full tilt – a shame as he was able to produce gorgeous diminuendos. Nonetheless his passion wins the day.Joan Sutherland was made for Marguerite and she's in her prime. The vocal control she has is so impressive, and tone is always easy on the ear. A remarkable voice.Nicolai Ghaiurov hams it up, but then he is playing the devil. The supporting cast are all admirable, though Monica Sinclair is a bit OTT as Martha. A special mention for Raymond Myers as Wagner - what a voice, and whilst I enjoyed Massard as Valentin I wonder if the producer ever thought of switching them around.Bonygne took this recording seriously. He wanted to make his mark, so the atmosphere and playing of the LSO is superb. The raucous um-pa-pa prior to the waltz chorus puts us in a Bavarian village and the sheer punch of brass in the soldiers chorus are two moments I wanted to pick out.The recorded sound is excellent (including having to cope with editing in Corelli for the final trio after it was recorded with Sutherland and Ghiaurov as he was absent on the day). It's a recording that easily takes top spot.