There's something about "Faust" that I find to be very beautiful. (First attempt at opera analysis)
I am talking about Sharles Gounod's opera, which is beautiful in whole. But there is one piece that caught my attention, not only because of its beautiful music, but also because of it's "psychological structure". In this scene Marguerite goes to church to pray, after she was abandoned by Faust (who got her pregnant and went off to somewhere) and her friends. Mephistopheles (the devil) sends evil spirits to torment her.
(In a nutshell, the opera's storyline is as follows: Faust is an embittered philosopher, who feels that his life was a failure. He sells his soul to devil in exchange for a second chance of living his life anew. He becomes young again and falls in love with Marguerite, a young beautiful girl, whose image Mephistopheles shows him.)
I love the following "components" of this scene. Musically, it begins with a very "troubled" theme, probably to reflect Marguerite's state of mind. As I said before, she is pregnant and not married, so she is considered a sinner, her lover abandoned her, her mother died recently, her brother is at war. Then there is a beautiful organ music, and Marguerite is asking for God's acceptance. And then at the same tune Mephistopheles enters and the tune changes as he calls to the evil spirits. But the same tune of organ - a "God's music" returns when Mephistopheles sings about how chaste and pure Marguerite was as a child, how she loved God with all her heart. For some reason I found this "psychological move" to be very efficient, and yet very touching, because it recalls a child's innocence and readiness to love and to be "good" and make others feel happy (okay, not all the children are like that, I know :D ). This "move" is efficient, because immediately after, Mephisto says that these days of bliss are over, and now it will only be eternal torture for Marguerite.
What I also like about this piece is that if reflects very precisely IMO the state of mind of a depressed person. Very often when one believes they made a mistake, they remember how well everything was in the past, before they made this fatal move. They can't shake away the depressive thoughts, they are certain that from now on there won't be any good for them. They believe that they do not deserve anything good to happen to them. Often they believe that by what they did they betrayed someone.
So...if you read all this and got to this point, here are some goodies.
- The mp3 file of the church scene.
-
The lyrics of the scene - from "Faust"s libretto.
The church
MARGUERITE
kneeling down
Lord, allow your humble servant
To come and kneel before you!
MEPHISTOPHELES
No! You shall not pray! Strike her with terror!
Spirits of evil, hasten here!
DEMONS
Marguerite!
MARGUERITE
Who is calling me?
DEMONS
Marguerite!
MARGUERITE
I falter! I die!
Dear God! Merciful God!
Is it already the hour of retribution?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Remember the past, when sheltering your bliss
Beneath angels' wings,
You came to worship the Lord in his own temple,
Singing his praise!
When you stammered out a chaste prayer
in a faltering voice
And carried within your heart your mother's kisses
And God, at the same time!
Hear these clamours! Hell is claiming you!
Hell is pursuing you!
Here comes eternal remorse and eternal anguish
In everlasting night!
MARGUERITE
God! What voice thus addresses me in the clark?
Almighty God!
What black veil has suddenly fallen over me?
INVISIBLE CHORUS
When the day of the Lord dawns
His cross will shine in heaven
And the whole world will be shattered!
MARGUERITE
Alas, this pious chant is even more terrifying!
MEPHISTOPHELES
No! God no longer forgives you!
The sky no longer dawns for you!
No! No!
INVISIBLE CHORUS
What shall I tell the Lord then?
Where shall I find a protector
When the innocent himself stands in fear!
MARGUERITE
Ah, this chant stifles and chokes me!
I am clamped in an iron band!
MEPHISTOPHELES
Farewell, nights of love and days of rapture!
A curse on you! Hell awaits you!
MARGUERITE
Lord!
MARGUERITE and INVISIBLE CHORUS
Lord, welcome the prayer
Of unhappy hearts.
May one spark of your light
Shine down on them!
MEPHISTOPHELES
Marguerite!
Be accursed!
Hell awaits you!
Marguerite gives a shriek and falls senseless on the flagstones.
- The opera is based on Goethe's work. Here's the scene as it is written in Goethe's "original".
- "Faust" was Michail Bulgakov's favorite opera. His Margarita is indeed named after "Faust"'s Marguerite, and there are refrences to the opera in many of his works.
(In a nutshell, the opera's storyline is as follows: Faust is an embittered philosopher, who feels that his life was a failure. He sells his soul to devil in exchange for a second chance of living his life anew. He becomes young again and falls in love with Marguerite, a young beautiful girl, whose image Mephistopheles shows him.)
I love the following "components" of this scene. Musically, it begins with a very "troubled" theme, probably to reflect Marguerite's state of mind. As I said before, she is pregnant and not married, so she is considered a sinner, her lover abandoned her, her mother died recently, her brother is at war. Then there is a beautiful organ music, and Marguerite is asking for God's acceptance. And then at the same tune Mephistopheles enters and the tune changes as he calls to the evil spirits. But the same tune of organ - a "God's music" returns when Mephistopheles sings about how chaste and pure Marguerite was as a child, how she loved God with all her heart. For some reason I found this "psychological move" to be very efficient, and yet very touching, because it recalls a child's innocence and readiness to love and to be "good" and make others feel happy (okay, not all the children are like that, I know :D ). This "move" is efficient, because immediately after, Mephisto says that these days of bliss are over, and now it will only be eternal torture for Marguerite.
What I also like about this piece is that if reflects very precisely IMO the state of mind of a depressed person. Very often when one believes they made a mistake, they remember how well everything was in the past, before they made this fatal move. They can't shake away the depressive thoughts, they are certain that from now on there won't be any good for them. They believe that they do not deserve anything good to happen to them. Often they believe that by what they did they betrayed someone.
So...if you read all this and got to this point, here are some goodies.
- The mp3 file of the church scene.
-
The lyrics of the scene - from "Faust"s libretto.
The church
MARGUERITE
kneeling down
Lord, allow your humble servant
To come and kneel before you!
MEPHISTOPHELES
No! You shall not pray! Strike her with terror!
Spirits of evil, hasten here!
DEMONS
Marguerite!
MARGUERITE
Who is calling me?
DEMONS
Marguerite!
MARGUERITE
I falter! I die!
Dear God! Merciful God!
Is it already the hour of retribution?
MEPHISTOPHELES
Remember the past, when sheltering your bliss
Beneath angels' wings,
You came to worship the Lord in his own temple,
Singing his praise!
When you stammered out a chaste prayer
in a faltering voice
And carried within your heart your mother's kisses
And God, at the same time!
Hear these clamours! Hell is claiming you!
Hell is pursuing you!
Here comes eternal remorse and eternal anguish
In everlasting night!
MARGUERITE
God! What voice thus addresses me in the clark?
Almighty God!
What black veil has suddenly fallen over me?
INVISIBLE CHORUS
When the day of the Lord dawns
His cross will shine in heaven
And the whole world will be shattered!
MARGUERITE
Alas, this pious chant is even more terrifying!
MEPHISTOPHELES
No! God no longer forgives you!
The sky no longer dawns for you!
No! No!
INVISIBLE CHORUS
What shall I tell the Lord then?
Where shall I find a protector
When the innocent himself stands in fear!
MARGUERITE
Ah, this chant stifles and chokes me!
I am clamped in an iron band!
MEPHISTOPHELES
Farewell, nights of love and days of rapture!
A curse on you! Hell awaits you!
MARGUERITE
Lord!
MARGUERITE and INVISIBLE CHORUS
Lord, welcome the prayer
Of unhappy hearts.
May one spark of your light
Shine down on them!
MEPHISTOPHELES
Marguerite!
Be accursed!
Hell awaits you!
Marguerite gives a shriek and falls senseless on the flagstones.
- The opera is based on Goethe's work. Here's the scene as it is written in Goethe's "original".
- "Faust" was Michail Bulgakov's favorite opera. His Margarita is indeed named after "Faust"'s Marguerite, and there are refrences to the opera in many of his works.