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IND IANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC

Four Hundred Fourteenth Program of the 1970-71 Season

The Damnation of Faust

A Dramatic Legend

by

H ector Berlioz

Sung in French

ORATORIO C HORU S S YMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Fiora Contino, Conductor

SoLOISTS

Jean Deis, Faust

Gary Kendall, Brander

Elizabeth Mannion, Marguerite

Thomas Palmer, Mephistopheles

The first perfonnance of this work was at the Opera Comique,

Paris, November 6, 1846.

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A uditoriuJ1'l Wednesday Evening March Thirty-First

Eight O'Clock

BerliO'Z, Shakespeare, and Goethe-A Dramatic Triangle

Iy 170 years after his birth, Hector Berlioz defies classification; his limits Near not yet been sighted . He took the standard concepts of what music could

dhav~y the heels and shook them hard; his multi-leveled, theatrical attack on the ~ of perception is only now beginning to be understood and emulated. ~ t surprisingly, the most d~ect and lasti~g inf~ue~ce on Berlioz and his music

o dramatic and extra-musIcal. He descnbes his first encounter, on September ii,S 1827, in his M emoirs: An English company came over to the Odeon to perform Shakespeare's plays then entirely unknown in France. I was present at the first perform­ance' of Hamlet . ... This sudden and unexpected revelation of Shake­speare overwhelmed me. The lightning flash of his genius revealed the whole heaven of art to me, illuminating its remotest depth in a single flash. I recognized the meaning of real grandeur, real beauty, and real dramatic truth.

This was not mere rhetoric. Berlioz' reliance on Shakespeare throughout his creative life, for thematic inspiration and textual material, is an obvious reflec­tion of the English writer's importance to him:

1831-King Lear Overture L elia, or the Return to Life (monodrama)

1839- Romeo and Juliet (dramatic symphony ) 1848-The Death of Ophelia (female chorus; song with piano)

Funeral M arch for the Last Scene of Hamlet 1860- Beatrice and Benedict (opera based on Much Ado About Nothing)

The sum total of the change Shakespeare wrought in Berlioz was infinitely more subtle and pervasive, however. In Lelia, the autobiographical psycho­drama meant to foilow the Symphonie Fantastique, L elio-Berlioz, who strongly identifies with Hamlet, asks:

Did Horatio hear me? I wonder ... poor Horatio? I imagine I still hear him playing most divinely, seated calmly at his piano ... He knew nothing of the suffering and torments that racked and rent my heart (Berlioz is referring to his stormy love affair with the English actress Henrietta Smithson ) ... with that beautiful, sweet voice of his, he, the poet as yet untouched by cruel passions, was singing his favorite ballad (Berlioz' set­ting of The Fisherman by Goethe). Five years are gone since I set Goethe's song to music for him. Oh! how happy we were then.

In a letter wri tten from Grenoble to his devoted friend Humbert Ferrand, obviously the H oratio of which Lelio spoke, Berlioz underscores the mingling of Shakespeare and Goethe in his thoughts.

Come as soon as you can. I beg you ... We will read Hamlet and Faust together. Shakespeare and Goethe, the mute confidants of my life, oh! come. The day before yesterday I have written, d riving in the carriage, the ballad of the King of Thule in Gothic style; I will give it to you to put in your Faust if you have one .. . 'Horatio, you are the man whose society has suited me best!' I suffer much. It would be cruel of you not to Come. (16 September, 1828)

The Ballad of the King of Thule became a part of Berlioz' Opus 1, Eight Sfcenes from Faust; completed in 1829, it fonned the basis for the Damnation a Faust, eighteen years later. Of Goethe's epic dramatic poem Berlioz wrote:

I was fascinated by it and always carried it about with me, reading it any­where and everywhere- at dinner, in the theatre, even in the streets.

~ut in the Eight Scenes, where you would suspect the close alliance with Goethe ::. ~ake the upper hand, it is Shakespeare who comes to the fore. In the manu­r fIpt Score, in good English, each of the Scenes is preceded by a question thl'?m .Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, the two plays which Berlioz knew best at

IS time. -515-

1. Easter Song

2. Peasants Under Lime Tress

3. Concert of Sylphes

4. A Group of Jolly Com-panions (Brander's Song of the Rat)

5. Song of Mephistopheles (Song of the Flea)

6. The King of Thule (Marguerite's medieval song)

7. Marguerite's Romance

Chorus of Soldiers under Marguerite's window

8. Mephistopheles Serenade

Ophelia: Heavenly powers, restore him. -Hamlet

Capulet: Who'll now deny to dance? She that makes dainty, I'll swear hath COI1l - Romeo and Juliet .

Mercutio: I talk of dreams which are the child.ren of an. airy brain, begot of nothmg but vam fantasy, which is as thin of substance as the air, and more inconstant than the wind.-Romeo and Juliet

Hamlet: How now? a rat? dead, for a ducat, dead.- Hamlet

Hamlet: Miching mall echo : it means mischief. -Hamlet

Ophelia: He is dead and gone, At his head a grass green turf, At his heels a stone. - Romeo and Juliet

Romeo: Ah me! sad hours seem long.- Romeo and Juliet

Mercutio: Come, let's be gone, the sport is over. - Romeo and Juliet

Hamlet: I t is a damned ghost.- H amlet

These eight scenes, modified in some ways, provided almost half of the Dam­nation in its final form. It is no accident that their music matches the quality of the Shakespearean quotations more perfectly than it does Goethe's texts or the context from which they were taken.

Taking Gerard de Nirval's 1827 translation of Faust as a springboard, Berlioz created his own drama, "not trying to imitate Goethe's masterpiece," he later wrote, "but only to use it as an inspiration and extract all of its musical sub­stance." He a ttempted nothing less than the distillation of a Shakespearean tragedy from the sprawling pageant which Goethe once said embodied every­thing" from heaven through the world to hell." By blending the events of the First Part of Faust with the philosophy of the Second Part, he simplified tile story and heightened the characterization of the three principals, Fa.ust, Mephistopheles, and Marguerite. More than this, he gave Faust a pl?t anted comprehensible philosophic direction, something Goethe never mt~n . Goethe's opinion was rather this: "The more incommensurable and lllCOm-prehensible for the understanding a poetic creation may be, the better."

The Damnation of Faust is Berlioz' Hamlet; he had already written his Roroeo~ With whip-like concision he unfolds the tragedy of the ever-striving Faust, ~ able to reconcile himself with the ways of society and bored with his const~C lit}' philosophy. The alternatives that Mephistopheles offers him, drunken ~tJa that and the simple love of Marguerite, fail to fill the void. At last he reahze\ is only a union with nature can give him respite. When he learns Marguerl :ave dying in prison as a result of their affair, he signs away his soul to hers and goes to hell.

The atmosphere of the Bard of Avon is everywhere. Faust's "Invocatio~t ~f Nature," like Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy, is the hero's moroe

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realization and the climax of the d rama. Everything is downhill from there ,df-Like Ophelia, Marguerite chants "snatches of old tunes, as one incapable :i'her own distress," a prelude to her madness in the face of unrequited love,

bistopheles is drawn with a power and a balance between humor and ~~rous cunning that is the equal of any of Shakespeare's major figures.

a.r!iOZ is before anything, a musical dramatist. His keen dramatic sense mani­V". itseif at every turn. He has Marguerite appear in the midst of a field ~~es the same roses with which the angels pelt Mephistopheles to save

ust's :Wul in the original Goethe poem. The roses, the age-old symbol of ~t's passion, with which the virtues fended off the demons in the medieval

The Castle of Perseverence, emphasize the redeeming quality of Mar­pla:rite,s love. The musical references which he makes, the flashy chords that Crald Mephistopheles' every appearance, bringing in the theme of the King of Thule song just before the love scene between Marguerite and Faust, closing the Will-of-the-Wisps M inuet with a double-time version of Mephistopheles' SereJlllde before he even sings it, for example-all give the piece a subliminal unity that strengthens the dramatic purpose. Berlioz' extension of Goethe's ride of Mephistopheles and Faust to the Abyss, the complete scene in Hell which Goethe only suggests, the actual damnation of Faust, which directly opposes Goethe's salvation of his hero, his closing of the drama with a chorus 01 angels carrying Marguerite's soul to heaven that makes the work vanish rather than end-all of this is done with a dramatic aptness that absolutely suits the story as Berlioz conceived it.

Berlioz once wrote to Ferrand: Listen to what I say, Ferrand, if ever I should succeed, I have no doubt whatever that I shall become a colossus in music. For a long time now a descriptive symphony of Faust has been fennenting in my brain. When I set it at liberty, I want to astound the entire musical world .

Berlioz, the perfect romantic artis t, may have recognized his own image in these lines from Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus :

0 , what a world of profit and delight, Of power, of honor, and omnipotence Is promis'd to the studious artisan. All things that move between the quiet poles Shall be a t my command. Emperors and kings Are but obey'd in their several provinces But his dominion that exceeds in this Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man­A sound magician is a demi-god!

ORATORIO CHORUS

RONALD J. REINOEHL

J an Harrington, Assistant Conductor

Heidi Augsburger Kyung-Nook Bang Linda Bates Ann Brenner ~arqua Lee Brunette

eannaBryan Susan Busch Debra Charis C~ristie Clayton Cmda Cranor taro1 Dangelmajer S Orayne Ewald .

UZanne Fuhr Edith Gilliard ~hargaret Glaser

eryl Grant

Soprano Sandra Guskin Susan Harwood Michelle Hayes Susan Hupp Martha I hde Jan J acobson Bok-joo J hong Jeannette J unk Valerie K ennedy Kathy Kozacik Leslie Low Catherine McChesney Miriam L inkimer Linda Myers Nancy O gle Myra Perkins

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Susan Prather Marlene R eininghaus CeIeIIia R ogers Virginia Saitely Christine Schneider Mary Shearer Alexandra Stalas Beverly Troy Marianne Van Acker Valda Van Ness Donna Vruno Mary Wakefield Marion Whatley Beverly Wood Laura Y ouens

Harriet Baron Jeanne Bowers Ruth Brown Tatiana Callan Christine Casino Diane Colotom Jeanne Conard Christine Cook Kate Covington Paige Decker Lillian Dunlap Diane Durand Helena Freire Harriette Hall Susan Hanscom

Bruce Baughman John Bills Michael Brewster Timothy Brown Dale Caldwell Fernando Caso Bruce Chamberlain Craig Curtis Kenneth DeLap Stephen Drummond James Duncan John Fast Jack Fox

Thomas Ahrens Matthew Berney Thomas Biggins Alberto Bird William Boggs Richard Bozman Harold Briggs Darle Bruckman Allan Colin John Couch Vincent Corrigan Thomas G. Cowan James Davies Robert Eakle Donald Ecklund William Entriken Steven Fish Paul Fischer Charles Foreman Franklin Foulks Peter Gach Brian Gray

Alto N ozma I-licks Kathryn Hoppe Jeequeline Jacobs Ruby Jandrich Karen Janecek Julianne J ens Evelyn La Bruce Paula Liscio Sidney Long Virginia Long Sherry Milligan Linda Mitrovich Kathryn O 'Brien Pamela Pittman Janet Reeves

Tenor John Gilmore Mark Hotsenpiller Michael Huddlestun Gregory Isaacs Herbert Kellner Thomas Koch Joel Lillethun Wing Chiu Lun Harold McManus Mark McNulty David Montano Douglas Murdock John Myers

Bass Kenneth Greenhouse Kerry Grippe Milton Gurin W ilJiam Henderson William Hicks George Hill David Him.m

fasanobu Ikemiya Daniel James Ronald Jochim Robert Johnson Leo Jeffer Stephen Kabat Charles Killion Neil Larson Timothy Lewis Ly An Tin R obert Mayerovitch James Millen Edward Morrison Benton Miller Christopher Muller

Donna Robinson Katy Romanou Sandra Schupfer Susan Scott Ellen Seeling Jeanette Shelton Eugenia Sinor Rosanne Soifer Page Swift Geneva Trotter Holly Van Heeke Nancy Watson Carol Weaver Shelley Whittingham Carole Wright Amy Zucker

Kalvert Nelson Elliot Palay Franklin Parrish Steven Puder Daniel Rosenbaum Daniel Sage Claude Sluder Kenneth Smith Philip Stephenson Stanley Torgerson Paul Waible David Williams

Vytas Nakas Stephen Nielson Merrill Palmer Joseph Parr John Pennington Alain Planes Kim Pennington Alberto Reyes J ames Roberts Robert Salek R obert Schroll Robert Steele Bruce Stephenson John Struble Jerry Troyer Lance Van Leuten Ronald Vogel Jeffery Wagner Silas Warner Kilend Watanabe William Wiant Brad Winters

CHILDREN'S CHORUS Marjorie Kleiman, Conductor

Devon Allison Maria Deis Ann Martin David Shaw Leigh Allison Martha Hayes Daisy Martin Tia Sorensen Kathy Bonser Lisa Hornibrook Zeke Martin Mark Tischler Carol Brown Debbie Kennon Barbara Mehlinger Virginia Walker Janet Campbell Nancy Lawson Jennifer Pont Michele Winkler Kathleen Clapham Grace Mannion Susan Primrose

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ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL

Violin 1 Cello Horn

Kenneth Patti Nella Hunkins Thorn Gustavson

Jean Piguet Denis Brott Susan Work

Heiichiro Ohyama Coenraad Bloemendal Evelyn Zeller

Erika Klernperer Barbara Haimberger Richard Runnels

Lois Skelton Mark Friedhoff LindaBrouk

Zoltan Szabo Linda Rogers Off-Stage Horns Georgia Ramp Carole Gatwood Mary Knepper Mika Hasler Jan Fischer Pakala Fernandes susan Conner Jan Rentz Candace Kitcoff Mina Fisher Trumpet

Leonard Braus J eHrey Levenson James Snapp Lorraine Glass John McClary Steve Dimmick

Joan Torrieri Bass J ames Polivka

Tom Wiley David Stephen David Kunstler Daniel Ertel Off-Stage Trumpet Elizabeth Rice Robert Meyer

Stephen Willis David Craigmile

Violin II Gregory Hippen David Bach

Deborah Bloom Mark Dresser Trombone Matson T opper Anne Trout James Kasprowicz Diane Kami Anthony Grosso John McMurray Christine Waitkevicz Dennis Miller Chris Howson Jacqueline Meijers Lynn Carter Roy Pickering Joan Skelley Yoshie Iida Flute Tuba

Linda Case Kenneth Andrews John Turk

Randy Ingram Alice Weir Timpani Swan Goldenberg Kathy Goll Thomas Miller EdieBoyll Oboe Fred O pie Pam Smith Ann Kester Jerry Thornburg Percussion

Pam Foard Elaine Plummer Ross Sears

Danae Meray-Horvath English Horn Richard Ries

Rebecca Boldt Anne Respess Tim Connery

William Cobb Clarinet Mike McMurtrey

Margaret Helfrick Harp

Viola Michael Limoli Gail Bass Michael Shirk Anne Eisfeller

Rhoda Rhea LoalDavis Bassoon Manager

Charles Meinen Cynthia Estill Stephen Merren

Peter Webster Gregory Vaught Set-Up Mary Kanner Carolyn Stutzke Hiro Nishiguchi David Troutman Don Hein James Snapp Deborah Cook Brenda Segal

Librarian

Elizabeth Martz Constance Simpson

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