The Damnation of Faust, Gergiev, Barbican Hall

The Damnation of Faust, Gergiev, Barbican Hall | reviews, news & interviews

The Damnation of Faust, Gergiev, Barbican Hall

Gergiev's Faustian Adventure

by Edward SeckersonWednesday, 23 September 2009

The Damnation of Faust is so chock-full of special effects that you half expect a list of technical advisors in place of the single name Hector Berlioz. But it is just he – wizard of his imaginings – who continues to surprise and even shock no matter how many times you hear the piece - and with Valery Gergiev heightening its neurotic nature all the way to pandemonium there wasn’t a whole lot more you could have asked of this performance, except a better, more complex and interesting Faust than Michael Schade gave us and a clearer beat from Gergiev.

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