The Devil went down to Cobb: Atlanta Opera revives Faust

Charles Gounod’s operatic interpretation will return for the first time since 1995
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Painting by Matthughesart.com

There are myriad tales of people making deals with the devil, but they all share similar endings (spoiler alert: bad things happen). Although the outcomes are predictable, we’re still drawn to these cautionary fables, the most famous of which is the chronicle of a certain Dr. Faust and his misguided barter—an eternal soul for fleeting youth.

Although Charles Gounod’s operatic interpretation of Faust has remained popular for 150 years, it has not been staged by the Atlanta Opera since the company’s inaugural 1995 season at the Fox Theatre. This month, the opera brings back Faust just in time for chorus master Walter Huff’s twenty-fifth anniversary with the company. “In those twenty-five years, [Huff] has developed the Atlanta Opera Chorus into one of the premier opera choruses in the country, if not the world,” said company general and artistic director Tomer Zvulun.

Along with the celebration of Huff’s anniversary, Faust, staged in a lavish Earl Staley–designed production at the opera’s current Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre home, will introduce a rising star, tenor Noah Stewart. He became the first black artist to top the UK classical album charts with the release of his 2012 album Noah.

This article originally appeared in our March 2014 issue.

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