Search - Beecham, Nash, Carr :: Beecham Conducts Faust

Faust in English with English singers. Cor blimey!

L. E. Cantrell | Vancouver, British Columbia Canada | 08/31/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Well, sometimes even the greatest conductors boot one.



This is an old, old recording of Gounod's "Faust." It has been said that all that is required to make "Faust" a great opera is a quartet of the four finest singers in the world. Evidently, they were out of town when this recording was made.



Probably the best known among the performers is the tenor, Heddle Nash. As tenors go, he was VERY English. In lighter material, even in Mozart, he wasn't bad, but he is painfully hopeless as Faust.



As for the other singers, sadly, they are all cursed by English vocal training.



The English singing translation used in this performance provides one of the strongest arguments ever made against translating any opera.



Since the set offers a few wry laughs, I give it two stars. Put it on the shelf next to your Florence Foster Jenkins collection."