Scenes from Goethe's „Faust“

by Robert Schumann
Composition in three parts and an overture for solo voices, choir and orchestra
Text from Johann Wolfgang von Goethes Faust I and II
sung in German
There are a few but well-known scenes in Goethe’s Faust that do not get the slightest mentioning in Robert Schumann’s work: No sign of Gretchen at the spinning wheel, no gathering of the witches in Walpurgis Night and not even the smallest hint of Auerbach's Cellar anywhere in the composition. For anyone scanning Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's "Faust" in the quiet hope of finding a “Best of” of Goethe's magnum opus, the result will be both, disappointing and delightful. Why? Schumann's view on Goethe is extreme – in the omissions as well as in the settings. Schumann's oratorio about the incessantly striving character Faust, who yearns for finding out about "what holds the world together in its innermost", is a radical attempt to bring that innermost side to the surface. In essence what we get is such: ephemeral music as an allegory, the insufficient fragment as an event and the indescribable of the story as deed.
Location
Various Venues
Duration
approx. 2:30h (incl. 1 break)
World premiere
1862 in Köln

Premiere of this production
7. March 2021

Recommended age
from grade 8
For the events in the Liederhalle, there will be an introduction 45 minutes before the concert at Silchersaal.

In Ludwigsburg, there will be an introduction 40 minutes before the concert at foyer I. floor.

Photo Gallery

Preview