Devilish Deeds: A Fast Guide to Faust

Or, how to keep seven different versions of the same story straight.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

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The Devil you say! Rene Pape as Mephistopheles in Gounod's Faust.
Photo by Catherine Ashmore for the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden.

"Faust by Christopher Marlowe. Faust by Goethe. Faust by Gounod, Faust by Hector Berlioz. I tell you, anyone who touches this idea has turned it into a gold mine."--Jeffrey Cordova in The Band Wagon. (In the film, his attempt to turn a Broadway show into a modern-day production of Faust turns out to be a dreadful box-office bomb.)

When you start getting interested in classical music, it is overwhelming how many composers set versions of Faust. The story of the German scholar who sells his soul to a representative of the power of darkness in an effort to regain his youth and find love has universal human resonance. The following is a mercifully brief and incomplete guide to different versions of Faust with a focus on those that incorporate music drama and voice into re-telling the story. (That's to get me off the hook for not mentioning the "Faust Symphonies" by Liszt and Wagner!) With that, let's dive into the depths of hell for seven versions of Faust...by seven different composers.

Opera Review: Deviled Eggs

The Washington National Opera's Faust goes directly to Hell.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Hellbound: Raymond Aceto as Méphistophélès in Faust.
Photo by Scott Suchman for the Washington National Opera.

In the last hundred years, Charles Gounod's Faust has fallen from the pinnacle of the repertory. Its descent has been rapid, almost as fast as that of its protagonist, a searching scholar who sells his soul to Satan in the opera's first act. Faust has fallen into irrelevance in this new century. Its stirring choruses, sweet harmonies and story of demonic love and angelic redemption seem quaint in this dark age. When fascists are defended in the media by the sitting President, and hatred lurks in the corridors of power, Faust just ain't scary anymore.

Opera Review: That Ol' Devil Music

Christian van Horn is the Met's new Mefistofele.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

He stole my balloons: Christian van Horn in the title role of Mefistofele at the Metropolitan Opera.
Photo by Karen Almond © 2018 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Devil always gets a bad rap. That's the premise behind Mefistofele, Arrigo Boito's lone completed opera. An ambitious setting of Goethe's Faust that retells the story from the Devil's point of view, Mefistofele used to prance its sulfur strut across the world's opera stages. But Thursday night's revival at the Metropolitan Opera was the first time that the opera had been seen, fully staged, in New York in eighteen years.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Mefistofele

Arrigo Boito retells the Faust legend, from the Devil's perspective. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Mefistofele (in the red pajamas, left) faces down the heavenly hoist in Boito's opera.
Photo © 2018 The Metropolitan Opera.

There are many operatic takes on the story of Faust, the medieval scholar who sells his soul to the Devil for the gifts of youth and the experience of love. This is the most cosmic: a struggle between good and evil that places the audience's sympathy squarely with its horned title character.

Opera Review: Hot Rails to Hell

The BSO brings back The Damnation of Faust.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Conductor Charles Dutoit (on podium) leads Paul Groves, Susan Graham and John Relyea in the trio from
Part III of The Damnation of Faust. Photo by Hilary Scott for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

I'm going open this review on a personal note.

Ten years (and change) age, I posted the first review on Superconductor, of the Boston Symphony Orchestra playing Hector Berlioz' The Damnation of Faust. That concert (you can read about it here) was at Carnegie Hall under the baton of James Levine. In honor of that anniversary, I took an early morning Amtrak to Boston yesterday to see the BSO perform The Damnation of Faust.

It was worth the trip.

Opera Review: A Deviled Egg

Eric Owens takes on Mefistofele at Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Stamping out evil: Mephistopheles (left) and Faust on a 60dm West German postage stamp.
© 1979 Deutsches Bundespost.

On Monday night, the Collegiate Chorale opened their 2013 season at Carnegie Hall with a concert performance of Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele. This was one of the most anticipated evenings of the fall opera season in New York, and marked the first appearance of baritone Eric Owens in the demanding title role. It was also the first performance of Mefistofele in 13 years--the show was last seen at the Metropolitan Opera in 2000 in Robert Carsen's sturdy production.

Opera Review: March to the Scaffold

The Met's Summer HD Festival repeats La Damnation de Faust.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

 Let's make a deal: Méphistophèles (John Relyea, left) offers advice to
Marcello Giordani's Faust in Berlioz' La Damnation de Faust.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2008 The Metropolitan Opera.

Two key initiatives from the reign of current  Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb were on display at Lincoln Center Plaza on Thursday night. The first was the company's Live in HD program. The second: the company's recent association with director Robert Lepage. The occasion: a free outdoor screening of Mr. Lepage's 2008 production of La Damnation de Faust, the director's first and most successful show for the Met stage.

Injured Mezzo Sues Metropolitan Opera

Singer sues following 2011 Faust fall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Wendy White (right) as Marthe in the Met's production of Faust,
with bass René Pape as Mephistopheles.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

According to a story published today on the official website of The New York Times, opera singer Wendy White has filed suit against the Metropolitan Opera following an injury suffered onstage in 2011. A copy of the complaint appears here, hosted by her good friends at parterre box. (The pertinent parts of the document are on pages 8 and 9).

Out Comes the Evil

Prince of Darkness cracks down on Gounod Faust. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Art by Joe Quesada from Spider-Man: One More Day © Marvel Comics.
Balloon caption by the author.

In a stunning series of multiple lawsuits filed in New York, Paris and the United Kingdom, Mephistopheles, the reigning Prince of Darkness, Lord of Hell and General Manager of the Underworld has demanded that Charles Gounod's opera Faust be withdrawn from the general operatic repertory.

Concert Review: Say Hello to Heaven

Isabelle Faust (no relation) appears at The Bach Variations.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Isabelle Faust and friend. Photo © harmonia mundi.

Aside from having the same surname, there is no apparent connection between German violinist Isabelle and Johann Georg Faust, the medieval philosopher who (according to legend) sold his soul to the Devil. However, given the sweet lyrical tone that Ms. Faust drew forth from her Stradivarius (the "Sleeping Beauty") at Saturday night's appearance with the New York Philharmonic, one might suspect that some unearthly forces were at work.

Opera Review: Where's the Kaboom?

The Met revives Dez McAnuff's “atomic age” Faust.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Failure to detonate: Piotr Beczala (left) and John Relyea confer over a nuke
in Act V of the Met's revival of Gounod's Faust. Photo by Cory Weaver © 2013 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera’s current version of Charles Gounod’s 1859 grand opera Faust has, (like the atomic bombs that inspired its director Dez McAnuff) emerged once more from the opera house’s top-secret laboratories for another round of testing. On Thursday night, the performance failed to reach critical mass.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Faust

The Met continues further testing on its "atomic" Faust.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Atomic babe: Marina Poplavskaya in Faust.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

Dez McAnuff's 2010 production of Gounod's Faust re-imagined Gounod's opera about a scholar who sells his soul to the devil as a metaphor for the creation and testing of the atomic bomb in the mid-20th century. While the spare staging featured an elegant Faust and Mephistopheles trading in lab coats for spiffy suits, audience and critical fallout was decidedly mixed.

Opera Review: Swedish Salvation

The second cast takes over in Faust.

by Paul Pelkonen.

"You like me! You really like me!"
Malin Byström as Marguerite in Faust.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

The reason to hear Thursday night's performance of the Met's new Dez McAnuff production of Gounod's Faust was the house debut of Swedish soprano Malin Byström as Marguerite. 

As the opera's conflicted heroine, (central to this version of Goethe) Ms. Byström was not as dramatically mannered as her predecessor. She sang the role simply and honestly, soaring to some impressive heights in the Jewel Song and generating real angst in Act IV, when the pregnant Marguerite is tormented by the Devil and kills her own child.

Already established in Europe, Ms. Byström is an impressive singer with a secure technique and an interesting stage presence. There is great potential here. Should she rise to international fame, the Met might consider mounting Verdi rarity I Masnadieri for her. She has the very challenging soprano role (written for fellow Swede Jenny Lind) in her curriculum vitae.

Roberto Alagna's high-energy stage presence and fluid, easy French was a pleasure of the evening. Although the singer celebrated Faust's return to youth with a surprise cartwheel across the stage in the first act, it was vocal acrobatics that the audience wanted. Mr. Alagna showed his experience with this opera, (this is his third production of Faust at the Met) blending well with his old partner René Pape as Méphistophélès. His finest moment came in the Act III aria "Salut, demeure chaste et pure," which he delivered with supple tone and a smooth legato.

The tenor had a stage manager request the audience's indulgence in the pause between Act IV and V, claiming that he was ill and that he would attempt to finish. To be fair, he strained in the heavy orchestra in the (usually cut) Walpurgisnacht ballet. But he recovered for the final trio, helping to bring the prison scene to a thrilling climax. Mr. McAnuff's added last scene, where an aged Faust returns to the stage to drink poison (invalidating the whole opera) was played as a quick afterthought.

Mr. Pape continues to excel as Méphistophélès, the embodiment of well-dressed evil. Making his entry in a natty white suit, Mr. Pape toyed with the other singers and the audience. Once more, he rocked the Song of the Golden Calf. He would offer ironic commentary at one point, tear through an aria at another, and play to the house with gusto, as if letting the spectators in on the magnificence of his maleficent design.

Baritone Brian Mulligan gave a strong performance as Valentin, Marguerite's notoriously unforgiving brother. His burly stage presence and steady tone made this soldier an impressive figure, both in the famous "Avant de quitter ce lieux" and the Act IV duel with Faust. Mr. Alagna brought particular enthusiasm to this scene. He thoroughly enjoyed himself in the sword-fight. 

Mezzo-soprano Theodora Hanslowe, who inherited the role of Marthe after an onstage accident felled mezzo Wendy White, played along beautifully in the Act II quartet. Her interplay with Mr. Pape was a comic highlight of the performance. At one point, Marthe chased Mr. Pape across the back line of the stage, as if the Prince of Darkness would make a suitable date for Friday night. 

Also intact in this performance was the lyric, powerful conducting of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who has particular command over the big choruses that pepper this score. The Met chorus also gave a fine, lusty performance, as the Act II and IV soldiers. Later, they brought cosmic weight to the forces of good and evil as Goethe's drama plays out in the final act.

Singer's Fall Stops Faust

Wendy White suffers fall during Saturday evening performance.

In the garden, before the fall. René Pape (left) as Méphistophélès duets with mezzo Wendy White
in Act III of Faust. Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

According to reports in the New York Post, New York Times and parterre.com, mezzo-soprano Wendy White fell last night during Act III of Faust at the Metropolitan Opera. The show was stopped. Ms. White was taken to the hospital.

According to Met press officer Peter Clark, Ms. White suffered bruises. As of Sunday night, she was released from the hospital and is "resting at home."

The fall happened at the start of the quartet between Faust, (Jonas Kaufmann) Méphistophélès (René Pape), Marguerite (Marina Poplavskaya) and Marthe, the character played by Ms. White. The quartet contrasts the romantic singing of Faust and Marguerite with the byplay between the devil and the nurse.

According to eyewitness accounts published on the parterre.com message boards, Ms. White was entering behind Mr. Pape, with both singers on the multi-tiered scaffolding on one side of the stage, when she suddenly disappeared. A "loud crashing noise" was heard. Mr. Pape turned to the conductor and made a "cut" gesture with his hand slashing across his throat. Mr. Kaufmann was heard to say "Sorry, we have to stop." The curtain came down quickly.

A stage manager came out and asked the audience to remain in their seats while the incident was sorted out. Five minutes later, she returned, and announced that there would be an "early intermission." After a 25 minute pause, the opera resumed with Tamara Mumford taking over the role of Marthe. Conductor Pierre Valet  picked up the work from Faust's line "Eh quoi, toujours seule?"  This time, the singers made their entrance from the wings, not the set. The opera ended late, about 12:35.

According to a Met press representative quoted in the Times article, the accident was caused when a hinge, which connected a piece of plywood to the spiral stairway broke. The plywood fell, and Ms. White fell with it, landing on her back. Considering that the elaborate scaffold set is almost 25 feet high, she may have been very lucky indeed. 

Wendy White is a Metropolitan Opera fixture who made her debut as Flora in a 1989 production of La Traviata. We here at Superconductor would like to wish her a speedy recovery, and express relief that the singer is apparently unhurt.

Opera Review: How to Ignore an Atomic Bomb

The Met's nuclear Faust avoids a meltdown.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

Marina Poplavskaya, René Pape and Jonas Kaufmann in Dez MacAnuff's re-imagined Faust.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera's new staging of Faust shouldn't work.

The production, by director Dez McAnuff, updates the opera to an underground atomic research bunker, sometime before the end of World War II. The staging is in modern dress, and key plot points are somewhat altered. And like many Met stagings in the Peter Gelb era, it's "co-produced" with another house--in this case the English National Opera. But the result does work--and is the most satisfying Faust to be delivered at the Met in several decades.

Concert Review: The Beast-master

A Faustian afternoon with the American Symphony Orchestra 

"I once conducted a concerto THIS big." Leon Botstein leading the American Symphony Orchestra.
Photo © 2009 The American Symphony Orchestra.

Sunday's matinee concert at Carnegie Hall featured Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra doing what they do best: fearlessly leading works that you don't get to hear too often. This program paired Ferruccio Busoni's unweildy five-movement Piano Concerto with Liszt's Faust Symphony, an impressionistic setting of Goethe's poem. In an introductory program note, Dr. Botstein explained the connection, in that he saw Busoni as the logical spiritual heir to Liszt.

Busoni's lone piano concerto has never caught on with pianists or audiences. Pianists don't like playing it. Its five movements last well over an hour. The parts are both difficult and not flashy, as the composer smoothly integrated the instrument into the orchestra rather than setting it against the other instruments. It is also (to my knowledge) the only piano concerto that features a choral part at the end, which may upstage the soloist. The work seems to confound pianists, conductors, and worst of all, music critics.

Soloist Piers Lane was bold in his interpretation of this fearsome beast of a concerto. After restating the bold opening theme against a quieted orchestra, he dove into the violin-like arpeggios, racing up and down the keys and weaving sonic threads into the rich orchestral fabric. The next two movements were Italianate in character, with a steady, tolling figure in the left hand that recalls the bells from Wagner's Parsifal and warm, lyric tones from the massive orchestra.

The fourth movement is the heart of the beast, a challenge from this virtuoso composer to any would-be soloist. In this difficult Tarantella (another Italian idea from this German composer) Mr. Lane rattled off the staccato passages in impressive fashion, making both hands dance above the keys. The final chorus, sung by the men of the Collegiate Chorale, incorporated smoothly into the work's overall sound, ending with a last series of keyboard flourishes that recalled the opening movement.

Although it is only three movements, Liszt's Faust Symphony is as long as the Busoni concerto. Rather than retelling the familiar story of a medieval scholar who trades his soul for eternal youth, the work's three tone-poem like movements explore the rich inner life of Faust in the first movement and his romantic obsession with the fair Gretchen in the second. Mephistopheles is the subject of the third, which is basically a series of twisted minor-key variations on the opening. The idea is that Old Scratch is not some daemonic entity, but a dark reflection of Faust's own immortal, immoral soul.

Dr. Botstein whipped up a devilish fury in the opening Faust movement. He was helped by the ASO, which sounded like a different orchestra when playing music that actually inspires powerful, lucid music-making. The balance of forces was a little off, with the heavyweights in the brass section drowning out the strings when the main theme came roaring out of the trumpets. The second movement was better, as the violins stretched out in the long exploration of Gretchen's character.

The final Mephistopheles movement had some of the same themes as the opener, and some of the same balance problems. Still, this was a compelling argument that needs to be made: that Franz Liszt was a skilled all-around composer and not just a stunt bunny at the piano. At the close of the last movement, the chorus returned for the revised ending of the work, a setting (with the Collegiate Chorale and tenor soloist Ryan McPherson) of the Chorus Mysticus from the second part of Goethe's epic poem. Nothing exceeds like Romantic excess.

Prospero vs. The Machine

News about next year's Tempest, some of it even factual.

Simon Keenlyside (left) as Prospero menaces Ian Bostridge's Caliban in The Tempest.
Image © 2004 Royal Opera House of Covent Garden

Breaking news (and we mean that literally) from the Metropolitan Opera. In an interview with Toronto.com theater critic Richard Ouzounian, Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb has confirmed something that those of us who read Bradley Wilbur's now defunct Metropolitan Opera Futures Page already knew.

Robert Lepage will return to the theater to direct the company's first production of Thomas Ades' The Tempest.

Based on the Shakespeare play, Mr. Ades' new opera will feature Simon Keenlyside as Prospero, the wizard who creates a brave new world on a mysterious island. And yes, that's the same "enchanted island" featured in the Met's new pastiche opera, brilliantly titled The Enchanted Island.

I could at this point write something absurd about Mr. Lepage's dramatic vision for mounting The Tempest. And it would look like this:

This is not the set design for The Tempest.

"Worm Stage" is Met's Latest Challenge
Production of The Tempest will require construction of Lepage's latest stage idea: the "Worm," a 200-foot-long solar-powered stage set constructed entirely from dried rotini pasta, duct tape and glue. 


The set is advertised as the first "environmentally friendly, disposable opera set" and will create a "physically challenging" acting surface for the singers, including Mr. Keenlyside.

Asked about where the actors will stand on a stage made from 40 tons of pasta, a stagehand commented "that's what the duct tape is for." He asked to not be identified.

To build the $20-million-dollar contraption, the Metropolitan Opera's dogged stage crew will have to drill a 20-foot-wide accessway in the side of the opera house. This will accomodate a 75-foot high stanchion on either side of the building. When asked how the new supports will affect the neighboring Vivian Beaumont Theater, press representative T. Musquetier said: "I'm not too worried about it." 

The above isn't true. In fact this staging is being done in collaboration with La Scala, who will mount the opera in 2013.

 In another tidbit dropped by Mr. Gelb, the company's new production of Verdi's Falstaff will be directed by Des McAnuff, the Tony Award-winning director of Jersey Boys. Mr. McAnuff is currently putting the finishing touches on his new production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

The director will be back in New York to face the music (and the audience) tomorrow. His new production of Faust, (which updates Goethe's drama to the atomic age for some reason) has its premiere tomorrow night.

Metropolitan Opera Preview: Faust

Ed. Note: This is the preview of the Met's new Faust. For a complete review of the Dec. 13 performance, visit How to Ignore an Atomic Bomb published Dec. 14 on Superconductor.


New "atomic age" staging co-produced with ENO.

Damned sexy: Jonas Kaufmann as Faust. 
Photo by Nick Heavican © 2011 
The Metropolitan Opera.

After a traditional (but disastrous) 2005 production of Gounod's Faust (by Andrei Serban) the Met has gone high concept.

This staging by Dez McAnuff (Jersey Boys) moves Gounod's 19th century classic about a scholar who sells his soul (in order to meet women) to the 20th. This is Faust set in a high-tech lab where atomic experimentation is afoot. Mr. McAnuff's staging is a co-production with English National Opera, who premiered it in 2010.

Faust will be sung by Jonas Kaufmann, the German tenor whose star has been on the rise at the Met, thanks to a 2010 appearance as Cavaradossi in Tosca and as Siegmund, the best performance in the company's troubled new staging of Die Walküre.

Méphistophélès will be sung by Rene Pape, the handsome German bass. Mr. Pape has the right voice for this part, capable of velvet singing and dark evil required to play the incarnation of evil. In fact, he was the best thing about the 2005 production. And since this is a new staging, he won't have to wear costumes like this one.

Soon after the season was announced, Angela Gheorghiu abruptly cancelled her appearances as Marguerite. The tempestuous Romanian diva cited "creative differences" with the production. (We suspect that she thought she was appearing in the Serban staging when she signed the papers.) However, the role will be sung by soprano Marina Popvlaskaya, who rose to prominence with last season's performances in Don Carlo and La Traviata.

Recording Recommendations:
Faust was the most popular opera in the world at the start of the 20th century, and has been recorded frequently. The rash of (crappy) all-star Faust recordings (featuring big names like Sutherland, Domingo, Te Kanawa, etc.) that appeared in the '70s, '80s and '90s can be safely dismissed, in favor of....

Orchestre Et Choeur Du Théatre National De l'Opéra De Paris cond. Andre Cluytens (EMI, 1959)
Faust: Nicolai Gedda
Méphistophélès: Boris Christoff
Marguerite: Victoria de los Angeles

This is a stereo remake of a mono recording from five years before with the same cast. It remains the best recording of the opera available. Nicolai Gedda is brilliant as Faust. The Swedish tenor sounds at home in French repertory. De Los Angeles (a famous Carmen) is a velvety Marguerite. The Bulgarian bass Boris Christoff tends to snarl and bark through the role of Old Scratch, but he makes up for it with a spectacularly sinister presence. At an attractive mid-price, this is only Faust to own. Yes. I sound like the Penguin Guide. But it's really good.

Return to the Metropolitan Opera Season Preview!

Devil in a Black Dress

René Pape as Mephistopheles at Covent Garden.
Photo © 2011 Royal Opera at Covent Garden

Rene Pape breaks out the new Fall line for Faust.

The opera blogosphere is buzzing today over this photo from the revival of David McVicar's 2004 Covent Garden production of Gounod's Faust. The opera  had its season premiere on Sept. 18.

The German bass-baritone sings the role of Méphistophelès, the devil who spends five acts negotiates for possession of the title character's soul. The Prince of Darkness is less successful in his attempts to ensnare Marguerite (Faust's love interest.) But by the looks of things, he manages to acquire the soul of her couturier.

René Pape (seated) as Mephistopheles at the Met.
Photo by Marty Sohl © 2005 The Metropolitan Opera

The dress shows up in the Walpurgisnacht scene in Act IV, a huge ballet sequence with Méphistophelès leading all of the demonic powers of hell in a terpsichorean celebration of how cool it is to be the Devil. Most productions, including stagings at the Met over the last three decades leave the sequence out entirely.

Whatever one thinks of Mr. Pape playing the Devil in drag, the sartorial results are infinitely better than the 2005 production of Faust mounted at the Met. This production put the German bass in a clumsy, rubber suit covered with fake, rippling muscles.

This monstrosity (for there is no other word) appeared in the Church scene the intense moment in Act III where Méphistophelès tries to collect Marguerite's soul. The costume was a visual reference to William Blake's famous painting, The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun.

The result: an audience that couldn't stop laughing during the church scene in Act IV. Their laughter was audible during the live broadcast.

The production appeared for one season, and was never revived.

Its replacement arrives at the Met this November, a collaborative staging between the Met and the English National Opera. The staging (by Jersey Boys director Dez McAnuff) reimagines Faust as a metaphor for the creation of the atomic bomb in the mid-20th century.

Mr. Pape will reprising the role of the devil at the Metropolitan Opera opposite tenor Jonas Kaufmann and soprano Marina Poplavskaya in the role of Marguerite. Luckily for the singer, the Devil in this staging gets to wear some nice white and black suits and a collection of spiffy hats. Ms. Poplavskaya was a late replacement for Angela Gheorghiu, who was to sing Marguerite but backed out earlier this year.

There is no word yet on whether the Walpurgisnacht ballet will be included. But if it is, wouldn't it be cool if René Pape showed up in a radiation suit?

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb?

Tenor Cancels Japan Tour for Medical Check.

UPDATE: Tenor Jonas Kaufmann has cancelled his commitment to sing in an upcoming tour of Japan with the Bavarian State Opera, but will meet New York commitments including Faust and Die Walküre.

Jonas Kaufmann as Siegmund.
Photo by Ken Howard.
© 2010 The Metropolitan Opera.

In a statement, the tenor wrote:

I need to have an operation to remove a node in my thoracic area. I do not wish anyone to become alarmed reading this, but my physicians have ordered me to have the surgery as soon as possible. This will take place after my appearance in Stockholm on September 2. I am pretty sure that the results of the histological examination will come up "benign" but as I said, this procedure could not be further delayed.

Mr. Kaufmann was scheduled to sing the role of Don José, and the title role in Lohengrin. He will be replaced in the latter by South African tenor Johan Botha.

Mr. Kaufmann is scheduled to sing the title role in the Metropolitan Opera's new staging of Faust, which premieres on Nov. 29. This new staging is by Jersey Boys director Dez McAnuff and was first presented at the English National Opera.

 Mr. McAnuff updates Gounod's opera to the 20th century and the birth of the atomic bomb. already seen one cancellation: Angela Gheorghiu nixed her commitment to it earlier this year, citing "artistic differences."

The tenor burned up the stage in 2011 in the role of Siegmund in the company's new production of Die Walküre. Mr. Kaufmann is currently signed to reprise the role of Siegmund in three performances of Walküre, part of the company's complete staging of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen.

We here at Superconductor would like to wish Mr. Kaufmann a speedy recovery, and we hope that his prognosis is good.