Dina Cancryn, vocal soloist

Regarded as Gounod’s greatest work, Faust premiered in 1859 and has since remained a staple in the operatic repertoire. The story of Faust is based on a German legend which warns of the price of greed and sacrificing one’s values for material gain. The story’s protagonist, Faust, is an old scholar who feels he has wasted his life in his pursuit of knowledge. The demon Mephistopheles finds him and offers him his youth again in exchange for his soul. After accepting the pact, he embarks on his new hedonistic life, eventually falling in love with a village girl (Marguerite), realizing true fulfillment, and breaking free of his pact through redemption. The “Jewel Song” is sung by Marguerite after Mephistopheles delivers a trove of jewels as a gift on behalf of her admirer, Faust.

Charles Gounod was born in Paris, France in 1818 to a very artistic family. His father was a painter, and his mother was an established pianist, from whom he took his first music lessons. Gounod is renowned for his contributions to sacred music, but he is most readily known as a prolific composer of opera, having written such as Sapho, La Colombe, and Faust.

Program note researched and written by Cameron Wilson