Almost forty years after the creation of La Damnation de Faust by Hector Berlioz, Raoul Gunsbourg, brilliant director of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, provided a resounding answer to the dilemma that captured the musical world of the 19th century: was La Damnation de Faust an oratorio, (dramatic legend) as announced, or a real work intended for the theater? By directing the work of Berlioz, Gunsbourg freed himself from a taboo and accomplished a masterstroke. The Monegasque stage, known as a luxurious opera house where one could admire the most famous voices of the time, was then placed in the heart of Europe as an intense center of creation. The impact of this first iconoclastic and phantasmagorical production assures a special place for Berlioz's work on the international operatic stage.

On the occasion of the centenary of Albert I, it seemed more than appropriate for the Opéra de Monte-Carlo to return to this founding event with a contemporary eye.

Choir of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo

Children's Choir of the Académie de Musique Rainier III

Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra

Music by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

Original libretto by Hector Berlioz and Almire Gandonnière based on the translation of Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe by Gérard de Nerval

Creation: Opéra-Comique, Paris, December 6, 1846

A new production

World premiere of the stage version at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, February 18, 1893

Last of the stage version at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, February 11, 1969

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In parallel with this event, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo is offering an exhibition on Raoul Gunsbourg, from November 14 to 25, 2022, from noon to 7.00pm. Espace Indigo. Admission is free.