Bryn Terfel brings his diabolically good Baritone down under.

Saturday 23 March
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne

Melbournians were treated to a rare operatic gem last weekend, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performing one of Berlioz’s most exciting and challenging works, the concert-opera La damnation de Faust. The treat was made all the more delectable thanks to the inclusion of one of opera’s biggest names today, the indefatigable Bryn Terfel.

After gracing Melbourne’s Hamer Hall stage a week earlier to perform Broadway hits, Bryn was back in a decidedly different, and more devilish, role. As the terrifying Mephistophélès, the Welsh bass-baritone delivered a robust and powerful performance, throwing around his operatic muscle like it was easy as pie. British tenor Andrew Staples was a fine Faust, particularly during the work’s lighter moments, though against the sound of Terfel’s mighty baritone his more dramatic efforts came off a little forced. Croatian mezzo-soprano Renata Pokupić, with her rich, middle register, brought a radiant warmth to the role of Faust’s doomed love, Marguerite. Australian Shane Lowrencev’s burly bass lent a lighter spirit to the role of Brander.

The orchestra, under the enthusiastic leadership of Sir Andrew Davis, produced a strong reading of the work that shaped all the dramatic highs and lows of Berlioz’s captivating score. A special mention to viola and cor anglais soloists for the evening, Kyle Armbrust and Michael Pisani respectively, for their fine performances. The Melbourne Symphony Chorus was also in top form, filled out by male members of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs – which came in handy particularly in male-dominated numbers like the part two drinking song.

In comparison to his romantically charged Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz’s immense concert-opera is a rarity on concert programs. The work packs plenty of punch, though it’s a good hour and a half before the fun really starts and all hell breaks loose, literally. In the final scenes, Faust, who has foolishly abandoned his love, returns to the countryside to wallow in his own boredom and self-pity. The Devil appears, warning him that Marguerite is to hang for her Mother’s murder. Signing away his soul in payment for the Devil’s help, Faust unwittingly dooms himself to an eternity in Hell, as the music takes a dramatic turn.

Here, the orchestra shifted gears to play surely some of the most exciting music Berlioz ever penned. The violins, with perfectly ricocheting bows, began the chase. Trombones and bassoons, joined by the bass clarinet and tubas, bellowed like lumbering beasts in pursuit of the damned Faust, while the warped shrieks of woodwinds depicted monstrous birds. The tension grew and grew, and then at Terfel’s terrifying words, “Je suis vainqueur!” (I have won!), the orchestra broke out into jaw-dropping pandemonium, with raucous brass and percussion crashing forth to underscore the Devil’s triumph.

Rounding out this dramatic apotheosis, a glorious choir of angels, performed stunningly by the choruses, welcomed the soul of Marguerite to heaven. Soloist Dimity Shepherd sang clearly and beautifully from the lofts above the orchestra, intoning the name, “Margarita”, like a shining beacon over the shimmering orchestral texture.

The performance was brilliant, save for one major issue: the decision to not include surtitles. While this allowed more focus to be drawn to the soloists and the music – and the music should stand well on its own (which thankfully, it did) – the lack of any printed libretto (it was also absent from the program) meant much of the work’s extramusical content was lost. For a work that’s hardly well known, not to mention its confusing plot, this was a significant detractor.

That said, the superb performances of the soloists and the orchestra and choirs, under the dynamic leadership of Sir Andrew Davis, made this reading of ‘La Damnation’ a thrilling success.