This performance quickly goes to the top of the list of available recordings of this opera. Here, in acceptable sound, we get the elegant Faust of Richard Crooks, obeying all of Gounod’s dynamic markings (the final bars of “Salut demeure” are taken down a half-tone, but Crooks makes up for it with a stunning high B, sung piano, as asked for) and working the text with absolute conviction; the womanly (rather than girlish) Marguerite of soprano Helen Jepson, who invades the character fully; and the breathtaking Mefistofeles of Ezio Pinza, who simultaneously reeks charm and malevolence and sings with absolute sophistication and handsome tone. Add to these plusses Leonard Warren’s burnished, passionate Valentin and Wilfred Pelletier’s knowing leadership, and you get an absolutely first-rate Faust. Go for it! [9/23/1999]
