Having enjoyed this performance for many years in its LP incarnation, rehearing it on CD brings a measure of disappointment. All three soloists sing very well if perhaps not very idiomatically, with Domingo an aptly heroic Faust, Minton (always reliable and underrated) a lovely Marguerite, and Fischer-Dieskau an aptly suave and sly Mephistopheles. Barenboim’s conducting also brings its share of thrills, and you’ll enjoy the way he really whips up the orchestra at the scene in Pandemonium. Indeed, all of the purely orchestral bits (Hungarian March, Ballet of the Sylphs) have plenty of character and atmosphere.
However, there are two liabilities. First, the sloppy work of the chorus: granted, there’s room for a little tomfoolery in the Tavern scene, and the sheer volume of the demons in Pandemonium is impressive; but elsewhere the lack of precision and tonal homogeneity may prove bothersome. Second, the sonics (never wonderful) haven’t transferred particularly well; the big climaxes suffer from changes in instrumental perspective (recessed percussion especially) that did not afflict the LPs to quite such a degree. Still, it’s good to have this performance available again.
