I saw Faust last night at the Metropolitan Opera House, with standing room tickets for $15. That's a long time to stand, but the opera was very good. What I found most amusing was the pontificating of the local elite wannabees, talking to their friends louder than necessary to make sure everyone around them was aware of how discerning and clever they are.
"After the third Act, it fell apart" opined the Ward Churchhill lookalike with the black scarf around his neck [in MAY!!!]. He continued: "It was such a blatant propoganda piece for Christianity, with the coffins and the crosses. Ridiculous. Why was she [Margueritte in this French itteration, Gretchen in Goethe's origional] in prison? She was seduced, she did nothing wrong"
Hello? She killed her bastard child. Now, maybe today that's acceptable, but way back then people took offense to infanticide.
Another keen observation, this one by an overmakeup'd woman trying to look too young: "The depiction of heaven, with the white and the angels ... so cliched. And Faust, what did he do wrong? Why didn't he get to go to heaven?"
He sold his soul to the devil.
Ahh, it was a nice way to spend an evening nevertheless.
