At the Opera di Firenze, director Bruno Ravella adapted a production of Gounod’s Faust, based on David McVicar’s 2004 staging for Covent Garden, to suit the resources of the city’s state-of-the-art Teatro dell’Opera.
First impressions of Charles Edwards’
period sets and Brigitte Reiffenstauel’s sumptuous costumes seemed rather oldfashioned, but this quickly changed as the opera proceeded, as surprise followed surprise in a gripping sequence of events.