Heartbeat Opera's Faust: an economical deal with the devil

John Taylor Ward (Méphistophélès) and Orson Van Gay II (Faust)

John Taylor Ward (Méphistophélès) and Rachel Kobernick (Marguerite)

Orson Van Gay II (Faust)

Rachel Kobernick (Marguerite) and AddieRose Brown (Siébel)

By Kurt Gottschalk, 18 May 2025

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“Gounod’s polyphony in particular was rendered beautifully”

Reviewed at Baruch College: Baruch Performing Arts Center, New York City on 15 May 2025

Gounod, Faust (arr. Francisco Ladrón de Guevara)

Heartbeat Opera

Jacob Ashworth, Conductor

Sara Holdren, Director

Yichen Zhou, Set Designer, Lighting Designer

Elivia Bovenzi Blitz, Costume Designer

Forest Entsminger, Set Designer

Orson Van Gay II, Faust

Rachel Kobernick, Marguerite

John Taylor Ward, Méphistophélès

Alex DeSocio, Valentin

AddieRose Brown, Siebel

Eliza Bonet, Marthe

Brandon Bell, Wagner

Shockingly good fun: Heartbeat Opera’s Salome

Kevin W Ng, 11th February

Heartbeat Opera’s chamber Salome marries musical ingenuity with dramatic clarity at The Space at Irondale.

*****

Queer longing: Heartbeat Opera's bold Onegin

Kevin W Ng, 4th April

A strong young cast heads Dustin Wills' reimagining of Eugene Onegin for New York's most innovative opera company, Heartbeat Opera.

***11

A powerful, imperfect Tosca relocated to Tehran

Kurt Gottschalk, 11th April

Last year, the upstart Heartbeat Opera impressively reimagined Fidelio for the Black Lives Matter era. Their new Tosca places the tragic opera about an opera singer in a land where women have been banned from singing.

***11

LvB meets #BLM in Heartbeat Opera's Fidelio

Kurt Gottschalk, 10th February

Heartbeat’s Fidelio is a dramatic reworking in every sense of the term. It’s bold and unflinching, borrowing from Beethoven to tell tales too horrible to tell.

****1

Irish National Opera’s new Rusalka intrigues more than it convinces

Andrew Larkin, 22nd March

Netia Jones’ modern reimagining intrigues more than it convinces, but still makes a strong case for Dvořák’s dark fairy tale.

***11

Magnifying Glass: a magnificent Les Enfants terribles in Lille

Elena Luporini, 20th March

A new production of Les Enfants terribles at the Opéra de Lille drags the audience into a terribly marvelous labyrinth, courtesy of conductor Virginie Déjos and directors Matthias Piro and Lisa Moro.

*****

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Kurt Gottschalk

Kurt Gottschalk is a journalist and author based in New York City. His writings on contemporary and classical music, jazz and improvisation have been published in outlets throughout Europe and America and he has two volumes of short fiction to his name. He produced and hosted the Miniature Minotaurs radio programme on WFMU and currently hosts Afternoon New Music on WKCR.