As Arizona Opera prepares its world premiere performances of Gounod’s "Faust," stage director Bernard Uzan explains why this centuries-old tale of a man selling his soul is fitting for 2011 audiences.

When we reach a certain age, would or will we sell our soul to the devil for youth? Do we think about the last 35 years of our life and what we will do differently? Do we have regrets? Do we have remorse? Do we enjoy the memory of some of our successes? Do we hope to enjoy more future success?

The legend of "Faust" is one of the most valued and essential myths of society in the western world. It is timeless; it concerns the basic preoccupations of humanity—morality, love and passion. Since the beginning of time and even 200 years from now, humanity will deal with mortality and old age, and will consequently always try to find ways to escape the final chapter.
 

That is the basic reason why I decided to update this opera.
 

When Gounod wrote "Faust," only the first part of Goethe’s dramatic poem of the same name had been translated in France. This is why the opera concludes after Marguerite’s chapter, but nevertheless, it deals with the main desires of Faust, to once again find youth, love and life’s pleasures.
 

In this production, we are maintaining the basic settings of the opera, but they are transposed to today’s sensitivities. The village fair becomes a bar/nightclub, Marguerite’s garden a flower shop and the prison a mental institution.  All of this is under the power of Mefisto, who will appear as a bartender, a delivery man and a doctor. He even materializes as a priest in the church scene, which turns out not to be a real church, but instead a trap set by Mefisto to torment Marguerite.
 

Of course, the costumes will support a modern approach with some obvious imitation and parodies of today’s fashion. I am also utilizing projections in order to support, comment or illustrate some ideas and thoughts of the characters throughout. But they are never used to replace the words or the music itself. While we have transposed the settings, the production stays faithful to the spirit of the opera and, most importantly, to the music and the meaning of the text.