By Barney Zwartz
Bryn Terfel is used to making a dramatic impact, but it is usually by his own merits. When Terfel, one of the world's leading bass-baritones, sang in The Damnation of Faust with Sir Andrew Davis at the Proms a few years ago, he made quite another impact as well.
Sir Andrew, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's chief conductor, recalls that when Terfel sang the Song of the Flea and reached the line 'let's squash the flea', he stamped his foot very hard – right on top of a microphone. And not his own, but the unfortunate tenor's.
Bryn Terfel, right, with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conductor Bramwell Tovey at rehearsals on Thursday.Credit: Eddie Jim.
The only problem with this entertaining tale is that Terfel is quite certain Sir Andrew is remembering the wrong bass. "That really never did happen," he says. "I've only done Faust with Sir Andrew in Norway."
Either way, there is no prospect of such a catastrophe when the pair join forces again at Hamer Hall to perform Berlioz's astounding and visionary work because – unlike at London's giant Albert Hall – there will be no microphones.
Bryn Terfel is again joining forces with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra chief conductor Sir Andrew Davis.Credit: Gary LaPersonne
Goethe's account of Faust's pact with the devil to win Marguerite became emblematic of the Romantic era in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Gounod and Busoni both wrote operas about Faust, and Schumann wrote a set of scenes. Berlioz's version is neither opera nor oratorio – he called it a dramatic legend.
"It's two hours. As concerts go, it's long; as operas go, it's short," Davis says. "It's a wonderful 19th century melodrama that displays the orchestra brilliantly – the Hungarian march, the delicate Dance of the Sylphs, the Minuet of the Will o'the Wisps, the fantastic movement called the Ride to the Abyss, where we see the horses galloping, and the scene in hell."
Terfel sings Mephistopheles, and says his role "glues the piece together with flashing recitative and humorous arias".
His main challenge, he says, is singing in French, a language he finds less natural for him than Italian or German. "You have to be very careful, because the language has to be as colloquial as possible. I should have studied harder at school – it's a very beautiful language to sing in."
Faust is a mammoth piece for the conductor, Terfel says. "Every conductor I've done it with adores the piece. It so dramatic."
Sir Andrew agrees it is a formidable work, with its seven-part choir and massive scale. "You have to know what you are doing – it's tricky. You have to be able to coordinate the forces and there's some very important tempo changes that have to be made to work. I love it, it's a big challenge but I thrive on it."
Part of the challenge for Sir Andrew is his schedule: flying from Los Angeles to Chicago to Brisbane to Melbourne, arriving at noon and rehearsing three hours later.
He says Berlioz treats The Damnation of Faust rather like he treats Romeo and Juliet. "He does it as a symphony, mostly orchestral, with the big love scene just for the orchestra. There are vocal scenes, but Berlioz doesn't tell the story. He assumes everyone knows the story, and they just need to know what he feels about it.
"In Faust, the chorus writing is fantastic and very virtuosic – rambunctious, lively, fast, and with most delicate and beautiful moments also. The two great arias for the mezzo are the most beautiful arias he wrote – haunting, really. You never know what to expect with Berlioz, he is constantly surprising you."
Sir Andrew is delighted with the Melbourne cast. "We have a great soloist signing Mephistopheles in Bryn Terfel. We have a young English tenor whose singing I like very much [Andrew Staples] and a lovely Marguerite [mezzo Renata Pokupić]."
The Melbourne Symphony Chorus will be augmented by the men of the Sydney Philharmonia Choir.
Terfel will sing a rare staged performance of the work in Paris later this year, with Jonas Kaufmann, one of the world's most exciting and versatile tenors, who came to Melbourne last year – for which Terfel claims part of the credit.
"I sold Australia to Jonas a year ago. I said, 'You have to come here, the musical welcome is second to none.' It's much easier to travel to Australia now, it's like flying to New York."
A further challenge is that Terfel is moving to the Berlioz straight after singing Broadway classics with Lisa McCune on Saturday and Sunday – a pronounced change in style. But he is unconcerned.
"It's as if I was doing a miscellaneous concert in Wales when I was 17 years old. This was the repertoire people wanted to hear. There are no rules or regulations for the human voice. If you can do Broadway tunes or the second act of [Wagner's Die] Walkure – which for me is the most difficult ever written – you should give both equal care and attention."
Bryn Terfel sings Broadway Classics with Lisa McCune at Hamer Hall on March 14 and 15, and performs in The Damnation of Faust with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall on March 20 and 21.