Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Valentin's aria from act II of Gounod's opera Faust. Find out more at Charles-François Gounod’s Faust was once one of the most famous and most performed of all operas: at Covent Garden it was heard every season between 1863 and 1911. Jules Barbier and Michel Carré’s libretto is a tale of romance, temptation, and the age-old battle between satanic powers and religion. It is based on Carré’s play Faust et Marguerite, which in turn is based on Part I of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s dramatic poem Faust, one of the great works of European literature.
David McVicar’s lavish production, first seen in 2004, sets the action in the Paris of Gounod’s later years, on the eve of the Franco-Prussian War. Charles Edwards’s designs include a memorable Cabaret d’Enfer and an impressive reconstruction of the Church of Saint-Séverin. They vividly convey the clash between religion and hedonistic entertainment, and provide a powerful backdrop to Gounod’s score. Faust contains much-loved musical highlights including the memorable Soldiers’ Chorus, Méphistophélès’s rowdy ‘Song of the Golden Calf’, and Marguerite’s Jewel Song with its dazzling coloratura. The opera’s final scene includes an impassioned trio between Faust, Marguerite and Méphistophélès, as Marguerite struggles to resist temptation and gain salvation.
Watch videos with other singers performing Avant de quitter ces lieux:
VALENTIN Avant de quitter ces lieux, Sol natal de mes aïeux A toi, seigneur et Roi des cieux Ma sœur je confie, Daigne de tout danger Toujours, toujours la protéger Cette sœur si cherie! Délivré d'une triste pensée J'irai chercher la gloire, la gloire au seins des ennemis, Le premier, le plus brave au fort de la mêlée, J'irai combattre pour mon pays. Et si vers lui, Dieu me rappelle, Je veillerai sur toi fidèle, O Marguerite!
Avant de quitter ces lieux, Sol natal de mes aïeux, A toi, seigneur et Roi des cieux, Ma sœur je confie! O Roi des cieux, jette les yeux, Protège Marguerite, Roi des cieux!
English Libretto or Translation:
VALENTIN Before I leave this town, My forefathers' native place, To you, Lord and King of Heaven, Do I entrust my sister. I beg you to defend her From every peril, My beloved sister. Freed from this harrowing thought, I shall seek glory in the enemy's ranks, The first, the bravest, in the thick of the fray, I shall go and fight for my country. And if God should call me to his side, I shall faithfully watch over you, O Marguerite. Before I leave, etc. O King of Heaven, hear my prayer And defend Marguerite, O King of Heaven.