FAUST
VANCOUVER OPERA | STUDY GUIDE
LESSON TWO: REPEATED STORIES – THE LEGEND OF DOCTOR FAUSTUS Category:
Before & After Performance/In- Depth
Overview: Gounod’s Faust is part of a long tradition of historical texts. Perhaps the most significant ones are Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus (c. 1588-1593); Goethe’s Faust (c. 1772-1832); and Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus (1947). Objective:
To compare the different iterations of the Faust legends and prepare students to see the opera.
Materials: • Summaries of the three works above, available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goethe%27s_Faust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_(play) Lesson: 1. Briefly explain to the students that the character of Doctor Faustus has a long history; ask them to sit in a circle on the floor and read the synopses on the Wikipedia pages, above. Students can be numbered one through three, and each can tell the story of a single version to the other people in the class. 2. Group students so that each group has one student who has read a different text (i.e., each group should have one student who was a “one,” in the previous activity, one student who was a “two,” and one student who was a “three”). Ask each group to talk about how the different versions of the story are different and/ or similar.
3. Have the students compare their answers via a table on the board.
4. Now ask the students to talk about if they would exchange their souls for any kind of worldly wealth, riches, or youth. Ask them to impersonate Faust and to write a short, poetic sonnet around whether they would accept the devil’s bargain or not.
5. Students can read their poems to the class.
6. End the class with the following questions: Why do you think the theme of a “bargain with the devil” has been so popular over the years? Lesson: Encourage students read about Dr. Faustus’s appearance in Marvel Comics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Faustus_(comics)
Students could create their own comic book, or art, based on the bargain with the devil. They could also analyze how popular culture has adapted a character with such a long history. Students could discuss whether this adaptation is successful or not.
PHOTO BY YVES RENAUD
8
vancouveropera.ca