Opera ‘Faust’ in San José

The National Theater is selling its soul for an upcoming production by the National Lyrical Company, an operatic version of Wolfgang von Goethe’s classic “Faust” by French composer Charles Gounod. The first of six show dates is on July 27.

The production, by stage director Stefano Poda and musical director Ramiro Ramírez, stars Spanish tenor José Luis Sola as Faust, German soprano Birgit Beer as his lover Margarita and Bulgarian bass Vesselin Stoykov debuting in Costa Rica as Mephistopheles.

“The three leads are great,” said Marcela Lizano, assistant musical director and member of the chorus. “Combined with the visual elements it is a top class show. The visual part is amazing.”

This is not the National Theater’s first deal with the devil. The opera was put on by the Compagnie d’Opéra Française for the theater’s opening on Oct. 21, 1897.

“It’s a very special occasion,” Lizano said. “We have the opportunity to do it again, and it’s an opera that speaks a lot about the human condition. It’s going to be a magnificent show.”

Tickets are still available (National Theater, 2221-5341) for all dates and range in price from ¢1,000 ($1.90) to ¢25,000 ($48).