Peerless bass René Pape - honored last season as a "Mastersinger" by the Metropolitan Opera for such triumphs as his universally acclaimed Boris Godunov - launches his 2011-12 season on September 18, when he stars as Méphistophélès in the all-star David McVicar production of Gounod's Faust at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The Covent Garden Faust runs until October 10, with the September 28 performance to be beamed live into cinemas around the world. Already lauded in Europe as "unquestionably magnificent" (Guardian, UK), Pape's latest Deutsche Grammophon solo album, titled Wagner Arias, will be released in the U.S. on October 4. And the German singer crosses the Atlantic to play the Devil again in another starry production of Faust, this time at the Metropolitan Opera, in the Des McAnuff staging that runs from November 29 to January 19.
Hailing Pape's role debut as Méphistophélès at the Met, Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times said, "He already owns the role. His singing is robust, incisive, and chilling." Martin Bernheimer went further in the Financial Times:"The evening was stolen...by René Pape, the powerful, playfully sardonic Méphistophélès. His basso, more cantante than profondo, rolled, roared, and crooned, as needed, with easy insinuation. Strutting through the evil charades with a different costume from a different period in each scene, he underplayed the menace, and doubled its impact. This devil got his due."At Covent Garden, Pape stars in Faust alongside Angela Gheorghiu as Marguerite, Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Valentin, and Vittorio Grigolo as Faust, with Evelino Pidò conducting. The live cinema simulcast on September 28 will be shown in more than 100 movie theaters in the U.S. alone. In Faust at the Met, Pape shares the stage with Marina Poplavskaya (Marguerite), Russell Braun (Valentin), and Jonas Kaufmann (Faust), with Yannick Nézet-Séguin on the podium.Videos