''Faust'' is a

tragic Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

in two parts by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

, usually known in English as ''

Faust, Part One ''Faust: A Tragedy'' (german: Faust. Eine Tragödie, links=no, , or aust. The tragedy's first part is the first part of the tragic play ''Faust'' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and is considered by many as the greatest work of German literature ...

'' and ''

Faust, Part Two ''Faust: The Second Part of the Tragedy'' (german: Faust. Der Tragödie zweiter Teil in fünf Akten.) is the second part of the tragic play ''Faust'' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It was published in 1832, the year of Goethe's death. Only part o ...

''. Nearly all of Part One and the majority of Part Two are written in rhymed verse. Although rarely staged in its entirety, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages. ''Faust'' is considered by many to be Goethe's ''

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

'' and the greatest work of

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...

. The earliest forms of the work, known as the ''Urfaust'', were developed between 1772 and 1775; however, the details of that development are not entirely clear. ''Urfaust'' has twenty-two scenes, one in prose, two largely prose and the remaining 1,441 lines in rhymed verse. The manuscript is lost, but a copy was discovered in 1886. The first appearance of the work in print was ''Faust, a Fragment'', published in 1790. Goethe completed a preliminary version of what is now known as ''Part One'' in 1806. Its publication in 1808 was followed by the revised 1828–29 edition, the last to be edited by Goethe himself. Goethe finished writing ''Faust, Part Two'' in 1831; it was published posthumously the following year. In contrast to ''Faust, Part One'', the focus here is no longer on the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

of Faust, which has been sold to the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

, but rather on social phenomena such as

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, in addition to mystical and philosophical topics. The second part formed the principal occupation of Goethe's last years.

Nomenclature

The original 1808 German title page of Goethe's play read simply: "Faust. / Eine Tragödie" ("Faust. / A Tragedy"). The addition of "erster Teil" (in English, "Part One") was retrospectively applied by publishers when the sequel was published in 1832 with a title page which read: "Faust. / Der Tragödie zweiter Teil" ("Faust. / The Tragedy's Second Part"). The two plays have been published in English under a number of titles, and are usually referred to as ''Faust'', Parts One and Two.

''Faust, Part One''

The principal characters of ''Faust Part One'' include: * Heinrich Faust, a scholar, sometimes said to be based on

Johann Georg Faust Johann Georg Faust (; c. 1480 or 1466 – c. 1541), also known in English as John Faustus , was a German itinerant alchemist, astrologer, and magician of the German Renaissance. ''Doctor Faust'' became the subject of folk legend in the ...

, or on

Jacob Bidermann Jacob Bidermann (1578 – 20 August 1639) was born in the Austrian (at that time) village of Ehingen, about 30 miles southwest of Ulm. He was a Jesuit priest and professor of theology, but is remembered mostly for his plays. He had a talent fo ...

's dramatized account of the ''Legend of the Doctor of Paris'', ''

Cenodoxus ''Cenodoxus'' is one of several miracle plays by Jacob Bidermann, an early 17th-century German Jesuit and prolific playwright. Jacob Bidermann's treatment of the Legend of the Doctor of Paris is generally regarded as one of the inspirations for ...

''; see also

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

Mephistopheles Mephistopheles (, ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character (see: Mephistopheles i ...

, the

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...

* Gretchen, Faust's love (short for Margarete; Goethe uses both forms) * Marthe Schwerdtlein, Gretchen's neighbour * Valentin, Gretchen's brother * Wagner, Faust's attendant ''Faust, Part One'' takes place in multiple settings, the first of which is

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

. Mephistopheles (Satan) makes a bet with God: he says that he can lure God's favourite human being (Faust), who is striving to learn everything that can be known, away from righteous pursuits. The next scene takes place in Faust's study where Faust, despairing at the vanity of scientific, humanistic, and religious learning, turns to magic for the showering of infinite knowledge. He suspects, however, that his attempts are failing. Frustrated, he ponders suicide, but rejects it as he hears the echo of nearby

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

celebrations begin. He goes for a walk with his assistant Wagner and is followed home by a stray

poodle , nickname = , stock = , country = Germany or France (see history) , height = , maleheight = , femaleheight = , weight = , maleweight = , femaleweight = , coat ...

. In Faust's study, the poodle transforms into Mephistopheles. He proposes a wager to Faust: If Mephistopheles can grant Faust a moment of transcendence on Earth, a moment that he wishes to remain forever, then he will instantly die and serve the Devil in

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

. Faust does not believe that Mephistopheles can accomplish this and accepts the wager. When Mephistopheles tells Faust to sign the pact with blood, Faust complains that Mephistopheles does not trust Faust's word of honor. In the end, Mephistopheles wins the argument and Faust signs the contract with a drop of his own blood. Faust has a few excursions and then meets Margaret (also known as Gretchen). He is attracted to her and with jewelry and with help from a neighbor, Marthe, Mephistopheles draws Gretchen into Faust's arms. With Mephistopheles' aid, Faust seduces Gretchen. Gretchen's mother dies from a sleeping

potion A potion () is a liquid "that contains medicine, poison, or something that is supposed to have magic powers.” It derives from the Latin word ''potus'' which referred to a drink or drinking. The term philtre is also used, often specifically ...

, administered by Gretchen to obtain privacy so that Faust could visit her. Gretchen discovers she is pregnant. Gretchen's brother condemns Faust, challenges him and falls dead at the hands of Faust and Mephistopheles. Gretchen drowns her illegitimate child and is convicted of the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. Faust tries to save Gretchen from death by attempting to free her from prison. Finding that she refuses to escape, Faust and Mephistopheles flee the dungeon, while voices from Heaven announce that Gretchen shall be saved – "" – this differs from the harsher ending of ''Urfaust'' – "" – "she is condemned."

''Faust, Part Two''

Rich in classical allusion, in ''Part Two'' the romantic story of the first Faust is put aside, and Faust wakes in a field of fairies to initiate a new cycle of adventures and purpose. The piece consists of five acts (relatively isolated episodes) each representing a different theme. Ultimately, Faust goes to Heaven, for he loses only half of the bet. Angels, who arrive as messengers of divine mercy, declare at the end of Act V: "He who strives on and lives to strive / Can earn redemption still" (V, 11936–7).

Relationship between the parts

Throughout ''Part One'', Faust remains unsatisfied; the ultimate conclusion of the tragedy and the outcome of the wagers are only revealed in ''Faust, Part Two''. The first part represents the "small world" and takes place in Faust's own local, temporal milieu. In contrast, ''Part Two'' takes place in the "wide world" or ''macrocosmos''.

Translations

In 1821, a partial English verse translation of ''Faust'' (Part One) was published anonymously by the London publisher Thomas Boosey and Sons, with illustrations by the German engraver

Moritz Retzsch Friedrich August Moritz Retzsch (December 9, 1779 - June 11, 1857) was a German painter, draughtsman, and etcher. Retzsch was born in the Saxon capital Dresden. He joined the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts in 1798 under Cajetan Toscani and Józ ...

. This translation was attributed to the English poet

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

by Frederick Burwick and James C. McKusick in their 2007 Oxford University Press edition, ''Faustus: From the German of Goethe, Translated by Samuel Taylor Coleridge''. In a letter dated 4 September 1820, Goethe wrote to his son August that Coleridge was translating ''Faust''. However, this attribution is controversial:

Roger Paulin Roger Paulin is an emeritus professor of German at the University of Cambridge. He was the Schröder Professor of German from 1989 to 2005. In 2002 he was awarded a Humboldt Prize. References External links

* Year of birth missing (l ...

, William St. Clair, and

Elinor Shaffer Elinor Shaffer (born 1935) FBA is a professor at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, honorary professor at University College, London, editor of the Comparative Literature series of Legenda (imprint), and editor of ''Reception of ...

provide a lengthy rebuttal to Burwick and McKusick, offering evidence including Coleridge's repeated denials that he had ever translated ''Faustus'' and arguing that Goethe's letter to his son was based on misinformation from a third party. Coleridge's fellow Romantic

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

produced admired fragments of a translation first publishing Part One Scene II in ''The Liberal'' magazine in 1822, with "Scene I" (in the original, the "Prologue in Heaven") being published in the first edition of his ''Posthumous Poems'' by

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic fiction, Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of scie ...

in 1824. * In 1828, at the age of twenty,

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...

published a French translation of Goethe's ''Faust''. * In 1850, Anna Swanwick released an English translation of ''Part One''. In 1878, she published a translation of ''Part Two''. Her translation is considered among the best. * In 1870–71, Bayard Taylor published an English translation in the original

metres The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

. * Calvin Thomas: ''Part One'' (1892) and ''Part Two'' (1897) for D. C. Heath. * Alice Raphael: ''Part One'' (1930) for Jonathan Cape. *

Guo Moruo Guo Moruo (; November 16, 1892 – June 12, 1978), courtesy name Dingtang (), was a Chinese author, poet, historian, archaeologist, and government official. Biography Family history Guo Moruo, originally named Guo Kaizhen, was born on November ...

: ''Part One'' (1928) and ''Part Two'' (1947) into Chinese. * Philosopher Walter Kaufmann was also known for an English translation of ''Faust'', presenting Part One in its entirety, with selections from Part Two, and omitted scenes extensively summarized. Kaufmann's version preserves Goethe's metres and rhyme schemes, but objected to translating all of Part Two into English, believing that "To let Goethe speak English is one thing; to transpose into English his attempt to imitate Greek poetry in German is another." * Phillip Wayne: ''Part One'' (1949) and ''Part Two'' (1959) for Penguin Books. *

Louis MacNeice Frederick Louis MacNeice (12 September 1907 – 3 September 1963) was an Irish poet and playwright, and a member of the Auden Group, which also included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis. MacNeice's body of work was widely a ...

: In 1949, the BBC commissioned an abridged translation for radio. It was published in 1952. In August 1950,

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...

's Russian translation of the first part led him to be attacked in the Soviet literary journal ''

Novy Mir ''Novy Mir'' (russian: links=no, Новый мир, , ''New World'') is a Russian-language monthly literary magazine. History ''Novy Mir'' has been published in Moscow since January 1925. It was supposed to be modelled on the popular pre-Soviet ...

''. The attack read in part,

... the translator clearly distorts Goethe's ideas... in order to defend the
reactionary In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the ''status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abse ...
theory of 'pure art' ... he introduces an aesthetic and individualist flavor into the text... attributes a reactionary idea to Goethe... distorts the social and philosophical meaning... Olga Ivinskaya, ''A Captive of Time: My Years with Pasternak'', 1978. pp. 78–79.

In response, Pasternak wrote to Ariadna Èfron, the exiled daughter of

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva (russian: Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈtaɪvə; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is considered among some of the greatest in twentieth century Russia ...

There was some alarm when my ''Faust'' was torn to pieces in ''Novy mir'' on the basis that supposedly the gods, angels, witches, spirits, the madness of poor Gretchen and everything 'irrational' was rendered too well, whereas Goethe's progressive ideas (which ones?) were left in the shade and unattended.

* Peter Salm: ''Faust, First Part'' (1962) for

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

. *

Randall Jarrell Randall Jarrell (May 6, 1914 – October 14, 1965) was an American poet, literary critic, children's author, essayist, and novelist. He was the 11th Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress—a position that now bears the title Poe ...

: ''Part One'' (1976) for

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

. *

Walter Arndt Walther Arndt (8 January 1891 in Landeshut, Silesia, now Kamienna Góra, Poland – 26 June 1944 in Brandenburg) was a German zoologist and physician. A curator at the in Berlin, and a professor, he was executed for being critical of the Nazi ...

: ''Faust: A Tragedy'' (1976) for W. W. Norton & Company. *Stuart Atkins: ''Faust I & II, Volume 2: Goethe's Collected Works'' (1984) for Princeton University Press. *

David Luke David Luke (1921–2005) was a scholar of German literature at Christ Church, Oxford. He was renowned for his translations of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Thomas Mann, Heinrich von Kleist, Eduard Mörike, Adalbert Stifter and the Brothers Grimm ...

: ''Part One'' (1987) and ''Part Two'' (1994) for Oxford University Press. *

Martin Greenberg Martin Greenberg (June 28, 1918 – October 20, 2013) was an American book publisher and editor of science fiction anthologies. Biography Greenberg married in 1941. He was in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945 where he attained the rank of corporal ...

: ''Part One'' (1992) and ''Part Two'' (1998) for Yale University Press. He has been credited with capturing the poetic feel of the original. * John R. Williams: ''Part One'' (1999) and ''Part Two'' (2007) for Wordsworth Editions. * David Constantine: ''Part One'' (2005) and ''Part Two'' (2009) for Penguin Books. * Zsuzsanna Ozsváth and Frederick Turner: ''Part One'' (2020) for Deep Vellum Books, with illustrations by Fowzia Karimi.

Historic productions

Part One

*May 24, 1819: Premiere of selected scenes. Castle Monbijou, Berlin *January 29, 1829: Premiere of the complete ''Part One''.

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

*In 1885, the Irish dramatist W. G. Wills loosely adapted the first part of ''Faust'' for a production starring

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

as Mephistopheles and

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry, (27 February 184721 July 1928), was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and tour ...

as Margaret at the

Lyceum Theatre, London The Lyceum Theatre ( ) is a West End theatre located in the City of Westminster, on Wellington Street, just off the Strand in central London. It has a seating capacity of 2,100. The origins of the theatre date to 1765. Managed by Samuel Arnold ...

. *In 1908, Stephen Phillips and

J. Comyns Carr Joseph William Comyns Carr (1 March 1849 – 12 December 1916), often referred to as J. Comyns Carr, was an English drama and art critic, gallery director, author, poet, playwright and theatre manager. Beginning his career as an art critic, Car ...

freely adapted the first part of ''Faust'' for a production at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket, London, Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, ...

. It starred Henry Ainley as Faust,

Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progra ...

as Mephistopheles and

Marie Lohr Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...

as Margaret. *1960:

Deutsches Schauspielhaus The Deutsches Schauspielhaus is a theatre in the St. Georg quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany. It was established in 1901 by the renowned stage actress Franziska Ellmenreich. Theatre managers Notable actors Marco Albrecht, Ingrid ...

, Hamburg: Directed by

Peter Gorski Peter Gorski, (7 September 1921 – 3 March 2007) was a German film director. Early life Peter Gorski was born in Berlin, and was adopted in 1949 by the famous German actor Gustaf Gründgens. Career Gorski started his career in 1955 as the assi ...

, and produced by

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg ...

(who also played Mephistopheles), with

Will Quadflieg Friedrich Wilhelm "Will" Quadflieg (; 15 September 1914 – 27 November 2003) was a German actor from Oberhausen. He was the father of actor Christian Quadflieg. He is considered one of Germany's best post-war actors. One of his most widely rec ...

(Faust), Ella Büchi (Gretchen),

Elisabeth Flickenschildt Elisabeth Ida Marie Flickenschildt (16 March 1905 – 26 October 1977) was a German actress, producer and author. She appeared in dozens of German language films and television productions between 1935–1976. Flickenschildt was born in Hamburg ...

(Marthe), Max Eckard (Valentin), Eduard Marks (Wagner), Uwe Friedrichsen (Student).

The film The Film is a 2005 Indian thriller film directed by Junaid Memon also produced along with Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film stars Mahima Chaudhry, Khalid Siddiqui, Ananya Khare, Chahat Khanna, Ravi Gossain, Vaibhav Jhalani and Vivek Madan in lea ...

of this performance was very successful. *1989: Fragments from ''Part One''.

Piccolo Teatro di Milano The Piccolo Teatro di Milano (translation: "Little Theatre of the City of Milan") is a theatre in Milan, Italy. Founded in 1947, it is Italy's first permanent theatre, and a national "teatro stabile", or permanent repertory company, and is conside ...

: Director

Giorgio Strehler Giorgio Strehler (; ; 14 August 1921 – 25 December 1997) was an actor, Italian opera and theatre director. Biography Strehler was born in Barcola, Trieste; His father, Bruno Strehler, was a native of Trieste with family roots in Vienna and died ...

, scenographer

Josef Svoboda Josef Svoboda (10 May 1920 – 8 April 2002) was a Czech artist and scenic designer. He was a production designer and director, known for Amadey (1984), Laterna Magika: Puzzles (1996) and Laterna Magika: Trap (1999). Education Svoboda was ...

*October 26, 2006:

Teatro Comunale Modena The Teatro Comunale di Modena (Community Theatre of Modena, but renamed in October 2007 as Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti) is an opera house in the town of Modena, (Emilia-Romagna province), Italy. The idea for the creation of the present theat ...

, Italy: Directed by

Eimuntas Nekrošius Eimuntas Nekrošius (November 21, 1952 – November 20, 2018) was a Lithuanian theatre director. Biography Early life Nekrošius was born in Pažobris village, Raseiniai district municipality, Lithuania on November 21, 1952. Career In 1978, Nek ...

; complete playing length (with intervals): 4½ hours

Part Two

* 2003 of Ingmar Thilo; with Antonios Safralis (Faust), Raphaela Zick (Mephisto), Ulrike Dostal (Helena), Max Friedmann (Lynceus), and others * 2005

Michael Thalheimer Michael Thalheimer (born 28 May 1965) is a German theatre director. Life Born in Münster, Thalheimer studied from 1985 to 1989 at the Bern School of Acting, now integrated into the University of the Arts Bern. As an actor, he was engaged at m ...

at the Deutsches Theater, Berlin, with a.o. Ingo Hülsmann, Sven Lehmann, Nina Hoss and Inge Keller * 1990: Fragments from ''Part Two''. Piccolo Teatro di Milano: Director Giorgio Strehler, scenographer Josef Svoboda

Entire piece

*1938: World premiere of both parts, unabridged, at the ''

Goetheanum The Goetheanum, located in Dornach, in the canton of Solothurn, Switzerland, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. The building was designed by Rudolf Steiner and named after Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It includes two performa ...

'' in Dornach, Switzerland *July 22–23, 2000: The

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially some 40 million people were expe ...

Hanover performance: Directed by Peter Stein; both parts in their complete version, with Christian Nickel and

Bruno Ganz Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...

(the young and the old Faust), Johann Adam Oest (Mephistopheles), Dorothée Hartinger, Corinna Kirchhoff and Elke Petri. Complete playing length (with intervals): 21 hours

In music and film

* In 1814

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

set a text from ''Faust'' Part I, scene 18 as "

Gretchen am Spinnrade "" (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), Op. 2, 118, is a Lied composed by Franz Schubert using the text from Part One, scene 15 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust''. With "Gretchen am Spinnrade" and some 600 other songs for voice and piano, ...

" ( 118; Op. 2). It was his first setting of a text by Goethe. Later

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er by Schubert based on ''Faust'': ,

367 __NOTOC__ Year 367 ( CCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lupicinus and Iovanus (or, less frequently, year 1120 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

, 440 and 564. *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

's secular

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

'' Scenes from Goethe's Faust'' (1844–1853) * Hector Berlioz's "légende dramatique" ''

La damnation de Faust ''La damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "''légende dramatique'' ...

'' (1846) *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's ''

Faust Symphony ''A Faust Symphony in three character pictures'' (german: Eine Faust-Symphonie in drei Charakterbildern), S.108, or simply the "''Faust Symphony''", is a choral symphony written by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Go ...

'' (1857) *

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's opera ''

'' (1859) *

Arrigo Boito Arrigo Boito (; 24 February 1842 10 June 1918) (whose original name was Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito and who wrote essays under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Tobia Gorrio) was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, librettist and composer, best ...

's opera ''

Mefistofele ''Mefistofele'' () is an opera in a prologue and five acts, later reduced to four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera with music by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito (there are several completed operas for which he was libre ...

'' (1868; 1875) * The second movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 (1906) sets the text of the final scene of part II of Goethe's Faust. *

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

's opera ''

Doktor Faust ''Doktor Faust'' is an opera by Ferruccio Busoni with a German libretto by the composer, based on the myth of Faust. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time o ...

'' (1916) *

F. W. Murnau Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (born Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe; December 28, 1888March 11, 1931) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He was greatly influenced by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Shakespeare and Ibsen plays he had seen at th ...

's film ''

'' (1926) is based on older versions of the legend as well as Goethe's version. *

directed

in the 1960 film, ''

''. *

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...

's musical ''

'' (1993) *

Jan Švankmajer Jan Švankmajer (; born 4 September 1934) is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his stop-motion animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Ter ...

's film ''

'' (1994) * Rudolf Volz's ''Rock Opera Faust'' with original lyrics by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

(1997) * American metal band

Kamelot Kamelot is an American power metal band from Tampa, Florida, formed by Thomas Youngblood, in 1987. The Norwegian vocalist Roy Khan joined for the album ''Siége Perilous'', and shared songwriting credit with Youngblood until his departure in Apr ...

's CDs ''

Epica Epica or EPICA may refer to: * Epica (band), a Dutch symphonic metal band * ''Epica'' (Kamelot album), 2003 * ''Epica'' (Audiomachine album), 2012 * The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) * The Epica Awards (International Adver ...

'' (2003) and ''

The Black Halo ''The Black Halo'' is the highly acclaimed, seventh full-length album by the American power metal band Kamelot. It was released on March 15, 2005, through Steamhammer Records. It is a concept album inspired by Goethe's Faust. Continuing the st ...

'' (2005) are based on ''Faust''. *

Alexander Sokurov Alexander Nikolayevich Sokurov, PAR (russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Сокуров; born 14 June 1951) is a Russian filmmaker. His most significant works include a feature film, ''Russian Ark'' (2002), filmed in a s ...

's film ''

'' (2011) * American band

Agalloch Agalloch () was an American extreme metal band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 1995 by frontman John Haughm, they released five full-length albums, four EPs, two singles, one split single, two demos, four compilation albums and one live video ...

's ''

Faustian Echoes ''Faustian Echoes'' is an EP by American metal band Agalloch, released on June 26, 2012 by Agalloch's own label Licht von Dämmerung Arthouse. It is actually a single, two-part song over 21 minutes in length, making it the longest song Agalloch ...

'' EP is directly based on Goethe's work and contains direct quotations from it. * Philipp Humm's modern art film ''

The Last Faust ''The Last Faust'' is a 2019 feature art film written and directed by the German artist Philipp Humm. Set in 2059, it is a contemporary interpretation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1808 ''Faust'' and the first film directly based on both part ...

'' (2019) is directly based on Goethe's ''Faust'' and is the first film made on Faust part I and part II.

Notes

External links

* (German) * (German) * (1912 English translation by Bayard Taylor) * *
''Faust''
available at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, scanned illustrated books
''Faust'', Part II
available at digbib.org (German)
''Faust'', Pt. 1
available at Google Books (1867 English translation by John Wynniatt Grant)
''Faust'', Pt. 1
available at Google Books (1908 English translation by

Abraham Hayward Abraham Hayward Queen's Counsel, Q.C. (22 November 1801 – 2 February 1884) was an English man of letters. Life He was son of Joseph Hayward, and was born in Wilton, Wiltshire, Wilton, near Salisbury, England, Salisbury, Wiltshire. After ...

with illustrations by

Willy Pogany William Andrew Pogany (born Vilmos András Pogány; August 24, 1882 – July 30, 1955) was a prolific Hungarian illustrator of children's and other books. His contemporaries include C. Coles Phillips, Joseph Clement Coll, Edmund Dulac, Harvey Du ...

) * * (multiple languages, including English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Faust, Goethe 1808 plays 1832 plays Fiction about the Devil Epic poems in German German plays adapted into films Heaven in popular culture Plays adapted into ballets Plays adapted into operas Plays by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Tragedy plays Walpurgis Night fiction

Nomenclature

''Faust, Part One''

''Faust, Part Two''

Relationship between the parts

Translations

Historic productions

Part One

Part Two

Entire piece

In music and film

See also

Notes

External links