by Jay Harvey, Indianapolis Star

Indianapolis Opera has hit some rough patches in the road in recent years, but its artistic merits rest firmly on the loyalty of some gifted friends.

The current production of Gounod's "Faust" shows the company's good fortune in connecting with director Joachim Schamberger and, reaching further back in its history, tenor Gran Wilson, who made his IO debut in 1993.

Wilson sang the title role in the first of two performances Friday night -- a production that enjoys the visionary clarity of Schamberger, who's also the set and video designer for this consciousness-expanding show.

It's a measure of Wilson's fitness for the role -- his passionate mastery of the French lyrical-heroic style and his physical vigor as a Faust trying to enjoy the gift of youth he's struck a bargain for -- that he neither dominates nor is overshadowed by his colleagues: Kevin Short's commanding Mephistopheles and Maureen O'Flynn's ardent Marguerite in particular.

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Indianapolis Opera will close out the 2011-2012 season on May 4 & 6 with Charles Gounod’s Faust, set to French lyrics by Jules Barbier and Michael Carré. Faust will feature members of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Caraher.

Faust is directed by artist in residence Joachim Schamberger, whose past successes include Das Rheingold, La Tragédie de Carmen and La Traviata. Schamberger chose to put a modern twist on the production with deference to the music and original medieval time period. Guonod’s Faust will open in the modern laboratory of Professor Faust, a scholar of German Medieval times. As the story progresses, Faust will travel back to 16th century Germany to seduce, and ultimately ruin, the lovely Marguerite. “It is a little bit Da Vinci Code meets Guonod – or maybe Rosemary’s Baby meets Guonod,” says Schamberger. “Most of the production is performed in the original time period, except for a few brief moments that take place in the modern day.”

The theme of responsibility plays heavily throughout Faust – in the end Faust must come to terms with his own role in his life and the other side of himself, the devil in us all. Much like Indianapolis Opera and Schamberger’s critically acclaimed Das Rheingold of 2009, Faust will utilize large format projections that are designed to complement and enhance the physical sets, bringing movement and depth to the scenery. Indianapolis Opera’s 2012 Faust is a newly designed, cutting edge production, never before performed by any other opera company. “The projections and staging bring a certain wow factor to the theater,” promises Schamberger. “This isn’t like any production of Faust you’ve ever seen before.”

Schamberger is working hard to match the stage mood with the music; the audience should be prepared for a gothic horror movie-like atmosphere with hauntingly beautiful music performed by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Faust will be performed in French with English super-titles. Approximate running time is three hours, including two 20-minute intermissions.