Goethe's Faust: Theatre of Modernity

by Hans Schulte, John Noyes, Pia Kleber

Overview

Faust has been called the fundamental icon of Western culture, and Goethe's inexhaustible poetic drama is the centerpiece of its tradition in literature, music and art. In recent years, this play has experienced something of a renaissance, with a surge of studies, theater productions, press coverage and public discussions. Reflecting this renewed interest, leading Goethe scholars in this volume explore the play's striking modernity within its theatrical framework. The chapters present new aspects such as the virtuality of Faust, the music drama, the modernization of evil, Faust's blindness, the gay Mephistopheles, classic beauty and horror as phantasmagoria, and Goethe's anticipation of modern science, economics and ecology. The book contains an illustrated section on Faust in modern performance, with contributions by renowned directors, critics and dramaturges, and a major interview with Peter Stein, director of the uncut 'millennium production' of Expo 2000.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521194648
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/05/2011
Pages:	346
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Hans Schulte is a retired Associate Professor of German at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.

John Noyes is Professor of German at the University of Toronto.

Pia Kleber is Professor of Drama and Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto.

Table of Contents

Introduction Hans Schulte; Part I. Modernity: 1. Faust – today Albrecht Schöne; 2. Mephisto and the modernization of evil Rolf-Peter Janz; 3. Mephisto is the devil – or is he? Peter Huber; 4. 'Schwankende Gestalten': virtuality in Goethe's Faust Ulrich Gaier; 5. Amnesia and anamnesis in Goethe's Faust Wolf-Daniel Hartwich; 6. Cagliostro and Saint-Simon in Goethe's Faust II Hans-Jürgen Schings; 7. Faust's blindness Eberhard Lämmert; 8. From Faust to Harry Potter: discourses of the centaurs Gisela Brude-Firnau; 9. Mistra and the Peloponnes in Goethe's Faust II Wilhelm Blum; 10. Goethe and the grotesque: the 'classical Walpurgis night' Angela Borchert; 11. Redefining classicism: antiquity in Faust II Ernst Osterkamp; 12. Mephisto, the angels, and the homoerotic in Faust II W. Daniel Wilson; Part II. Theatre: 13. Goethe's Faust: theatre, meta-theatre, tragedy Martin Swales; 14. Faust beyond tragedy: hidden comedy, covert opera Dieter Borchmeyer; 15. Theatricality and experiment: identity in Faust Jane Brown; 16. Rhetorical action: Faust between rhetoric, poetics, and music Helmut Schanze; 17. Directing Faust: an interview Peter Stein; 18. A contradictory whole: Peter Stein stages Faust Dirk Pilz; 19. Rethinking and staging Faust at the State Theatre Stuttgart, 2005/6 Jörg Bochow; 20. Strehler's Faust in performance Laura Caretti; Select bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

"...this multifaceted collection certainly represents the culmination of the rich history of Faust scholarship in the second half of the twentieth century."
—Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies

From the Publisher