2 h 0 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if a second chance at youth costs your soul—and someone else must bear the pain?
Doctor Faust sits in a dark study, worn down by a life of books, chemistry and philosophy. He sees nothing worth keeping. Then Méphistophélès appears: courteous, witty and ready to offer youth. Faust accepts the bargain, drawn toward the love he feels his life has missed.
In this five-act opera by Charles Gounod, Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, Goethe’s love story unfolds through songs and scenes. The action moves from Faust’s study to a crowded village fair and Marguerite’s quiet garden. As the gentle young woman enters Faust’s world, his desire raises a troubling question: who pays for his wish?
What you’ll discover
- A devil with manners Meet Méphistophélès, whose wit and courtesy make his guidance all the more unsettling.
- Flowers at the door Enter Marguerite’s garden, where Siébel’s flowers offer a quiet sign of loyal love.
- A village in song Step into the fair, where townspeople, students and soldiers gather to drink and sing.
- Songs that hold the stage Discover the Jewel Song, the golden calf song, the soldiers’ chorus and the waltz.
- The cost of wanting Follow a tragic love story that brings desire, guilt and moral choices into focus.
Who will love it
You will love it if you enjoy opera, devil bargains, romantic tales and stories where music and drama meet. It suits anyone who likes a clear plot with famous scenes, songs and a touch of the supernatural.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A weary scholar chooses poison, then curses heaven
- The devil offers youth and Faust signs for it
- At the fair, the devil mocks gold and shakes the soldiers
- A casket of jewels outshines a bunch of flowers
- One night in the garden changes everything
- Shame, a church and a street fight
- What the story is really about
Who’s who
- FaustAn aged philosopher, tired of life and learning, who trades his future for youth and the love of Marguerite.
- MephistophelesThe devil in a gentleman's dress, who serves Faust on earth and works to bring him and Marguerite down.
- MargueriteA modest young woman who spins and prays, drawn by a stranger and by a casket of jewels.
- ValentineMarguerite's brother, a soldier who carries her medal to war and wants to protect her honor.
- SiebelA shy youth who loves Marguerite and stays faithful to her, though the devil spoils his flowers.
- MarthaMarguerite's talkative neighbor, who enjoys the jewels and the attentions of a mysterious gentleman.
- WagnerA student and friend of Valentine who sings drinking songs at the fair.
Formats and delivery
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- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
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- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read today.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Fausto: drama lírico en cinco actos
by Charles Gounod; Jules Barbier; Michel Carré · 1859
An old scholar lifts a cup of poison to his lips, and the devil offers him youth instead.
Medium level2–5 hours to readEspañol
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In short
What would you give to be young again? In Faust, an opera in five acts with words by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré and music by Charles Gounod, an old scholar lifts a cup of poison and hears the devil offer him a better drink.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A weary scholar chooses poison, then curses heaven
The story opens in Faust's study at night. He is an aged philosopher who has spent his life searching for all knowledge and found nothing. His lamp flickers, the dawn comes, and he decides to end his life with a draught from a flask.
Just as he raises the crystal goblet, young girls outside sing of the morning and the joy of love. He lifts the cup again, and now the laborers sing their thanks to God on their way to the fields. Their praise only angers him. He asks what this God can do for him, and whether he can give back youth, love and faith.
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Details
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- 1859
- Language
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What is Gounod's Faust about?
It tells of an aged scholar who sells his soul to the devil Mephistopheles for youth, then wins the love of a young woman named Marguerite. Their story moves from a garden to a church and a street duel.
Is Faust by Gounod based on Goethe?
Yes. The librettists Barbier and Carré took the love story from Goethe's drama, which brought the old legend of the magician Faust into literature, and made it the focus of a five act lyric drama.
Who is Mephistopheles in Faust?
He is the devil who appears when Faust calls for Satan. He offers gold, glory and power, grants youth in return for a signed pact, and then guides Faust toward Marguerite and her ruin.
The author
Charles Gounod
1818–1893 · French composer
Charles Gounod was a French composer born in Paris in 1818. He wrote operas, songs, and religious music. His opera Faust was first performed in Paris in 1859. He also composed Roméo et Juliette, first performed in 1867. He lived in France and England and died at Saint-Cloud in 1893.
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