Description

An examination of the stage sets for Faust, one of the flagship works in the repertory of the Paris Opéra, from 1869 to 1908, clearly shows what little scope successive stage designers had to express their personalities. The productions of 1869, 1875 and 1893 remained faithful, if not to the letter, then at least always to the Romantic spirit of the stage sets of the première given at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1859. The seminal influences of Delacroix and Gustave Doré made themselves felt until the end of the century. The production of 1908, staged by the new director André Messager, claimed to break with tradition but, despite that, remained fairly conservative.