KU Opera personalizes ‘Faust’ in adaptation

Kansas University Opera will perform “The Visions of Marguerite: A Faust Project,” a creative adaptation of the well-known opera “Faust” 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Robert Baustian Theatre (formerly known as The Black Box) in KU’s Murphy Hall.

The production, directed by Tim Ocel, associate professor and artistic director of KU Opera, is based on the Charles Gounod opera (and Goethe play) “Faust,” that tells the story of an old man who sells his soul to the devil in order to be young again. After the bargain with the devil is signed and Faust regains his youth, he meets a young village girl named Marguerite, seduces her, and then abandons her and their illegitimate child. In the final scene of the opera, Marguerite awaits execution in prison for killing her child; she is demented, and her mind wanders.

The KU Opera bases its 80-minute one-act adaptation on this final scene. The story opens in the prison as Marguerite remembers bits and pieces of her past with the audience learning her story in flashback through her splintered sensibilities.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $7 for students and seniors and may be purchased by calling the KU Opera Ticket Line at 864-3000.