A victim of this victory of vice over virtue, the pious Marguerite spins a very bad yarn on
her spinning wheel. Already replaced at the dress rehearsal, soprano Vannina Santoni,
after performing in the opening night on May 5th, withdrew from this second
performance.
She is replaced by Gabrielle Philiponet, whose performance, sometimes using scripts for the dialogue, is far from lacking. Dark and full-bodied, her vocal line occasionally lacks precision, but the French soprano's portrayal commands respect. While the Jewel Song doesn't sparkle with the frivolous brilliance that adorns the budding coquette, the terrible scene of the curse in the church, and then the final duet with Faust in the heart of the prison where the infanticide awaits his guillotine, are poignant. In this regard, the solitary circle of the mother and son, entwined to the music during the slow and gentle strangulation of the child, is simply unbearable.