Faust I


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(3.8 stars; 70 reviews)

Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is a tragic play in two parts. It is Goethe's most famous work and considered by many to be one of the greatest works of German literature.

This first part of Faust is not divided into acts, but is structured as a sequence of scenes in a variety of settings. After a dedicatory poem and a prelude in the theatre, the actual plot begins with a prologue in Heaven and Scene 1 in Faust's study. (Summary modified from Wikipedia)

Cast List:
Narrator, Stage Directions, Dedication: Alex Foster
Mephistopheles: om123
Faust: Stewart Wills
Margaret (Gretchen): Lucy Perry
Manager (scene 22), Chorus of Disciples, Beggar, Crane: George Deprez, PhD
Dramatic Poet, Chorus of Disciples, Citizen 2, Wizards, Minister, Worldling: bish
Merry-Andrew, Chorus of Disciples, Apprentice 1, Citizen 3, Siebel, Valentine, Wizards, Purist, Leader of the Band, Sceptic, The Heavy Fellows, Parvenu, Oberon, The Adroit, Dancing-Master: ToddHW
Raphael, Chorus of Angels, Student 1, Author, Musagetes: tipaew
Gabriel, Chorus of Angels, Student 2, Proktophantasmist, Xenies, Dogmatist: David Lawrence
Manager (Prelude), Michael, Chorus of Angels, Citizen 1, Servibilis, Hennings, Idealist: Peter Yearsley
The Lord, Old Peasant, Spirits, Ci-Devant Genius of the Age, Supernaturalist: Marty Kris
Wagner, General, Weathercock, Realist: John Burnett
People, Witches, Titania: Ana Simão
Chorus of Women, Servant-Girl 2, Peasants, Chorus (scene 20), Voice 2, Half-Witch, Witches, Orchestra: Kalynda
Martha, Chorus of Women, Servant-Girl 1, Peasants, Citizen's Daughter, The She-Ape, The Witch, Lisbeth, Huckster-Witch, Young Witch, Witches, Solo, Little Couple, Dancer: Natalie
Chorus of Women, Old Woman, Spirits, Evil Spirit, Old Witch, Matron: Rosalind Wills
Apprentice 2, Soldiers, Northern Artist, The Heavy Fellows: Lars Rolander
Spirit, Apprentice 3, Soldiers, Peasants, People, Chorus (scene 20), Ariel, Spirit Just Growing into Form, Will-O'-The-Wisps: TriciaG
Apprentice 4, Soldiers, Peasants, Chorus (scene 20), Voice 1, Orchestra, Little Couple, The Awkward: Liberty Stump
Apprentice 5, Soldiers, The He-Ape, The Orthodox, Shooting-Star: Bob Gonzalez
Frosch, Will-O'-The-Wisp, Inquisitive Traveller: Ransom
Brander, Herald, Good Fellow: Algy Pug
Altmayer, Puck: John Fricker

Editors:
Stewart Wills
om123
Natalie
David Olson
Hennell
Annise
TriciaG
Roseanne Schmidt
Corinna Schultz
Linette Geisel
David Lawrence (4 hr 18 min)

Chapters

Dedication, Prelude, Prologue, and Scene 1 38:53 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Scenes 2 and 3 38:52 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Scene 4 30:29 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Scenes 5 and 6 33:29 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Scenes 7 to 12 35:55 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Scenes 13 to 19 30:40 Read by David Lawrence
Scenes 20 and 21 24:07 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Scenes 22 to 25 26:33 Read by LibriVox Volunteers

Reviews

Bad audio


(1 stars)

Some of the speakers are good but the vast differences in audio quality is too distracting. The tone of voice used by certain speakers does not even match the content of which they speak.


(1 stars)

Book is great the reading and performance and signing is horrible

Good but Mephisto hard to understand


(5 stars)

Good but...


(3 stars)

Overall it was a wonderful performance. Anyone who is willing to sing for part of a book has my respect. However, there are some things that detract. Mephisto's voice is a bit hard to understand because English is not his first language so he stresses the wrong syllables or mispronounces words entirely. Some of the chorus parts are hard to understand because the different voices aren't synced up closely enough - it just ends up sounding like confused babbling.

Mostly excellent dramatic reading


(4 stars)

The lyrical flow of poetic rhyme is pretty well delivered, and most of the cast use appropriate tone of voice for each scene's dialogue as well. Mephistophilese has about 30% of the play's dialogue, and the reader's accent can make some of his lines a bit harder to understand. But overall he delivers his lines pretty fluidly.

wonderful job. almost like watching a play. great singing too.


(5 stars)