Prom 31: Berlioz – The Damnation of Faust by Berlioz, Fra (2017/2017), Dirigent John Eliot Gardiner, Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom

Part opera, part cantata, Berlioz’s ‘dramatic legend’ is an epic retelling of the Faust story that captures the extremes of man’s ambition and folly. Tenor Michael Spyres returns to the Proms in the title-role, conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Sir John Eliot Gardiner returns to the Proms with The Damnation of Faust, continuing his multi-season Berlioz series. Part opera, part cantata, this ‘dramatic legend’ is an epic retelling of the Faust story that captures the extremes of man’s ambition and folly in music by turns exquisite and grotesque. American tenor Michael Spyres returns to the Proms in the title-role, with Swedish mezzo-soprano Ann Hallenberg as the innocent victim, Marguerite