Goethe_(Stieler_1828)

In 1888 Federici, the singer in Gounod’s Faust playing the part of Mephistopheles died on stage while descending into hell. And his ghost has haunted Melbourne’s Princess Theatre ever since.

So, is it foolhardy to make a bargain with the devil, or should Faust go to heaven in the end? Would that relieve the ghost of its anxious haunting?

This is story about the golden age of Australian opera, and a lost soul from the 16th century whom Goethe made famous. Continue Reading