29 MICHEL DALBERTO Virtuosity in the service of dance La Valse from the opera Faust, Concert Paraphrase after Gounod's opera dates from 1861. Gounod's work, like that of Bellini, stimulated Liszt to such an extent that he also became attached to Les Sabéennnes-berceuse from La Reine de Saba and Les Adieux-rêverie from Roméo et Juliette. The spectacular nature of Faust's Valse is revealed from the very first bars, with an unusually grand stage entrance. The choreography emerges from the mass of sound. This mass of sound itself emerges from the depths of the earth and perhaps inspired Ravel for his own Valse. It is up to the performer to convey the shimmering scenery, the painting of the movement reminiscent of the trance-like state of Mephisto Valse, and even the aria from the love duet in Act II is captivating in its bewitching tenderness. ‘Virtuosity resides less in the endurance experienced in Les Réminiscences de Norma than in the increasingly rapid movements of the hands. It is necessary to restore the feeling of acceleration, to colour this score to such an extent that some performers have enriched it with ornaments as if to better convey the feeling of improvisation’ concludes Michel Dalberto.
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