Second cast of 'Faust' heats up the Civic Opera House

Lyric Opera of Chicago has had a hit with its revival of audience-favorite "Faust" since its opening last month with rising Polish tenor Piotr Beczala, superstar bass Rene Pape and thrilling soprano Ana Maria Martinez.

Company schedules often allow for a second cast, or at least several new singers, to step into an ongoing opera run, and young American-based singers Joseph Kaiser and Kyle Ketelsen are doing so for the last week of "Faust" as the title character and the devil Mephistopheles respectively. Although Kaiser seemed to be having some uncharacteristic opening-night jitters in his role debut Friday, and Ketelsen's voice is not as large or as deep as Pape's, the two contributed to a performance that clicked more as a unity than opening night did. As more than one veteran Lyric patron observed to me, Friday night's was a "hot" performance.

Much of this is due to the superb work of music director Andrew Davis and the Lyric Orchestra in the pit. The orchestra drives and defines this production with cues and atmospheres of humor, wistfulness, betrayal, damnation and salvation -- each in perfect measure and in a tightly woven whole.

As Marguerite, Martinez continues to hold the stage as singer and actress, and her duets and trios were always well-blended and convincing. Kaiser had some difficulty with his top on Friday but took to the role more securely in the last acts. Ketelsen, who will sing Mozart's Figaro in March at Lyric, moves beautifully and makes a devil of equal parts charm and dastardliness. It's a pleasure to watch these artists evolve over time.

Mezzo soprano Jane Bunnell's comic Marthe seemed better integrated into the show this time around, and baritone Lucas Meachem's morally rigid Valentin is still stirring. But it's the whole here that is especially appealing, and not just several parts.

Note: I heard from several readers about my comments on Beczala's opening-night performance. Half agreed with me that he was just not quite where his performances elsewhere have shown he can go, and the other half disagreed, finding him close to perfection. Critics come to a performance with pairs of ears and eyes not substantially different from many others in the house. We do our best to describe honestly and fairly what we hear and see, and are aware that perspectives and performances vary, and that our words can sometimes sting. Having been wowed by Beczala in Dvorak's "Rusalka" in Salzburg last year, I wanted to hear him a second time in this production, but my schedule did not allow it. I very much look forward to his next appearances at Lyric.

Andrew Patner is critic at large for WFMT-FM (98.7).