Faust

By: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Narrated by: Auriol Smith, Gunnar Cauthery, Stephen Critchlow, Hugh Dickson, Anne-Marie Piazza, Sean Barrett

Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Faust is one of the pillars of Western literature. This classic drama presents the story of the scholar Faust, tempted into a contract with the Devil in return for a life of sensuality and power. Enjoyment rules, until Faust’s emotions are stirred by a meeting with Gretchen, and the tragic outcome brings Part 1 to an end. Part 2, written much later in Goethe’s life, places his eponymous hero in a variety of unexpected circumstances, causing him to reflect on humanity and its attitudes to life and death.

Narrated by:

• Auriol Smith
• Hugh Dickson
• Stephen Critchlow
• Anne-Marie Piazza
• Gunnar Cauthery
• Sean Barrett
• Emily Raymond
• Derek Jacobi
• Samuel West
• Daniel Mair

Download the accompanying reference guide.

Public Domain (P)2011 Naxos Audiobooks

Critic reviews

Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award

"If it’s been a while since you tackled Goethe’s Faust - like, forever - don’t wait a moment longer. John R. Williams’s sparkling English translation is delightful, full of wit and delicious rhymes, and would be reason enough to fling yourself at it, but this full-cast production more than doubles the pleasure.... The performances are marvelous, and the sound effects clever and often gorgeous (the choir!).... What a great theatrical experience." (AudioFile)

“Listen straight through and you get a vivid experience of the Faust drama in ways you would not get in any other form. The English translation is mellifluous and not stilted, and the recitation is terrific. Anyone who has appreciated the various settings of Faust by Gounod, Berlioz, Schumann, etc., will revel in the full drama enacted in the spirit Goethe intended.... Highly recommended.” (Grego Applegate Edwards, Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review)

Beautiful Prose

Beautiful prose, even in it's English translation from the original German. I lost the thread of the story a little through the middle, but still found it highly entertaining. A story is still a good story,even when written more than two centuries ago.

Classic and beautiful prose

A message destructive giving hope without assigning it to the person of God's Salvation. Beautiful in the extensive wordplay and most of the performance. Though was Euphora trying to sound quirky, or did the casting director's kid get a nod? Faust is Faust, after all, a standard of the Progressive lexicon, chosen to titillate and deceive easily-deluded minds that God can be mis-defined and devils are to be toyed with. Goes too deep into lechery for juveniles.

A classic story as old as the story of Job.

What made the experience of listening to Faust the most enjoyable?

First, I wanted to listen based on Carl Gustav Jung's opinion of it. Jung was a brilliant and multi-faceted thinker and I wanted to better understand him. I first downloaded a different version read by one man. It was horrible and disruptive as he switched back and forth between characters. This version had a full cast and a modern translation that brought the story to life for me.

What did you like best about this story?

The recurring themes of humankind interest me. The universal question of evil and whether or not god has a role in it goes all the way back to the biblical story of Job. Love hearing different perspectives from different eras.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Mephistopheles

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

Loved it.

Faust parts 1&2 dramatized abridged

This is the place to start. What a production!
Use this audiobook to give yourself a handle in the overarching story and then go on for an unabridged edition. This translation is in matter and rhyme in updated, yet magisterial language by some dude named John R. Williams. This was produced by the guy who started Ukemi audiobooks, the very best producer of audiobooks around. This should be your first stop for Fausty goodness.

A Treasure

I like this production so much - the acting, the singing, the music, the sound effects - its hard to believe it exists. I like the translation very much.

Overall a great dramatization!

The voices were fantastic and the story is great!! Could’ve been expanded slightly with some parts of the story being omitted. But overall a great piece.

I wish I would have read it instead.

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to enjoy this performance, and my rating has nothing to do with the narrator's skill. I really believe that there are some books that are best read "the old fashioned way," and this is one of them.

Beautiful performance!

What made the experience of listening to Faust the most enjoyable?

The beautiful performance!

Any additional comments?

This is the way to really enjoy Faust! Beautifully performed, with a full tapestry of voices and sounds. Well done!

Almost too much!

Just amazing dramatization. I listened to part of it while out walking at night and the scene I was listening to - the part about Marguerite's brother - was so intense, both in human and supernatural terms - that I almost wanted to stop listening. Really transporting. Fantastic voice acting, fantastic background stage and music. I would think Goethe himself would not be unhappy with this production.

A masterpiece, well performed

It is a difficult thing to make a play into an audio media and still have a good experience. This was very well done.