Bryn Terfel brings his diabolically good Baritone down under.

Saturday 23 March
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne

Melbournians were treated to a rare operatic gem last weekend, with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performing one of Berlioz’s most exciting and challenging works, the concert-opera La damnation de Faust. The treat was made all the more delectable thanks to the inclusion of one of opera’s biggest names today, the indefatigable Bryn Terfel.

After gracing Melbourne’s Hamer Hall stage a week earlier to perform Broadway hits, Bryn was back in a decidedly different, and more devilish, role. As the terrifying Mephistophélès, the Welsh bass-baritone delivered a robust and powerful performance, throwing around his operatic muscle like it was easy as pie. British tenor Andrew Staples was a fine Faust, particularly during the work’s lighter moments, though against the sound of Terfel’s mighty baritone his more dramatic efforts came off a little forced. Croatian mezzo-soprano Renata Pokupić, with her rich, middle register, brought a radiant warmth to the role of Faust’s doomed love, Marguerite. Australian Shane Lowrencev’s burly bass lent a lighter spirit to the role of Brander.

The orchestra, under the enthusiastic leadership of Sir Andrew Davis, produced a...