Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, February 17

Michael Fabiano and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. Photo: Lisa Tomasetti

Sir David McVicar’s production of Faust, which premiered at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2004, arrives now at Opera Australia. It’s an impressive staging in its own right – but what makes it especially exciting are the three central performances by Michael Fabiano, Nicole Car and Teddy Tahu Rhodes.

Based on Goethe’s play, Gounod’s 1859 opera tells a classic story of the battle between good and evil, encompassing religion, temptation, sexuality and morality. Faust (Fabiano) is an elderly doctor who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for the return of youth. With the help of Mephistopheles (Rhodes), he seduces the beautiful, innocent, religious Marguerite (Car) then abandons her five months later, leaving her pregnant and alone.

When Marguerite’s soldier brother Valentin (Giorgio Caodura) returns from war he is outraged to discover her condition, fights with Faust and, as he lies dying, curses his sister. Imprisoned for killing her child, Marguerite offers fervent prayers to heaven and her soul is saved.

Originally set in 16^th century Germany, McVicar has updated it to decadent Paris in the 1870s around the time Gounod wrote it.

His production is darkly dramatic balancing real emotion with lots of tongue-in-cheek touches from gaudy devil’s pitchforks to daemonic ballerinas and Satan in drag. It is staged on an imposing set by Charles Edwards that looms ominously over the action, with towering columns and an organ representing a cathedral, the ornate, crumbling proscenium of a theatre, and a streetscape with Marguerite’s home.

Into this space come the wonderfully hedonistic, debauched nightclub Cabaret L’Enfer in Act II where Faust first meets Marguerite, and a gloomy graveyard with a bleeding, falling crucifix for the Walpurgis Night festivities.

The costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel add flashes of vibrant colour, with plenty of blood red, to the dark setting, while Michael Keegan-Dolan’s witty choreography ranges from a saucy cancan to a diabolical Walpurgis ballet in which classical dancers in white tutus turn feral with rapiers, sexual posturing and daemonic laughter. The dancing is super-sharp.

The OA production (helmed by revival director Bruno Ravella) is blessed with a fine cast. Making his debut as Mephistopheles, Rhodes is in his element. His deep baritone exudes a rich range of colour and his characterisation is devilishly good, playing Satan as a dashing, supercilious, charismatic showman-about-town, who dons a number of different guises including a black, bejeweled ballgown and tiara.

Fabiano, a 30-year old American tenor generating plenty of buzz, has a huge, thrilling voice that soars effortlessly, making the hairs on the back of the neck stand up as he sails to the top of his range. He is also a strong actor, moving convincingly from doddery old man to rejuvenated, dapper chap.

Nicole Car and Teddy Tahu Rhodes. Photo: Lisa Tomasetti

Car – a young Australian soprano who made such an impression as Tatyana in last year’s Kasper Holten’s production of Eugene Onegin for OA – is again radiant. In her role debut as Marguerite, her singing has a sweet, luscious beauty and is full of emotion, and she is a beautiful actor, her early innocence every bit as convincing as her later anguish. She and Fabiano work together superbly, their voices making for a premium blend.

There is also impressive work from Anna Dowsley as Siebel, Richard Anderson as Wagner, Giorgio Caoduro as Valentin and Dominica Matthews as Marthe. The chorus is in fine form, while the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra gives a passionate performance of the lush, melodious score under conductor Guillaume Tourniaire.

The production received a huge response from the opening night audience with many on their feet at the end. As for Fabiano and Car, both will doubtless go far. Catch them now while you can.

Faust runs at the Sydney Opera House until March 13