I bought this out of curiosity, having previously purchased Busoni's Turandot. The music was accessible. Fischer-Diskeau was an excellent Faust. Lewis was Mephistopheles. His singing was on point; although it was strange to not hear a basso as the devil. May not listen to it again, but glad that I made this purchase.

This performance was issued on the Immortal Performances label several years ago in an excellent transfer of the entire concert. Other reviewers below have already written that this was first issued on a one disc 75 minute abridgement. Opera Depot not only gives us the entire performance, but the announcements and synopsis of each scene as well as the entire cast at the end (Immortal Performances leaves the announcements out, probably for reasons of space as they fill up the second disc with Toscanini leading the NBC Orchestra in other Busoni orchestral pieces).The cast is terrific. Fischer-Dieskau sounds to the manner born in the title role. Lewis handles Mephistopheles' high-lying vocal lines with assurance (he has to tackle a sustained top C in his first few lines). While he isn't as witty as some other singers are in this role his singing falls gratifyingly on the ears. Harper sings the role of the Duchess with finesse and beauty, far more so than some of her competitors; one wishes her role was longer. The supporting singers, including the great Ian Wallace, fill out their roles well. Boult leads a performance that has propulsion and excitement. His orchestra and chorus are also great. Aside from some fleeting static on disc I the sound is very clear. Doktor Faust is not for everyone; it is episodic and occasionally long-winded. Except for Faust (whose arrogance can be annoying) none of the characters are really developed. Nevertheless Busoni's opera is worth exploring. This recording is a good starting place, but one really should hear a more complete performance to get a more accurate sense of the entire work.

This performance has been issued further abridged on one CD only, but also with the same duration as this release (2h03' plus announcements). One scene, the "Zwischenspiel" before the "Hauptspiel", seems to have been cut in the concert performance, and there are certainly other, minor cuts.Sound is OK for a 1959 broadcast. Fischer-Dieskau is in young, excellent voice and had done the opera in Berlin earlier, so he is fully inside his part. Lewis and particularly Harper may be the most attractive singers we can hear in this work. Boult as always is a no-nonsense, autoritative conductor, and for a concert of an uncommon work the choirs and orchestra seem well rehearsed.Nils-Göran

It makes the case that the opera is entirely accessible, in no way forbidding. The diction of the whole cast matches Fischer-Dieskau's superb diction and musicality.

This is a concert version of the opera prepared by Adrian Boult in collaboration with Dietrich Fischer -DIeskau. There is much that is missing from the score but as a taster (F-D recorded a fuller version for DG) of an often enigmatic work this is an evocative performance complete with BBC announcements pf the time.. A sterling, largely British cast does great service and of course F-D is magnificent as one would expect but it is only half the story…...