Act 3, Sc. 4: Faust and Méphistophélès enter the square. Dialogue and mélodrame, to the same points as the later recitative; and then the “Vous qui faites l’endormie,” the Duel Trio, Valentine’s Death, and the closing choral prayer, all much as in 1869. Two differences: first, in the duel, rather than Faust delivering the fatal thrust with some sort of assistance from Mephisto, Valentin feels himself strangely weakening, and then his own sword turns against him—an echo of his disarmament in the Act 1 Sword Chorale. Second, the standard six-bar cut in Valentin’s death scene (“Oses-tu bien encor“) is opened. There is some precedent for this in modern grand-opera performance, but it is uncommon.^(I)

Act 4, Sc. 1: This is the Walpurgis episode very much as it would appear in any grand-opera performance that eschewed the ballet but included Faust’s drinking song, “Doux nectar,” the only difference of any consequence being a chorus of witches who gambol as Faust and Mephisto fly off to prison, at the conclusion. (There’s a courtesan trade, though: in Mephisto’s “Reines de beauté,” Laïs is swapped out for Hélène.) Interesting to note that after Act 3 does everything to avoid any set change, this scene embraces two big ones—from the Valley of the Brocken to the banquet of the Classical Sabbath and back again—both meant to be instantaneous, and for episodes of brief duration. The transformation to the Prison Scene is also meant to take place in the view of the audience.

Act 4, Sc. 2 (the prison): Musically, this proceeds as in the familiar version till close to the end, when Méphistophélès has a line or two remarking noises from without before Marguerite’s final “Va! tu me fais d’horreur!” The Apotheosis chorale also has some minor differences, including the addition of Easter bells. We note that, as with Madama Butterfly, many of the differences with the familiar version occur early on, and involve secondary characters that were pared down for the grand opera. And in the last act, dialogue and mélodrame vanish, and  music becomes the sole mode of expression.

Musically, there is no competition between versions. “Avant de quitter,” “Le veau d’or,” and “Gloire immortelle” are far superior to the numbers they replace (the “Adieu, Valentin” scene;  the beetle song, Chanson du Scarabée; and Valentin’s battle couplets, respectively). Mephisto’s Garden Scene Invocation achieves its purpose more completely when wholly sung than as here, transitioning from speech through mélodrame to song, omitting the opening “Ô nuit,” etc.  Even “Si le bonheur,” while no prize-winner, is a stratum or two above “Versez vos chagrins.” The witches’ chorus at the end of Walpurgis is almost shockingly feeble, and I think we must admit that Faust’s drinking song is at best very ordinary (compare Hoffmann’s in the Venetian Scene of his opera, under similar circumstances). It’s just that in either version we cannot do without it if there’s no ballet—better then to cut Walpurgis altogether, as has frequently been done.