All my reservations notwithstanding, there is solid reference value to this production. It broadens and deepens our grasp on this masterwork. Bru Zane’s presentation is superb (and quite a contrast with the table scraps proffered by Decca/London for the video Butterfly). The three CDs are slipped into the hardbound book, which is handsomely designed, printed and bound, with high-quality materials throughout. The book contains five essays, in French and English, on various aspects of the “first Faust,” plus the complete French/English libretto, and all has been closely copy-edited. The whole is obviously intended as a collectible in a library of collectibles, announced as a limited edition of 4,000 copies and, to judge from the number assigned to my copy, it’s approaching a sellout. Not bad for a niche within our niche.

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NEXT TIME: In two weeks, on Friday, July 3, there will be one more post before a summer hiatus. I’ll have several matters to discuss, plus an itemization, rather along the lines of “‘Jane’s’ Great List” (see 1/3/20), of some of the factors bearing on the current condition of our artform. But whereas “Jane” is a young singer, my guest next time is a designer of high credentials, now retired and therefore happy to enter the fray under his own name.

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