On May 18, 2022, Irina Lungu will sing the role of Marguerite in Faust at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos Lisbon, in the premiere of a new production by Alfonso Romero Mora and under the musical direction of Maestro Antonio Pirolli. She will share the stage with Mario Bahg in the title role, Rubén Amoretti as Méphistophélès, André Baleiro as Valentin and Càtia Moreso as Siebel. There will be two additional performances on May 20 and 22, 2022.

“Marguerite is a character that undergoes an extraordinary transformation throughout the opera”, says the Russian soprano. “She has a strong duality, and one never knows to what extent she is a victim and to what extent she is a sinner. And I find that very interesting. From a vocal point of view, I can say that I don’t find it particularly difficult. I’ve noticed that my voice is able to express very well her feelings and moods. The challenge of this role mostly lies in its musical language, which is extremely tied with the particularities of the French language. I needed to do a full immersion in the mentality of the French language so as to express as best as I could all that the composer required.”

Irina Lungu, who is making her Teatro Nacional de São Carlos debut, has already performed the role of Marguerite on numerous prestigious international stages including the Teatro alla Scala for her role debut, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden London, the Teatro Regio Turin, the Sydney Opera House, the Teatro Real Madrid, the Dutch National Opera Amsterdam and, just this past month and the Green National Opera Athens.

Photo: Elena Sikorskaya