Faust

About Faust

Pickup Truck Opera: Volume 4— Mixed Precipitation celebrates 16 years of outdoor summer fun with a new production adapted from composer Charles Gounod’s 1859 opera Faust, with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michael Carré. Faust is created from the combined talents of music director Gary Ruschman (returning for his seventh production with Mixed Precipitation), playwright and theologian Max Yeshaye, stage directors Scotty Reynolds and Jacob Miller, and the Mixed Precipitation ensemble.    

In the not-so-distant future, scientist and entrepreneur Dr. Johann Faust faces a planet in crisis but no motivation to spare humanity its fate. He yearns to find a life of meaning and love. Méphistophélès, a mysterious extraplanar entity with a devilish charm, appears with a bargain:  Relocate Earth’s climate refugees to a lunar colony and win the love of the brilliant physicist Marguerite. Together, Faust and his mysterious companion launch a fanatical quest to save humanity and reach beyond the limits of human potential.  Dr. Faust finds himself torn between the love of his life and the conditions of his bargain.  The music of Depeche Mode is laced into this tale, featuring the work of songwriters Vince Clarke and Martin Gore.   

Tenor Maurice Fields leads the cast as Faust. Bass Justin Spenner returns to Mixed Precipitation in the role of Méphistophélès, and sopranos Caroline Kouma and  Corissa Bussian split the role of Marguerite. Galina Đorđević, Joshua Eidem, Joni Griffith, Jill Morgan, and Nick Miller play multiple roles and multiple instruments under the leadership of Ruschman.   

This touring spectacle features the work of set designer Alex Hathaway, costume designer Rhiannon Fiskradatz, props designer Karly Bergman, and stage manager Ches Cipriano

About Mixed Precipitation

Mixed Precipitation’s mission is to create festive theatrical events that inspire social engagement. Since 2009, they have presented their signature events, A Picnic Operetta and Pickup Truck Opera, at community gardens, urban farms, parks, orchards, and vineyards throughout Minnesota. The company showcases musicians and theater artists with fun adaptations of operas by Mozart, Handel, Beethoven, Purcell, and many others. Their work has been presented by St. Mary’s University, Carleton College, The Sheldon Theatre of Red Wing, Historic Holmes Theater of Detroit Lakes, and community groups all over Minnesota. Their site-responsive outdoor performances have become a Minnesota summer tradition. Previous projects include the Mpls Pinter Studies, and the Winter Olympic Quadrennial Salon, Tonya and Nancy: The Opera (2010, 2014, 2018).

A Curiously Creative Place: Keeping Opera Fresh
An interview with Scotty Reynolds, Director of Mixed Precipitation

Of all the outdoor performances and events happening at Caponi Art Park over the summer, Mixed Precipitation’s Pickup Truck Opera, a summer staple at Caponi Art Park, is certainly one of the most unique. Director Scotty Reynolds tells Caponi Art Park that coming together outside in the summer “puts people in a curiously creative place. I think we always say ‘keep opera fresh’. Our take on the form of opera has offered a lot of challenge and surprise to folks used to viewing it a specific way.” This summer, Mixed Precipitation’s talented cast of performers takes on Charles Gounod’s 1859 opera, Faust. The Opera was based on a play of the same name written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. If you’re not familiar with opera, you have nothing to fear! “We’ve made opera as simple as possible and more accessible,” says Reynolds.

Mixed Precipitation is known for their unique twists on classical productions and their 2024 production of Faust is no exception. The opera features Faust’s classic characters introduced through a science fiction lens, and connects everything from the pursuit of darkness to outer space travel and the future of humanity. The opera contemplates the meaning of love in a way that kids and adults alike can appreciate, with a resounding message of self-reflection and redemption. Reynolds says to expect some musical surprises. “It’s going to be French romantic music and some Depeche Mode. Those who love new waves and dark disco will be delighted.”

While we believe there is no better venue than the Caponi Art Park amphitheater, productions held outside always pose new challenges to performers. “It’s stamina, without lights and other tech enhancements, you have to do a lot of extra work to focus the audience’s eye. We have this world around us that is fully alive, full of color, sound, wind and nature, and we’re making sure our performance responds,” says Reynolds. Despite the challenges, Faust’s dynamic cast are no strangers to untraditional performance settings. The Pickup Truck Opera’s summer tour will take them around Minnesota’s vast, contrasting landscapes to perform over twenty outdoor shows. Scotty Reynolds says that at Caponi Art Park, “It’s nice to see art happening in a place so connected to nature and so embedded in the metro. The terrain is very dynamic. It feels like in Dakota county, you see the landscape change.”

The Pickup Truck Opera will make its stop at Caponi Art Park on Friday, August 16th at 6:30pm. You won’t want to miss this performance. Of course, if you can’t make it to the park, check out Mixed Precipitation’s performance schedule around the metro area. We’re so honored and excited to have the Pickup Truck Opera at Caponi Art Park. A donation of $5-$45 is suggested for all audience members and a reservation online is encouraged. We can’t wait to see you at Mixed Precipitation’s Faust this August!