Art is a heart capable of thinking.
C. Gounod

Charles Gounod, the author of the world famous opera “Faust”, occupies one of the honorable places among composers of the 19th century. He was recorded in the history of music as one of the founders of a new direction in the operatic genre, which later received the name "lyric opera". In whatever genre the composer worked, he always gave preference to melodic development. He believed that the melody would always be the purest expression of human conception. Music by Gounod invariably conquers with lyricism, in operatic genre the musician acts as a master of musical portraiture and a sensitive artist, conveying the truthfulness of life situations. Sincerity and simplicity are always side by side with the highest composing skill in the manner of the composer’s presentation. For these qualities P. Tchaikovsky appreciated the French composer music, he even conducted the opera Faust in 1892 at the Pryanishnikov Theater. According to him, Gounod is "one of the few who nowadays write not from preconceived theories, but from the suggestion of feeling."

Gounod is better known as an opera composer, he wrote 12 operas, in addition to this, he created choral compositions (oratorios, masses, cantatas), 2 symphonies, instrumental ensembles, piano pieces, more than 140 romances and songs, duets, music for the theater.

For the birthday of the composer, we have prepared a musical selection comprised of the excerpts from the opera “Faust” performed by the leading soloists of the Bolshoi Theater and Russia's oldest musical group, the Bolshoi Theater Symphony Orchestra.

Ref.:
https://www.belcanto.ru/
https://soundtimes.ru/