Doktor Faust

opera by Busoni

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June 25, 2026

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Ferruccio Busoni's opera Doktor Faust is an unfinished work based on earlier versions of the Faust legend, rather than Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's famous play. Busoni, a renowned pianist and composer, began this ambitious opera but did not complete it. His pupil, Philipp Jarnach, finished the opera, which premiered in Dresden in 1925. The opera explores the enduring legend of Faust, a figure who famously sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and power. This legend has been a recurring theme in Western literature and folklore for centuries.12

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Ferruccio Busoni
…work was the unfinished opera Doktor Faust, based not on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s work but on earlier versions of the Faust legend. It was completed by his pupil Philipp Jarnach and performed in Dresden in 1925. Two other short operas, Arlecchino and Turandot, composed at Zürich, attempted to revive…
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…work was the unfinished opera Doktor Faust, based not on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s work but on earlier versions of the Faust legend. It was completed by his pupil Philipp Jarnach and performed in Dresden in 1925. Two other short operas, Arlecchino and Turandot, composed at Zürich, attempted to revive…
Read More