Si Faust: When Rock Meets Tragedy
Who would have known operatic rock works? Arete’s Si Faust did.
Words Mian Centeno
Photo courtesy of May Celeste, Irvin Arenas, and Kyle Venturillo
November 20, 2025
Arriving with the force of a revival and the audacity of reinvention, Si Faust effortlessly blends the raw power of Wolfgang’s music with Goethe’s timeless tragedy. It moves with confidence, unafraid to let myth and rock crash into each other.
Told almost entirely through reworked Wolfgang tracks, the production makes operatic rock look deceptively easy when in fact, it’s not. The genre that demands stamina and precision—yet the cast carries it as if breathing in flames were inherent.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Venturillo
Following Goethe’s tragedy, Si Faust tells a story of a man desperate enough to bargain his soul for a chance at desire, power, and purpose. He strikes a deal with the cunning Mephistopheles, only to find that every wish granted unravels into consequences he never saw coming.
And in the center of it all, a powerful force lurks—Maita Ponce as Mephistopheles. She inhabits the role with a wicked confidence that electrifies the stage.
With razor-sharp vocals and commanding aura, Ponce reimagines Mephistopheles as her own. Even in silence, she steals attention with her playful, predatory unpredictability that transforms the scenes dangerous in the best possible way.
The rest of the ensemble moves with similar artistry, weaving tension with a clean, modern take that keeps the pacing sharp. Each transition feels like a striking moment calibrated to hit before pulling back into silence.
Photo courtesy of Kyle Venturillo
What Si Faust achieves is a kind of narrative collision between myth, rock, and theatrical risk. It doesn’t rely on a spectacle alone, but on control, intention, and willingness to embrace difficulty head-on.
Even with melodies reshaped for the stage, the spirit of Wolfgang’s music still shakes the bones of the theater. Their sound remains unmistakable—dark, driving, and alive.
It also proves that operatic rock—ambitious as it is—can feel effortlessly when artists choose to swim with fire. Si Faust successfully played with fire making it impossible to ignore.
Ultimately, Si Faust proves that operatic rock can feel effortless when artists choose to swim with fire. And in doing so, Si Faust becomes fire itself making it impossible to ignore.
