These days there may be a good number of people suggesting that they’d sell their soul for a good job.



It’s a point Kathryn Smith, General Director of Tacoma Opera, acknowledges even as she sees value in the arts. “All of what we do is important, but it’s not an electricity bill.”

Even still, she points out, “Everybody has things that are most important to them.”

For some, it might be recreation equipment. Perhaps it’s a gadget for twittering on the run, or possibly a computer. Maybe it’s that amazing meal out once a week.



Well, this week, maybe you could give up the filet mignon or the new running shoes and consider Tacoma Opera’s latest performance, Faust, playing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.



The story of the dude who sold his soul to the devil is a familiar one, especially since it’s been told since the 1600s. Charles Gounod’s opera is more contemporary than that, premiering in Paris in March of 1859. And yes, it’s super-titled in French, though that shouldn’t daunt you. “Even when opera is in English, you can’t understand it all, it’s sung differently than other types of music,” Smith explains.



In this retelling, an aged scholar despairs, attempts suicide — twice — and is saved by a song. He finally calls on the devil for help (shape of: youth! Form of: pleasure!) and gets all that, plus (but wait, there’s more!! Act now, and we’ll throw in a girl!)



There’s fighting, and some lewdness, and even some girls-in-prison … and still! More!

According to Smith, “The music’s just bloody amazing, a bunch of hit tunes.” She adds, “The synopsis sounds like it might be slow and mournful, but it’s great, thrilling, lively music, even though the devil gets involved and it all goes to hell.”



Pretty much, the opera starts with a bit of hell-raising. As Smith explains, “There’s a town fair, and the devil (Mephistopheles — remember that name from that one Police song?) sings a drinking song … And the chorus is just rocking out.”



Even Marguerite’s prison prayer later in the opera’s libretto isn’t the dirge you’d expect. “It’s powerful, just the most amazing music.”



Smith’s not just saying this from the standpoint of an opera lover. She’s backed up by the reviews and multiple performances the opera has garnered over the years. There’s the Phantom of the Opera back-story, which (in many adaptations) involves Faust being the piece worked on as the Phantom wreaks havoc. More light-hearted assertions of the strength of the opera lie in its use in Tintin graphic novels and even on television when Monty Python used the waltz from the opera.



And again, back to the story: “It makes sense the way good stories do,” Smith explains, adding, “it moves with a good pace; things happen,” unlike other operas where much time is spent conversing about feelings and yearnings, what potential things may or may not happen. Yet, the pacing doesn’t interfere with the emotional impact of the show. “It’s moving, but not in a depressing way.”



All that said, it should also be noted that an evening with Tacoma Opera isn’t the standard, over-priced, stuffy experience that you can sometimes encounter when in the presence of baritones and divas. While you’ll get musical power, experience and finesse, you’re paying a competitive amount, with tickets starting at $15, with extra discounts for the elderly and military communities.



But more than that, you’re getting an experience.



Smith explains, “It’s a chance to go out and dress up and talk to other people. We all spend so much time in front of TVs or computers … this is a human-interaction thing.”



[Pantages Theater, Faust, Friday, March 6, 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 7, 8 p.m.; Sunday, March 8, 2 p.m. $15-$68, 901 Broadway, downtown Tacoma, 253.627.7789]