Several of the most gifted composers of the 19th century created major works based on Goethe"s Faust, and Berlioz"s La Damnation de Faust is widely considered the greatest of them all. Scored for three solo singers, chorus, and orchestra, it displays all the qualities that make Berlioz so popular with audiences, conductors, and performers alike: brilliant and innovative orchestration, lyric and dramatic vocal writing, and magnificent choruses.