THE DEVIL GETS ALL THE BEST TUNES Opens Saturday: Long one of the most popular of operas -- it was Queen Victoria's favorite -- Charles Gounod's "Faust" (which this year celebrates its sesquicentennial) has fallen on hard times. Terrific tunes notwithstanding, Gounod's pious take on Goethe's sweeping philosophical drama now seems rather thin. Can Minnesota Opera's new production, directed and choreographed by the estimable Doug Varone, help rehabilitate the piece? The signs are encouraging, and so is the cast: Judith Howarth as Marguerite, Paul Groves as Faust and Kyle Ketelsen, with hat, as Méphistophélès. Conductor Jean-Yves Ossonce should supply the needed French savor. (7:30 p.m. Sat. $20-$150. Ends Feb. 1. Ordway Center for the Arts, 5th and Washington Sts., St. Paul. 612-333-6669 or www. mnopera.org.)
LARRY FUCHSBERG
