It turns out the music and lyrics of Depeche Mode make an apt companion to French composer Charles Gounod’s opera, “Faust.” Mixed Precipitation blends the moody lyrics of the British synth-rock band with Gounod’s masterpiece in the company’s latest Pickup Truck Opera, mining the classic story for contemporary lessons.

Gounod’s librettists Jules Barbier and Michel Carré drew on Carré’s play, “Faust et Marguerite,” for the 1859 opera’s lyrics, while the play was based on German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Faust, Part One.” Unlike Goethe’s original work, where Faust sells his soul to the devil for knowledge and power, the opera focuses more on romance. Frustrated that his years as a scholar made him miss out on love, Faust trades ultimate damnation for a chance at love and youth.

Mixed Precipitation puts a modern twist to the story, adapted by collaborating writer Max Yeshaye, co-staging director Scotty Reynolds, and music director and arranger Gary Ruschman. Rather than being a spinner like the original story, here Marguerite, called Margie and played by Corissa Bussian, is a scientist who has invented a new substance called “deemonium.” Faust, played by Maurice Fields, becomes a leader of a tech corporation, while Mephistopheles, played by Justin Spenner, becomes its Elon Musk-like CEO, Elliot Scum.

Prescient questions around scientific ethics — like whether creating a colony on the moon is a great idea — or if humans should employ technology to “alter” the human form — fit nicely within the framework of the Faust narrative. A central plot point in the original opera — Marguerite killing her and Faust’s love child — gets transformed in this version to Margie being responsible for creating a harmful new scientific substance.

The opera is accompanied by a small ensemble, bolstered occasionally by singers who trade off as instrumentalists. Besides singing Margie, Bussian also plays a melodica. Nick Miller, who plays Valentine, Margie’s brother, and was the co-staging director, doubles up on cello duty with ensemble singer Joni Griffith, who also plays drums and sings the witch part in the last act.

Depeche Mode’s dark and anxious lyrics fit neatly with Barbier and Carré’s poetic libretto, and music director Ruschman has a knack for weaving together the 19th century songs with the modern tunes seamlessly. With only a few instruments, the instrumentation shifts from a classical sound to a pop beat, and also takes on the science fiction of the adaptation — including repeating the “Meet George Jetson” theme song several times.

The translation of the French lyrics, meanwhile, is handled with careful orchestration, thanks to a series of different props by Alex Hathaway. At times, the English translations appear in a scrolling cranky box that sits on top of the spaceship set. At other moments, they appear on banners that are choreographed into the staging. Even with the two languages and the employment of music centuries apart, the story never gets lost.

The strong cast helps. Fields plays Faust as a bit of a gullible doofus, but a sincere one whose realization of his mistake in the last act plays grippingly. A capable opera singer, Fields also shines singing the Depeche Mode tunes. As Margie, Bussian captures her character’s journey from spunky flirtation to guilt-stricken redemption with weight and grace. Spenner, meanwhile, is deliciously funny and evil as Mephistopheles.

The show continues in outdoor locations around the Twin Cities and beyond through Sept. 15.

Mixed Precipitation’s Pickup Truck Opera, Vol. 4: “Faust”

When: Select dates: 6:30 p.m. Aug 28 at Silverwood Park, St. Anthony; 6:30 p.m. Sept. 6 at Ojibway Park, Woodbury; 5 p.m. Sept. 8 at Harriet Island Regional Park, St. Paul; 3 p.m. Sept. 14 at Swede Hollow Park, St. Paul.

Where: See mixedprecipitation.org for detailed information.

Tickets: $5-$45 suggested donation.

Capsule: Mixed Precipitation blends Depeche Mode with Charles Gounod’s opera “Faust” in its latest Pickup Truck Opera.

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