Mefistofele

Operas by Arrigo Boito
Mefistofele (1868) Nerone (1924)
v · d · e

Mefistofele is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito.

Composition history

Boito began consideration of an opera on the Faustian theme after completing his studies at the Milan Conservatory in 1861. Mefistofele is one of many pieces of classical music based on the Faust legend, and like many other composers, Boito used Goethe's version as his starting point. He was an admirer of Richard Wagner, and like him chose to write his own libretto, something which was virtually unheard of in Italian opera up to that time.

The most popular earlier work based on the legend was Gounod's opera Faust, which Boito regarded as a superficial and frivolous treatment of a profound subject. Furthermore, Boito was contemptuous of what he saw as the low operatic standards prevailing in Italy at that time, and he determined to make his new work distinctive, both musically and intellectually, from anything that had been heard before. He hoped that it would be a wake-up call and an inspiration to other young Italian composers.

The piano-vocal score was completed in 1867 while Boito was visiting relatives in Poland.

Performance history and revisions

Mefistofele premiered on 5 March 1868 at La Scala, Milan under the baton of the composer himself, despite his lack of experience and skill as a conductor. As the evening progressed the hostility of the audience, unfamiliar with Boito’s avant-garde musical style and unimpressed by many of the scenes (notably the scene in the emperor's court), steadily increased. Furthermore the work was far too long and the cast inadequate for the complexities of the music. When the curtain finally came down well after midnight it was clear that the premiere had been nothing short of a fiasco. After just two performances (the second one was split over two nights), the opera was withdrawn.

Boito immediately set to work revising his opera, greatly reduced its length and making many scenes smaller in scale. For instance, he removed the entire original act 4 and rewrote act 5 as an epilogue, adding the duet Lontano, lontano in the process. Faust was changed from a baritone to a tenor.

The revised version was premiered in Bologna on 4 October 1875, this time sung by what is generally regarded to be a very fine cast, and was an immediate success. This change in reception is thought to be partly due to Boito's revisions making the opera more traditional in style, and also to the Italian audience having become familiar with, and more willing to accept, developments in opera associated with Wagner.

Boito made further minor revisions during 1876, and this version was first performed in Venice on 13 May 1876. The first British performance took place at Her Majesty's Theatre, London on 6 July 1880 and the American premiere was on 16 November 1880 in Boston.^[1][2] Thereafter Boito continued to make small changes until the final definitive production in Milan on 25 May 1881.

In the early 20th century, revivals of the opera were associated particularly with the famous Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin: he sang the title role on the occasion of his first appearance outside Russia (La Scala, Milan, 16 March 1901) and also on his North American debut (Metropolitan Opera, New York, 20 November 1907).^[2] Chaliapin made his first appearance at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 25 May 1926. Parts of a subsequent performance on 31 May were recorded by His Master's Voice. ^[3]

The Metropolitan Opera has given the work a total of 67 times since it first appeared there on 5 December 1883, most recently in February 2000.^[4] The Royal Opera in London has only given one performance of the opera, a concert version in March 1998 at the Barbican Centre, with Samuel Ramey as the title character.^[5] As Mefistofele, the American bass made the role a signature one, appearing in many productions in the 1980s and early 1990s, including one given by the San Francisco Opera in November 1994^[6]

Roles

Role[2]	Voice type First version	Premiere cast[7] 5 March 1868 (Conductor: Arrigo Boito)	Voice type Revised version	Cast (revised Bologna version)[8] 4 October 1875 (Conductor: Emilio Usiglio)
Elena (Helen of Troy)	soprano	Mélanie-Charlotte Reboux	soprano	Erminia Borghi-Mamo
Faust, a scholar	baritone	Gerolamo Spallazzi	tenor	Italo Campanini
Margherita, a simple girl	soprano	Mélanie-Charlotte Reboux	soprano	Erminia Borghi-Mamo
Marta, Margherita's neighbour	contralto	Giuseppina Flory	contralto	Antonietta Mazzucco
Mefistofele	bass	François-Marcel (Marcello) Junca	bass	Romano Nannetti
Nereo, a Greek elder			tenor	Carlo Casarini
Pantalis, Helen's companion	contralto	Giuseppina Flory	contralto	Antonietta Mazzucco
Wagner, Faust's pupil			tenor	Carlo Casarini
Chorus: heavenly host, cherubim, penitents, hunters, villagers, students, witches, warlocks, coryphaei and warriors

Synopsis

Prologue

A heavenly chorus praises God the Creator. Mefistofele scornfully declares that he can win the soul of Faust. His challenge is accepted by the Forces of Good.

Act 1

Scene 1

The aged Dr. Faust and his pupil Wagner are watching the Easter celebrations in the main square in Frankfurt. Faust senses that they are being followed by a mysterious friar, about whom he senses something evil. Wagner dismisses his master’s feelings of unease and as darkness falls they return to Faust’s home

Scene 2

Faust is in his study, deep in contemplation. His thoughts are disturbed in dramatic fashion by the sudden appearance of the sinister friar, whom he now recognizes as a manifestation of the Devil (Mefistofele). Far from being terrified, Faust is intrigued and enters into a discussion with Mefistofele culminating in an agreement by which he will give his soul to the devil on his death in return for worldly bliss for the remainder of his life.

Act 2

Scene 1

Restored to his youth, Faust has infatuated Margareta, an unsophisticated village girl. She is unable to resist his seductive charms and agrees to drug her mother with a sleeping draught and meet him for a night of passion. Meanwhile Mefistofele amuses himself with Martha, another of the village girls.

Scene 2

Mefistofele has carried Faust away to witness a Witches' Sabbath on the Brocken mountain. The devil mounts his throne and proclaims his contempt for the World and all its worthless inhabitants. As the orgy reaches its climax Faust sees a vision of Margareta, apparently in chains and with her throat cut. Mefistofele reassures him that the vision was a false illusion.

Act 3

Faust’s vision had been true. Margareta lies in a dismal cell, her mind in a state of confusion and despair. She has been imprisoned for poisoning her mother with the sleeping draught supplied by Faust and for drowning the baby she had borne him. Faust begs Mefistofele to help them escape together. They enter the cell and at first Margareta does not recognize her rescuers. Her joy at being reunited with Faust turns to horror when she sees Mefistofele and recognizes that he is the Devil. Refusing to succumb to further evil, Margareta begs for divine forgiveness. She collapses to the cell floor as the Celestial choir proclaims her redemption.

Act 4

Mefistofele has now transported Faust back in time to Ancient Greece. Helen of Troy and her followers are enjoying the luxurious and exotic surroundings on the banks of a magnificent river. Faust, attired more splendidly than ever, is easily able to win the heart of the beautiful princess. In a passionate outpouring they declare their undying love and devotion to each other.

Epilogue

Back in his study Faust, once more an old man, reflects that neither in the world of reality or of illusion was he able to find the perfect experience he craved. He feels that the end of his life is close, but desperate for his final victory, Mefistofele urges him to embark on more exotic adventures. For a moment Faust hesitates, but suddenly seizing his Bible he cries out for God’s forgiveness. Mefistofele has been thwarted; he disappears back into the ground as Faust dies and the Celestial choir once more sings of ultimate redemption.

Recordings

Year	Cast (Mefistofele, Faust, Margherita)	Conductor Opera House and/or Orchestra	Label[9]
1931	Nazzareno de Angelis, Antonio Melandri, Mafalda Favero	Lorenzo Molajoli Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan	Naxos Historical (originally Italian Columbia) Cat: 8.110273-74[10]
1952	Giulio Neri, Gianni Poggi, Rosetta Noli	Franco Capuana Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan	Audio CD: Cantus Classics Cat: 500 330
1958	Cesare Siepi, Mario del Monaco, Renata Tebaldi	Tullio Serafin Orchestra e Coro dell' Accademia Santa Cecilia, Roma	Audio CD: Decca Cat: 000289 440 0542 4[11]
1973	Norman Treigle, Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé	Julius Rudel Ambrosian Opera Chorus & London Symphony Orchestra	Audio CD: EMI Classics Cat: 07243 566501 2 1[12]
1985	Nicolai Ghiaurov, Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni	Oliviero de Fabritiis London Opera Chorus & National Philharmonic Orchestra	Audio CD:Decca Cat: 000289 475 6666 3[13]
2004	Mark S. Doss, Alberto Cupido, Annalisa Raspagliosi	Paolo Carignani Chor Der Oper Frankfurt & Oper Frankfurt	Audio CD:Hr Musik Cat: B000HT1WQ0 [14]
2008	Ferruccio Furlanetto, Giuseppe Filianoti, Dimitra Theodossiou	Stefano Ranzani Orchestra & Chorus & Teatro Massimo, Palermo	Video DVD:Dynamic (record label) Cat: 33581

In popular culture

Batman Begins depicts the opera being performed onstage, using an excerpt of Rampiamo, rampiamo, che il tempo ci gabba (Chorus of Warlocks and Witches from Act 2, scene 2) from the 1973 EMI (see "Recordings" above). During the scene, performers dressed as bat-like monsters frighten young Bruce Wayne, who asks to leave.

An avant-gard video directed by Yevhen Tymokhin on a remix with the verse E' mia madre addormentata from Margareta's aria in Act 3 was awarded the Euro Video Grand Prix 2006.^[15]

Notes

1. ^ The New Grove Book of Operas. 1996 edn p415.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Ashbrook, William (1997) [1992]. Stanley Sadie. ed. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol.3. London: Macmillan Reference Limited. pp. 303–305. ISBN 1-56159-228-5. 
3. ^ Chaliapin by Victor Borovsky 1988.
4. ^ Metropolitan Opera online database on metoperafamily.org
5. ^ Royal opera House online database
6. ^ San Francisco Opera performance database on archive.sfopera.com
7. ^ "Almanacco 5 March 1868" (in Italian). AmadeusOnline. http://amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=5&Mese=03&Anno=1868&Giornata=&Testo=&Parola=Stringa. Retrieved 30 august 2010. 
8. ^ "Almanacco 4 October 1875" (in Italian). AmadeusOnline. http://amadeusonline.net/almanacco.php?Start=0&Giorno=4&Mese=10&Anno=1875&Giornata=&Testo=&Parola=Stringa. Retrieved 25 May 2011. 
9. ^ Source of recordings information of Mefistofele on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
10. ^ "Boito - Mefistofele". Naxos Records. http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.110273-74. Retrieved 4 September 2010. 
11. ^ "Boito - Mefistofele". The Decca Record Company London. http://www.deccaclassics.com/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4400542. Retrieved 4 September 2010. 
12. ^ "Boito - Mefistofele". EMI Classics. http://www.emiclassics.com/releasedetails.php?rid=22738. Retrieved 4 September 2010. 
13. ^ "Boito - Mefistofele". The Decca Record Company London. http://www.deccaclassics.com/cat/single?PRODUCT_NR=4756666. Retrieved 4 September 2010. 
14. ^ "Boito: Mefistofele". Hr Musik. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boito-Mefistofele-Chor-Oper-Frankfurt/dp/B000HT1WQ0. Retrieved 12 October 2011. 
15. ^ Matoshko, Alexandra (14 June 2006). "Ukraine wins Euro Video Grand Prix.". KyivPost. http://www.kyivpost.com. Retrieved 2006-06-14. 

References

• Harewood, Earl of and Antony Peattie (Eds.), The New Kobbe's Opera Book, London: Ebury Press, 1997. ISBN 0-09-181410-3
• Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-140-29312-4
• Sadie, Stanley (Ed.), The New Grove Book of Operas, London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 1996. ISBN 0-333-65107-3

External links

• Libretto
• Score at the International Music Score Library Project