Arrigo Boito: Mefistofele

That Arrigo Boito was of great intellectual capacity is attested to by his work for Verdi. He was instrumental in forming and creating the librettos for the last two of Verdi's superb masterpieces and helped to revise and reform several other of Verdi's mature works. On his own he wrote several librettos of promise but his muse of music composition failed him. I have familiarity with two of these: Mefistofele and Nerone. Mefistofele is a hodge podge with a great Prologue and Nerone is again an eclectic muddle with one moving scene - that of Rubria's death. Goethe's Faust legend has not been well served in it's several operatic treatments.Mefistofele had a disastrous opening night at La Scala in 1868. The critics and public liked the prologue but hissed the rest of it as "over long", "uninspired", "disconnected", " rambling mess" that lasted till well after midnight. Occasional revivals are usually associated with star bass singers as Shaliapin at La Scala in 1901 or later with Ezio Pinza always as revised scores. New York City Opera played it fairly frequently for Norman Treigle and later for Samual Ramey. The later was in a legendary production by the San Francisco Opera of which this production is a revival. I've had the privilege to see both of these versions. Both were excellent but Samual Ramey had real star power magnetism and out sang every body before or since including this present recording.In the present recording the devil is Ildar Abdrasakov, a very competent singer and actor who enjoys playing the part and does a commanding job giving us an excellent performance. When he is on stage all goes well. Unfortunately we cannot say the same for the Faust of Ramon Vargas. A singer he is but no actor. In a first rate opera where the musical action alone can carry the story his "park and bark" approach is acceptable but in this opera with only passable music, acting must carry the show. He is totally card-board stiff and never rumples his white suit. Also in a large opera house you don't see his face which is an advantage.The other major player is Patricia Racette as Margarita and Elena (Helen of Troy). Her performance of the "Death of Margarita" scene was the dramatic high point of the opera. She commands a large lush voice with fine resonance and she can act. In the "garden scene" the tree and flower merry-go-round as she is romanced (awkwardly) by Faust and later the same revolving disc with charred wood and dead flowers is where she laments the death of her baby she drowned and her mother she has poisoned. She is a powerful presence .The production itself is highly detailed and grandiose; no barren stage and a twig to representing a forest as in so many current Regie-Eurotrash operas. It is a revival of the opera as done for Ramey. The stage always has lots of activity going on. In the Walpurgis Night crowds cavort on the red-lighted stage complete with with swirling ladies with exposed breasts and men with exposed genitalia. A grand romp around the devil's dance!Much more subdued is the classic Walpurgis Night with Helen of Troy again well done by Patricia Racette.The last scene is the death of Faust and is totally undramatic as if the composer had run totally out of inspiration. But the production as a whole is much fun and worth a revival now and then.

This is a lightly polished revival of the San Francisco production of several decades ago. [Kultur DVD, still available, full screen, not HD] It was an excellent production then and so it is now. The crowd scenes have been more carefully rehearsed and staged, the orchestra plays better and with greater energy this time around, and the witches sabbath has been jazzed up with more and better movements for the chorus members and with more bare flesh exposed. For those who may be interested or concerned, for whatever reasons, the nudity is appropriate but actually neither particularly shocking or delightful. On the back of the package, there appears in small print the statement: "This production contains real and simulated nudity." There, now that topic is out of the way.Samuel Ramey owned the role of Mefistofele. He out acts and out sings Abdrazakov at every turn - indeed, Carsen on the whole has Abdrazakov follow nearly exactly the same stage movements as he did Ramey, such that Abdrazakov comes across a bit of an imitation of Ramey. Let me just say that Abdrazakov is very good, but Ramey was convincingly evil and fabulously funny in the role.In each production the lead tenor (O'Neill then, Vargas now) sings well but is pleasantly plump and not the image of a young man once his journeys with Mefistofele have begun. Gabriela Benackova (then) and Racette (now) perform the roles of Margareta and Helen of Troy with lovely singing and believable characterization, whether as village maid or Queen of Troy. The duets with the tenor are equally ravishing.All in all, if you want to see and hear Ramey at his peak in the context of a fine performance, buy the DVD on Kultur. If you want to see and hear the opera as a whole with better sound and somewhat better orchestral playing (I think that Luisotti is a better conductor than Arena) and see and hear slightly better choral singing, you will want the 2014 BR/DVD version. I should emphasize that in this opera the chorus and orchestra play major roles and do not just support or accompany the singers. The Prologue in Heaven can (and sometimes does) stand alone as a concert piece with two sarcastic and wickedly funny arias for Mefistofele tucked in.Not sure how to decide? Get both versions and become closely acquainted with the opera while enjoying the task of comparing the performances in general and certainly with specific attention to details.

For many years, the top DVD recommendation for Boito’s Mefistofele has been the 1989 version from the San Francisco Opera starring Samuel Ramey. This new version is the same production, superficially refreshed, and with a different cast. Mefistofele was something of a favourite part for Samuel Ramey, and the 1989 film captured him at the height of his very considerable powers, so it’s not surprising that Ildar Abdrazakov is not quite in the same league, although he is very good indeed. In every other respect, this new version is preferable.I was immediately struck by the superb quality of the sound. The Prologue is one of Opera’s great “sonic spectaculars” and here the sound is staggering, with chorus and orchestra in awesome form. Absolutely stupendous and worth the price of the blu-ray on its own!All the singers are very good. The strangely episodic nature of the opera doesn’t permit much by way of character development, but Ildar Abdrazakov has the necessary authority and swagger for Mefistofele, Ramon Vargas sings ardently as Faust and Patricia Racette is particularly riveting in the “Death of Margherita” scene. The smaller parts are also well taken.The production is straightforward, easy to follow, colourful and exuberant. Some of the reviews on Amazon.com make much of the “considerable amount of simulated nudity” in the production. Actually, this only occurs in one short scene, and you’d have to be extremely prudish to be bothered by it.Sound and pictures are superb. Technical details: 24-bit LPCM Stereo and DTS HD Master Audio.All in all, this is a tremendous performance of this unjustly neglected opera, superbly filmed and recorded.

Good revised modern production. I have the DVD od the earlier production with Samuel Pamey in the title role. The newer version benfits from a better HD picture and the sound is even more impressive though I still slightly prefer Ramey's Mephistopheles. A very satisfactory production of this rarely performed opera.

Arrigo Boito was born in Padua in 1842 and died in 1918. He fought under Garibaldi against the Austrians in 1866 when Venice was untied with the rest of Italy. He was mostly a poet, novelist and librettist, but also tried his hand at composing operas, of which Mefistofele is the only one he managed to complete. He is also noted for having written the libretti for Verdi's Otello and Falstaff. In Boito's version of Faust both Margherita and Faust manage to get into heaven.San Francisco Opera presents us here with a colourful and very watchable production, which is apparently a revised version of an earlier production of theirs. The work is presented in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue. Both staging and costumes are very colourful and the crowd scenes are entertainingly choreographed, features that are well brought out in the Blu-Ray disc recording, which also has good sound quality.The prologue is staged in heaven where Mefistofele mocks God, over whom he eventually expects to triumph and tells him so. This sets the scene for his return to earth, which he does on Easter Sunday (Act 1: Scene 1) where he joins in with a crowd celebrating the resurrection of Christ in a not very religious, albeit traditional, fashion. Such celebrations were de rigueur during the Middle Ages, both before and after the Lenten period. and are not to be confused with mummers' plays. which were enacted in the form of various religious stories at appropriate times during the Christian year. Some such enactments were joyful, although others were sad and serious such as 'cross-bearing' on Good Friday. In Scene 2 Mefistofele visits Faust in his home and makes a pact with him. All this is both well presented and sung in attention holding fashion.In Act II, Scene 1 we have the scene in the garden in which Faust meets the happy and chaste Margherita, whom he seduces whilst Mefistofele flirts with her neighbour Marta. Scene 2 depicts an orgy taking place on Walpurgis Night. This 'orgy' gets its name, strangely enough, from an Eighth Century Christian saint by the name of Walpurga, who was the abbess of a monastery in what is now Germany. Walpurgis Night fell on 30 April, the eve of the ancient pagan festival of Beltane that was celebrated in much of Europe, especially in northern Europe, to herald the coming of Spring. It was part of the cycle of the four great pagan festivals: Beltane on May 1st., Lamas on August 1st, Samhain on 1st November and Imbolc on 1st February, which were part of the eight festival year round cycle that also included the equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices. Some women became expert herbalists and people went to them for cures. This upset the Church authorities who began to condemn these women as witches in league with the devil and the old pagan festivals were condemned as evil, witch-led orgies, which is what we have depicted here in a free for all, stripteasing orgy that is no more than a Christian version of what the pagans got up to when, the truth is, they didn't and witches were not nasty women. Even Margherita gets in to the act with a cameo of her displaying herself in the nude at the top of the screen.In Act III the much abused and maligned Margherita refuses to be rescued by Faust from prison where she is awaiting execution for the murder of both her mother and her child. She prefers to die and go to heaven and she does just that.In Act IV Margherita reincarnates as Helen of Troy. Faust comes along again, they make it up and all seems well, but it's all a clever illusion conjured up by Mefistofele and it all fades out. This leads to the epilogue, in which Faust dies, goes to heaven and Mefistofele remains defiant. This is a different ending to the one portrayed in Gounod's opera Faust where Faust ends up in hell.I think many opera lovers will like this production of Boito's only published opera. However, some may think that Ramon Vargas is not completely convincing in the role of Faust, but this is mainly due to his appearance as his voice is top quality. Patricia Racette does both Margherita and Elena (Helen of Troy) very well. She's a perfect choice both in looks and voice for a double up for the two roles and she seems to ne thoroughly enjoying herself as she enters into vividly portraying every aspect of the characters allotted her. Ildar Abdrazakov also enjoys himself as Mefistofele. In fact, everyone acts and sings well and the choral singing is of the best. All told, it's another feather in the cap for the San Francisco Opera. Well done!

Questa rappresentazione del capolavoro di Boito da parte della San Francisco Opera rimane ad altissimo livello! Avevo avuto l'opportunità di vederla dal vivo al Teatro Regio di Torino e possiedo l'edizione precedente in DVD con uno splendido Samuel Ramey, ma posso confermare che questa edizione in Bluray mantiene lo stesso pathos delle precedenti edizioni. Ottimo Abdrazakov (anche se copia pedissequamente tutte le movenze di Ramey) nel tentativo ben riuscito di rinverdire i fasti di questo storico allestimento della San Francisco. Da gustare

C'est une sentiment partagé et nuancé qui me semble ressortir après avoir visionné et écouté cet enregistrement de l'opéra de San Francisco qui reprenait la mise en scène inaugurée 25 ans plus tôt par Robert Carsen.Commençons donc par celle-ci. Un quart de siècle plus tard, elle n'a rien perdu de sa puissance, de sa luxuriance ni de l'impact qu'elle peut avoir sur le spectateur. On est immédiatement impressionné par la variété et la magnificence des costumes somptueux et inventifs comme on l'est aussi par le grand prélude où, sur un fond de théâtre baroque tout en blanc et gris, évolue une cohorte de personnages masqués et vêtus de blanc de pied en cap tenant des bougies jusqu'à former la masse compacte d'un triple choeur (enfant, hommes et femmes) qui va conclure ce passage qui figure parmi les plus beaux de l'oeuvre.On soulignera aussi les scènes de bacchanales totalement débridées et où luxure et sexualité débridée donnent du croustillant d'autant que lors de la Nuit de Walpurgis classique qui constitue le quatrième acte, les costumes sont d'un réalisme tel qu'il faut plusieurs minutes pour s'apercevoir que, non, ce ne sont pas des corps de choristes nus mais des choristes revêtus de costumes imitant à la perfection des corps nus qu'on nous donne à voir. Spectaculaire !Bref, visuellement et scéniquement, on est à la fête de bout en bout et l'on s'amuse bien.Mais, ce qu'on attend surtout dans un opéra, c'est de la musique, bien écrite et bien chantée. Or, de ce point de vue, il y a à redire...Hors concours se trouve l'excellent baryton-basse Ildar Abdrazakov que l'on avait déjà remarqué dans Prince Igor récemment paru en DVD (voir mon post). Ligne de chant remarquable, puissance, nuance, forte présence scénique : il éclipse tout le plateau par sa prestance et sa voix.Côté féminin, Patricia Racette est très en-dessous du rôle. Si sa première scène est plutôt réussie, la suite se dégrade. Lorsqu'elle incarne la scène de folie où elle pleure la perte de son amour et de son enfant, ses respirations saccadées censées traduire le désespoir, à force de répétitions, deviennent insupportables. Le pire est que cela persiste ensuite et que, du coup, on se dit que ce n'était pas voulu mais que cela correspond probablement à sa technique de chant d'autant plus désagréable que la justesse n'est pas toujours au rendez-vous. On est parfois proche du supplice... Et l'on s'étonnera de l'ovation injustifiée qui lui est réservée au moment des saluts. Chauvinisme sans doute.Le grand ténor Vargas n'est plus ce qu'il était. Il nous avait ébloui dans la Dame de Pique au Met. Il a perdu de sa puissance et de son émotion ici et paraît souvent un peu fade.Côté choeurs qui tiennent une place essentielle dans cette oeuvre, il y a de réels problèmes de puissance côté hommes, de mise en place, côté enfants, et d'homogénéité in globo. On est très loin des grands choeurs lyriques et ceci finit de tirer la représentation vers le bas côté chant...Rien à dire côté orchestre qui fait le travail proprement avec un chef très concentré sur sa partition et très précis dans ses gestes ce qui est explique sans doute le résultat final qui aurait, sans cela, pu tourner au drame.Indiquons encore que la prise de son est vraiment indigne d'une captation moderne. Aucun micro sur les chanteurs. Tout est capté à l'aide de peu de micros sur le plateau d'où un rendu lointain, parfois un peu ouaté et qui donne sans cesse l'impression que les voix ont du mal à passer.Nous finirons en soulignant que le livret est à peu près incompréhensible et ridicule alors qu'il est tiré d'un chef-d'oeuvre de Goethe... Il fallait le faire tout de même !Bref, trois étoiles pour la mise en scène et le rôle titre, mais cela les vaut tout juste...