Mefistofele

by Arrigo Boito
Houston Grand Opera;
Houston Symphony, John DeMain, conductor
Performers listed below.

Looking back at opera in the mid to late 1800’s, we might think of it as the “cinema” of the 19th century - the public’s favorite form of large-scale, “multi-media” entertainment. Like today’s movies, new operas back then ranged from small, independent numbers, to giant, big-budget blockbusters. The biggest ones were spectacular works produced by major opera companies that were roughly analogous to modern Hollywood studios. And, just like successful film directors get lots of calls from studios today, famous composers were in great demand at the big, 19th-century opera houses.

Naturally, there are differences, as well. Let’s say a movie director spends too much of the studio’s money making a film that’s a box office diaster - like Michael Cimino and “Heaven’s Gate.” The director may or may not get another chance. (Cimino did, eventually.) But the film itself? It gets relegated to cable-TV in a big hurry, and is never seen in theaters again. (Actually, good luck finding “Heaven’s Gate” even on HBO.) Yet with a Romantic opera, say in Milan in 1868, an opening night bust didn’t necessarily mean that the opera itself was dead and buried. The composer AND the opera sometimes got another chance.

That’s exactly what happened to composer Arrigo Boito and his opera, MEFISTOFELE. The first performance, at La Scala, was one of opera’s most famous fiascoes. One of the lead roles had to be rewritten at the last minute. Then, the conductor requested cuts that Boito refused to make, so the conductor quit - forcing Boito to himself to lead the opening night performance, and he wasn’t much of a conductor. And the production lasted well past midnight, with various factions in the audience screaming their opinions at each other all the way through the show. So Boito wrote a “new and improved” version of the same piece, and when it opened in Bologna seven years later, it was a smash. It was an even bigger hit in 1881, back in Milan - and Boito’s MEFISTOFELE is still playing to packed houses today.

One of those houses is the Wortham Theater Center, source of the Houston Grand Opera production we’ll hear this week on NPR WORLD OF OPERA, with Steve Curwood. And, as an extra added attraction, this version of Boito’s opera won’t keep you up past midnight, at least in most time zones!

Also, before the opera, tune in AT THE OPERA with Lou Santacroce - for more on why Mefistofele is not a guy to buy a used car from.



Performers:
Samuel Ramey, Mefistofele; Patricia Racette, Margherita; William Joyner, Faust; Chad Shelton, Wagner/Nereo; Judith Christin, Marta; Sondra Radvanovsky, Elena; Stephanie Novacek, Pantalis


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