Mefistofele is the composer and poet Arrigo Boito’s one and only completed opera. It boasts mesmerising choral scenes, such as the Chorus Mysticus in the Prologue and the Witches' Sabbath in Act 2. What is more, the title role affords a great opportunity for basses, who since the early the 20th century have passed the baton, starting with the legendary Fyodor Chaliapin or the no less amazing Czech bass Vilém Zítek.
Arrigo Boito stressed that a perfect opera could only accrue from a great and profound work of poetry. And such is Goethe’s Faust. Yet unlike the composers who had set the masterpiece to music previously, he did not limit himself to Part 1, but proceeded to Part 2 of Goethe’s drama, taking place at the imperial court and during Antiquity. Although he had to omit a number of important scenes and characters, the result was an opera lasting nearly five hours. The premiere on 5 March 1868 at La Scala in Milan was a flop, giving rise to one of the most tumultuous uproars in opera history. Boito presently got down to revising the piece and radically reduced the score. The new version, first performed at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna on 4 October 1875, was an instant success. Boito continued to make changes to the opera, until Mefistofele assumed its definitive form in 1881, when it triumphantly returned to La Scala. Mefistofele was his operatic debut and swan song alike. Boito worked on several other operas, including Nerone, yet failed to finish any of them. Nevertheless, during his lifetime Mefistofele was so hugely popular in Italy and beyond that it was enough to prompt the University of Cambridge to grant him an honorary doctorate in music.
Mefistofele was first performed in Prague in February 1881 at the Estates Theatre. The production was also taken up by the newly opened Neues deutsches Theater (now the State Opera), in 1888 and 1897. The National Theatre first presented Mefistofele on 9 December 1885, then in 1896 and, finally, 1936 and 1942, with the celebrated bass Vilém Zítek in the title role. The current Prague production, staged by the renowned drama and opera director Ivan Krejčí, premiered at the State Opera in 2015.
