Who are you then? I am part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good. Goethe
‘I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun…’ Billie Joel
Someone must have made a deal with the devil for row F orchestra seats. Luckily that someone is me, and what a spectacle of chorus and costume to see and hear up close, the chorus is jaunty and incredible and featured heavily. The party for the witches sabbath is a whirlwind. They let the chorus choose which villains of the past to voice.
Christian van Horn has a romp of an evening and while things might not work out in the end for the devil, he blissfuly whistles onto his next adventure, maybe a visit to Moscow!*
I’m excited to compare this to Gonoud’s version of Faust we are going to be seeing in Washington D.C. soon. Two of Verdi’s greatest operas Macbeth and Falstaff are also both coming up this season were written by tonights composer Boito. He along with Verdi’s wife over dinner coaxed the 8o something Verdi to compose maybe his best and last opera, Falstaff. This is significant in that a young brash Boito in a big ad campaign sold his opera as one that would surpass the great Verdi, however after a comedy of errors on the opening night it is the only opera Boito ever composes himself.
Faust, autumn leaves, curtains closing; all portents too dreadful to think about. Where is Mefistofole tonight and where do I sign?
So What is Mefistofole all about? It begins with the devil betting god that he can corrupt the great thinker Faust. Faust agrees to a deal with the devil to give up his soul in death if he can experience pure love and beauty and the pleasures of earth. The devil makes him young again and takes him to Margherita, where things turn tragic when the sleeping potion Faust gives her to give to her mother ends up poisoning the mother and she is arrested for that and then drowns her son, Faust’s child. Not going as planned Mefistofele next takes Faust to be with Helen of Troy. Eventually Faust declares that love in the real world just brought heartache and the other was just a fantasy. He repents and is forgiven by heaven, realizing he lost, the devil remains bon vivant and whistles away looking for others to tempt.
*There is a book title the Master and Margarita based on the opera Faust that takes place in Moscow.
Notes on the production
Composer………………………..….. Arrigo Boito
Mefistofele………………………….. Christian Van Horn
Faust………………………………..…… Michael Fabiano
Margherita…………………….…….. Angela Meade
Pantalis………………………………… Samantha Hankey
Nereo………………………………….… Eduardo Valdes
Conductor……………………….…… Carlo Rizzi
Metropolitan Opera
11/8/18