[.ca] Boito - Mefistofele / Arena, Ramey, Benackova, San ...

From Amazon.com:
Arrigo Boito's treatment of the Faust legend has never been as popular as Gounod's, but Boito was an imaginative composer and a great librettist (he wrote the words for Verdi's Otello and Falstaff, the two finest librettos in Italian opera). As the title suggests, his Mefistofele puts the spotlight on the diabolical villain of the story at least as much as its hapless hero. It is a role ideally suited to Samuel Ramey, requiring a rich, deep voice, a striking stage presence, and only elementary acting skills. He has taken it to most of the world's great opera houses with spectacular success, and it is good to have it in a first-class video recording. The libretto stands out, among operatic treatments of Faust, for its effort to capture the full, epic scope of Goethe's drama, including its moments of unearthly sublimity. The prologue and the conclusion are among opera's most memorable moments of choral grandeur, as this production makes clear. Elsewhere, Boito is witty, colorful, and, sometimes, philosophically dry. --Joe McLellan

Boito resurgence in San Francisco. Lucky us!:
Boito's opera is certainly the least successful of all the adaptations inspired by that cornerstone of Western literature, Goethe's Faust. Poor Boito was hardly in the same league as Berlioz, Gounod or Liszt. Although it has great sense of theatre, a very good libretto, it lacks good, hummable tunes the likes of Gounod's Faust. It is an awkward, long winded work and had to be revised several times. Boito tried too hard to include as much as possible of Goethe's metaphysical play searching for the great unanswered questions like man's purpose on earth, his relation to God, Good and Evil, Heaven and Hell etc. It is hard to tell if Boito has succeeded. And yet, the opera survived, not the least due to this magnificent production, and came through with flying colours. There is much to admire here: a highly imaginative concept, some great singing and very sympathetic conducting by Maurizio Arena. He seems in love with the score and it shows. In the title role, Samuel Ramey dominates the performance, his voice is worthy follower of all the great singers of this role like Feodor Chaliapin and Boris Christoff. His acting is mesmerizing. Secondly, Gabriela Benackova, with a beatiful voice and wonderful characterization is truly impressive in the tragic role of Margherita. As Faust, Dennis O'Neill is somewhat less memorable, but with an attractive voice. The opera, unfortunately, is not immediately appealing, but it gets better as it goes along. After a bit rocky first act, the second act quartet and subsequent love duet are already quite good, while the third act is very highly inspired. Great highlights are the Prologue in Heaven with its bemasked Seraphim in a silver and blue Baroque theatre setting; the ingenious double choruses in Walpurgis Night (conducted here in a tongue in cheek manner by our protagonist, Ramey); the very moving Prison scene where Benackova shines, and the Epilogue. Outstanding, very enjoyable DVD. Highly recommendable.

Sheer splendor:
The 1989 performance of the San Francisco Opera's production of Boito's 'Mefistofele' could not have been more brilliant, more vibrant, more beautiful. It was captured well during the original performance and the transfer to DVD was superb. Having not seen the show performed live, I should state that I am at a bit of a loss in that department, but having seen enough operas live in my days and having recorded them as well, I can safely say that this particular DVD is well worth the money. Ramey's performance is without question phenomenal. The supporting cast shines as well, but in contrast they are merely props to his indomitable presence on stage. He owns the role and he steals the show. The staging, lighting, set design, choreography, and costuming are without a doubt some of the best opera has ever seen or will ever see. If ever a company could capture both the choirs and angels in heaven and the sin and vice on earth so perfectly, the SanFran Opera Co outperforms on all levels. The sound quality on the DVD is excellent and the picture was great. Overall, any and all opera fans should add this one to their collection. For that matter, any and all stage/theater fans should pick this one up, as well. You will not be disappointed.

Overwhelming:
This is one of my two all time favorite operas on tape - the other being the imcomparable Abbado/Von Stade Cenerentola which is probably the finest opera video ever. Don't know what someone else mean by minimalist sets - they are completely over-the-top. I can never watch it without wishing I could watch it with Boito just to see what he would make of the production - I think it brings out a lot of the wryness and irony that has been lost in most traditional stagings - most significantly, that God wins the wager by cheating! I got to say a good word for O'Neil. I think he's great in this, and his voice really complements Ramey's. I managed to catch the opera live, after seeing it many times on the tape, with an inferior tenor, and the difference was notable.

M E P H I S T O ...:
Es una Opera Absolutamente Preciosa y Maravillosa! Y sobre todo desde el punto de vista metaphysiko y philosóphiko! Excelente! Un trabajo hermosísimo el de la Opera de San Francisco!

A Near-Perfect Production..Stellar Presentation !!!!:
Seldom has an opera affected me so much; this presentation has more than heart ! Don't pass it by while it's still available ! Nothing short of a revelation !