The Devil Gets His Due In Boito's Mefistofole

Perhaps best known as a librettist who penned the lyrics for Verdi's later operas Falstaff and Otello, Arrigo Boito created a single opera based on the legend of Faust and his deal with the devil. Now the melodrama enjoys a revival in the form of Robert Calsen's sublime postmodern staging, with celebrated American bass-baritone Christian Van Horn in the devious titular role, American tenor Michael Fabiano as Faust, and American soprano Angela Meade as Margherita.

Boito's lush orchestral arrangements, soaring lyrical passages and exquisite choral interludes tell the dark story of Goethe's Faust, but with a focus on the devil as a central character, much like Milton's Paradise Lost. The aging scholar Faust enters into a devilish deal with Mefistofele, who promises a lifetime of bliss if he yields his soul. Yet all that glisters is not gold and the gates of hell beckon when the intellectual when the devil's promises turn out to be hollow echoes...