A Note on Opera: Arrigo Boïto’s “Mefistofele“

Join the Goethe-Zentrum for our latest lecture in our “A Note on Opera” series as we look at Arrigo Boïto’s “Mefistofele.”
Of all the adaptations of Goethe’s “Faust,” Boïto’s is the most faithful to the original text. Boïto was a gifted librettist, but he knew a good thing when he saw it. So rather than re-write the story of “Faust,” he lifts parts directly from Goethe’s play. And having a great sense of theatre, he shifts the focus away from that of Faust himself and instead tells the story from Mephistopheles’s perspective. “Mefistofele” sadly remains on the fringes of the repertoire, but fortunately the title role is so irresistible to great basses that productions aren’t too rare.

Course to be taught in English by David Kerr. No pre-existing knowledge of music required.