Mefistofele

Do people need redemption? Between heavenly choirs of angels with a radiant brass aureole and a hellish cauldron of witches with the gloomy pealing of bells, the world’s spheres take on a concrete, haunting shape in the sound space of the opera „Mefistofele“. For centuries, many different artworks have been inspired by the tale of Faust, which explores the complex relationship between God, the Devil, man and woman. Who seduces whom to do what, and how can we achieve redemption?

The multi-talented Arrigo Boito was both a writer and a musician. Today he is particularly remembered as a gifted librettist, collaborating with Faccio, Ponchielli and, above all, Verdi. For „Mefistofele“, his only finished opera, he translated both parts of Goethe’s Faust tragedy and created his own libretto. In a foreshadowing of modern theatrical techniques, Boito assembled, collaged, intensified and drew new perspectives on Faust for his opera. This work, which has been regularly performed since the completion of the 1875 version, presents two viewpoints of the well-known story of love, knowledge and ambition. The figure of the omnipresent Mefistofele disrupts the never-ending drama of human life with irony, humour and cold distance; Boito has him literally whistle at God and the world from a seemingly hellish perspective. Does Goethe’s transcendental notion of the „eternal feminine” still exert its magical pull? What form does mercy take today? Director Eva-Maria Höckmayr poses these questions in her debut at the Semperoper Dresden.