Prague Opera Tickets

The Prague State Opera presents Mefistofele, the only completed opera by Arrigo Boito. The composer wrote both the music and the libretto, which was unusual for Italian opera at the time.

Boito was better known for his excellent librettos, such as the ones he wrote for Verdi’s operas Othello and Falstaff, but with this opera he sought to introduce Italy to the Wagnerian style. The libretto is based on the story of Faust by Goethe (on which Gounod had already based his opera of the same name), a common theme of the time not only in music but also in literature and other arts.

After Gounod’s work, Boito’s opera is the most popular of those based on Goethe’s story, and actually approximates the latter’s original vision more closely than Gounod’s opera. Mefistofele is, furthermore, the opera that has consecrated Boito in the history of music.

Mefistofele was premiered on 5 March 1868 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, directed by the composer himself. However, it was a complete failure. Boito made various changes, such as shortening the score, and he premiered a new version on 4 October 1875 at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna – this time to great success. Nevertheless, the composer continued to modify the work and presented a definite version, which was also received to great acclaim, on 25 May 1881 at La Scala in Milan. After all the changes made and despite the German elements in Mefistofele that are reminiscent of Beethoven and Wagner, the music is more generally defined by Meyerbeer’s French model. It is also worth noting that this opera is considered to be one of the most important of the 19th century, as it marks the transition to the dramatic school of Italian opera.

The story revolves around Mefistofele, a personification of Evil who makes a wager with the forces of Good, claiming that he will be able to capture Faust’s soul...