Boito - Mefistofele / Arena, Ramey, Benackova, San Francisco Opera
by Brian Large
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Daniel Harper, Dennis O'Neill, Gabriela Benackov?, Judith Christin, Samuel RameyDirector: Brian Large
Editor: Gary Bradley
Writer: Arrigo Boito
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Italian (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled)
Format: Classical, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 160 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-07-31
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kultur Video
Movie Reviews of Boito - Mefistofele / Arena, Ramey, Benackova, San Francisco Opera
Movie Review: The Definitive Staging of an Ethereal Opera!
Summary: 5 Stars
We should all be grateful for the tenacity of Arrigo Boito.After a disasterous debut,he reworked "Mefistofele" into the masterpiece we enjoy today.I own 2 copies of the opera on cd.The Rudel production with Treigle,Domingo& Caballe as the principles.The Gavazzeni production with Ghiaurov,Bergonzi& Kabaivanska as the principals
"Mefistofele" is grand opera at its grandest.From prologue to epilogue,it is a feast for the eyes and ears.The antics at the Easter celebration may raise an eyebrow or two but hang in there. Samuel Ramey was born to play Mefistofele. He is at his zenith in this performance.His voice had to have shook the rafters of the enormous War Memorial.Gabriela Benakova was wonderful in the dual roles of Margherita and Elena. Dennis O'Neill,whom I was not familiar with,possesses an instrument of great beauty as well.
This is fast becoming my favorite opera.The salvation of Faust in the epilogue is the most beautiful ending in all of opera.This opera is not performed enough today. I'm spearheading a move to have it returned to the regular roster.Buy this DVD today!!!
Summary of Boito - Mefistofele / Arena, Ramey, Benackova, San Francisco Opera
Samuel Ramey won overwhelming critical acclaim for his performance in the San Francisco Opera's production of Boito's adaptation of Goethe's classic conflict of good versus evil, under the baton of Maurizio Arena. Samuel Ramey: Mefistofele
Dennis O'Neill: Faust
Daniel Harper: Wagner
Emily Manhart: Pantalis
Douglas Wunsch: Nereo
Gabriela Benackov?: Margherita/Elena
Judith Christin: Marta
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
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