Performer: Paula Suozzi

Mefistofele proves a mixed blessing: good meets evil, devils fight with angels, lovely lyricism alternates with bombast and second-rate material.

The finale was the dramatic and musical high of the night, when both Ana María Martínez and Mariusz Kwiecień let themselves cut loose, laying waste to the bare stage.

Re-imagining this opera with Prince Gremin as the show-stealer was no doubt a happy accident.