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Mefistofele

State Opera (Státní opera)Wilsonova 4, Prague, Central Bohemian Region, 110 00, République tchèque
Dates/horaires selon le fuseau horaire de Prague
samedi 06 décembre 202518:00
vendredi 12 décembre 202519:00
jeudi 18 décembre 202519:00
dimanche 21 décembre 202517:00
samedi 27 décembre 202518:00
Artistes
Prague State Opera
Gabriel FeltzDirection
Ivan KrejčíMise en scène
Milan DavidDécors
Marta RozskopfováCostumes
Daniel TesařLumières
Prague State Opera Orchestra
Prague State Opera Chorus
Jitka SlavíkováDramaturgie
Prague National Theatre Opera Ballet
Pueri Gaudentes
Adolf MelicharChef de chœur
Libor SládekChef de chœur
Jerzy ButrynBasseMefistofele
Kyungho KimTénorFaust
Jean-François BorrasTénorFaust
Petra Šimková-AlvarezSopranoMargherita
Josef MoravecTénorWagner, Nereo
Martin ŠrejmaTénorWagner, Nereo
Jana SýkorováMezzo-sopranoMarta
Sylva ČmugrováSopranoPantalis
Victoria KhoroshunovaSopranoElena

Arrigo Boito stressed that a perfect opera could only accrue from a great and profound work of poetry. And such is Goethe’s Faust. Yet unlike the composers who had set the masterpiece to music previously, he did not limit himself to Part 1, but proceeded to Part 2 of Goethe’s drama, taking place at the imperial court and during Antiquity. Although he had to omit a number of important scenes and characters, the result was an opera lasting nearly five hours. The premiere on 5 March 1868 at La Scala in Milan was a flop, giving rise to one of the most tumultuous uproars in opera history. Boito presently got down to revising the piece and radically reduced the score. The new version, first performed at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna on 4 October 1875, was an instant success. Boito continued to make changes to the opera, until Mefistofele assumed its definitive form in 1881, when it triumphantly returned to La Scala. Mefistofele was his operatic debut and swan song alike. Boito worked on several other operas, including Nerone, yet failed to finish any of them. Nevertheless, during his lifetime Mefistofele was so hugely popular in Italy and beyond that it was enough to prompt the University of Cambridge to grant him an honorary doctorate in music.

Mefistofele was first performed in Prague in February 1881 at the Estates Theatre. The production was also taken up by the newly opened Neues deutsches Theater (now the State Opera), in 1888 and 1897. The National Theatre first presented Mefistofele on 9 December 1885, then in 1896 and, finally, 1936 and 1942, with the celebrated bass Vilém Zítek in the title role. The current Prague production, staged by the renowned drama and opera director Ivan Krejčí, premiered at the State Opera in 2015.

Mefistofele par Ivan Krejčí, nos comptes-rendus

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