HOUSTON GRAND OPERA
Presents
MEFISTOFELE
An Opera with a Prologue, Four Acts, and an Epilogue
Music and Libretto by Arrigo Boito
Samuel Ramey as the Devil climbs up the ladder from the Orchestra Underneath asking, "Do you know Faust?"
ww.hgo.com
Brown Theater, Wortham Theater Center
April – May, 1999
Sung in Italian with English Surtitles
THE CAST
The Devil Himself
MEFISTOFELE
SAMUEL RAMEY
In the Title Role
THE DEVIL
FAUST………………………WILLIAM JOYNER
WAGNER / NEREO…………CHAD SHELTON
MARGHERITA……………...PATRICIA RACETTE
MARTA……………………..JUDITH CHRISTIN
ELENA………………………..SONDRA RADVANOVSKY
PANTALIS……………………STEPHANIE NOVACEK
CONDUCTOR………………...JOHN DEMAIN
PRODUCTION………………...ROBERT CARSEN
DIRECTOR…………………….PETER MCCLINTOCK
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MEFISTOFELE
Mefistofele is based on Goethe's play Faust. Arrigo Boito, who is best-known for his librettos for
Verdi's Otello and Falstaff, wrote his own libretto. Boito's only completed opera, Mefistofele was
first performed in 1868. The premiere was a fiasco, weighing in at six hours. It was revised twice,
with the current version first performed in 1876.
Mefistofele is the story of the rationalist philosopher Faust's temptation by the devil. Mefistofele
wagers with heaven that he can gain the soul of Faust. He appears in Faust's study, and Faust
agrees to trade his soul in return for the promise of one peaceful moment. In the next episode,
Faust courts a young woman, Margherita, and later tries to arrange her escape from prison after
she murders their illegitimate child and her own mother. Mefistofele and Faust travel back in time to
ancient Greece, where Faust falls in love with Helen of Troy. In the end, Mefistofele continues to
try to win Faust's soul, but as Faust dies his spirit is accepted into Heaven.
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DAVID GOCKLEY AND THE HOUSTON GRAND OPERA
CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND HELL ON EARTH
MEFISTOFELE
SAMUEL RAMEY STARRING AS THE DEVIL HIMSELF
WHO RAISES THE ROOF AT THE HGO WORTHAM CENTER BOMB SHELTER
By Theresa Hyde
TheresaHyd@aol.com
May, 1999
When my Baldwin look-alike Francisco D’Anconia highly anticipated evening date didn’t show up
that night, I knew from the very beginning I was already in HELL. So, I got stood up. And I was
wearing my best eveningwear and the tallest, most uncomfortable, most impressive-looking shoes.
And I thought I was running late but then I was 30 minutes early. Things like that happen in Hell
and at the Houston Grand Opera Wortham Center Bomb Shelter, just like in Alice in Wonderland.
Who the Hell does he think he is? Satan’s bisexual obsessed evil twisted twin sister? Some lying
flying double-tongued poisoned snake monkey-eating devil worshipper? But, you know, I’ve seen
‘em all, from La Traviata to The Phantom of the Opera. And my friend told me that I was spoiled,
that I deserved a good spanking from David Gockley or George Lucas.
“IF ONLY SOMEONE COULD TAME ME.”
-----Lisa Simpson
Sister of Bart Simpson, The Simpsons
Be careful what you wish for, ‘cause you just might get it. And like Tyrone L. Dargins, my wish
was granted. Even though Sammy Davis Jr. wasn’t my fairy godmother. It was either Grace
Kelly……….or Mother Theresa……..or Audrey Hepburn…….or Natalie Portman.
“I WILL SIGN NO TREATIES, SENATOR.”
-----Natalie Portman
The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Movie from George Lucas
Which leads me to this segue that watching Boito’s Mefistofele was like watching a Star Wars
Movie. Onstage. HGO stands for HUGE. Like Darth Vader or spotting a Jedi. Except this was
how it went………..
Okay, so how does one describe an Opera? Many, many, many people onstage. A Klu Klux Klan
Gathering that was Simply Angelic. Pure White Stage Lit by Candles, but surrounded by Men in
White Sheets, Naked Underneath. Surrounded with Angels. Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels,
Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels, Angels.
The wallpaper, which was intricate, was white.
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MEFISTOFELE
PROLOGUE:
A heavenly choir sings praises to the Creator. Mefistofele appears and mocks God, complaining
that Man has become so degenerate that he is no longer worth tempting. The choir asks him if he
knows Faust. Not only does Mefistofele know him, but he boasts that he can ensnare the aging
scholar prevailing over God.
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Michael Levine
SET AND COSTUME DESIGN: BY MICHAEL LEVINE.
Michael Levine (Set and Costume Designer) has worked internationally in theater, opera, dance
and film. He has designed for the Paris Opera, Vienna State Opera, English National Opera, the
Metropolitan, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston and Canadian Opera companies, the National
Theatre, The Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Shaw Festival, as well as in London's West
End and on Broadway. He has collaborated with many directors, choreographers and film makers
including Robert Le Page, with whom he designed Tectonic Plates for the T'heatre de Repere, A
Midsummer Night's Dream for the National Theatre and Bluebeard's Castle and Ewartung for the
Canadian Opera Company. His work has been honored with a Paris Critics Prize, an Olivier
Award and a Tony Award nomination.
Duane Schuler
LIGHTNING DESIGN: BY DUANE SCHULER.
Duane Schuler (Lighting Designer) has lit numerous production for Houston Grand Opera, including
the 1996 productions of Susannah and Norma and the 1997 productions Boris Godunov and The
Magic Flute. Mr. Schuler is the Resident Lighting Designer at Lyric Opera of Chicago, having
designed more than 130 productions for that company since 1977. He is the former resident
designer at the Guthrie Theater, and he has received consistent critical praise for designs at Lyric
Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Los Angeles Opera, Santa
Fe Opera, the Goodman Theater, and many other major companies internationally. He is founding
partner in Schuler & Shook, Inc., a theatrical consulting firm.
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Arrigo Boito and Director Peter McClintock just told Michael Levine and Duane Schuler to create
“a Klu Klux Klan Meeting with Plenty of Singing Angels.” And they didn’t do it with just super glue
either. You think a picture’s worth a thousand words? No, it’s worth about $20 bucks inside a
Bomb Shelter in the Downtown Theatre District. But it’s an air-conditioned Bomb Shelter called
The Wortham Center Brown Theater. So it’s okay.
And all the Klu Klux Klan opera members were all singing in Italian. Or they were lip-synching like
Milli Vanilli. I couldn’t tell with the hoods over their heads. Speaking of the devil, do you think that
dead Milli Vanilli guy’s in Hell right now? He committed suicide and broke the First Commandment
“Thou Shall Not Kill………Especially Thyself.”
The Patron Saint of Grunge Rock Kurt Cobain, the Lead Singer for Nirvana was there. He had
needles sticking out of his arm. Also present was Tupac Shakur, the Patron Saint of Rap. He was
riddled with bullet holes. The Lead Singer from that Australian band INXS was there as the Patron
Saint of Excess with his leather belt wrapped around his neck. They were all there. All present and
accounted for.
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MEFISTOFELE
ACT I:
It is Easter Sunday, and Faust and his student Wagner join the holiday crowd celebrating in the
square. They notice a friar whose sinister appearance disturbs Faust. Later, in his study, Faust
prepares to meditate on the Bible when the mysterious friar appears. Faust forces him to reveal his
true identity. It is, of course, Mefistofele, who introduces himself as the spirit that negates and
destroys everything. Mefistofele promises to be Faust’s servant on earth, in exchange for his soul
after death. Faust accepts, on the condition that Mefistofele bring him one moment of true
happiness. Mefistofele agrees, and Faust signs the contract.
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And the Klu Klux Klan Devils decide to have a Parade. The Parade had Adam and Eve, wearing
their Jim Carrey Style fig leaf over their genitals. They were making love on a Float Parade on top
of a Pedestal. On another Float was Raggedy Ann and Andy, also making love, Over and Over
again. And after that, they took all their clothes off. But you could hardly notice because the stage is
filled with plenty of streamers and confetti. It’s like a real Parade, onstage. With a couple of
giraffes, a few guys or clowns who wanted to be taller than anybody else were walking on the
tallest stilts imaginable. (Ohhh, yeah. That’s what those things are used for.)
Head of the NRA Charleton Heston was the Grand Marshall of the Parade, riding in on a Rolls
Royce Corniche. He was shooting his 12-gauge shotgun with one hand, and carrying the 10
Commandments carved in stone with the other. (The Devil has the funds of hiring anybody for his
Parade, or he has the capability and technology of cloning them.)
“K-MART ONLY SELLS GUNS TO RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE.”
Rosie O’Donnell
On the Rosie O’Donnell Show
The day after Tom Selleck guest-starred on her show
Phil Hartman’s wife Brin Hartman was there in Designer Duds. Gianni Versace was a cherubin
angel flying among the clouds. I don’t know why, but Dr. Death Jack Kevorkian was there. And
the Long Island Lolita Herself, Amy Fisher was there. And Joey Buttaffucco. Oh I’m sorry, Joey
Buttaffucco’s not dead yet, but you know maybe if we send Amy Fisher out, he will be.
SHE NEEDS ANOTHER HOLE IN THE HEAD. I MEAN, ANOTHER HOLE IN THE
HEAD.
-----Amy Fisher Look-Alike
Saturday Night Live Skit
May, 1999
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
My name is Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiid Roooooooooooock
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
And this is for the questions
That don’t have any answers
The midnight glancers
And the topless dancers
The gander freaks
Car packed with speakers
The G’s with the 40’s
And the chicks with beepers
The northern lights
And the southern comfort
And it don’t even matter
If their Veins are Punctured
All the Crackheads
The Critics, the Cynics
And all my Heroes In the Methadone clynics
-----KID ROCK, BAWITDABA
The most memorable moment was when the three or four Men In Black grabbed a hold of Eve (of
Adam and Eve) with her truly blonde white fair haired skin. She was lowered from high up the
Pedestal by these Men In Black as they prepared her for virginal offering. Not By Fire, But By The
Sword. And everyone was singing like Barbara Streisand. Trying to Raise the Roof of the
Wortham Theatre Bomb Shelter.
During intermission, this Matthew Broderick look-alike was waiting for his aunt just like in that Neil
Simon movie, Brighton Beach Memoirs. He’s got a Doctorate in Political Science at the University
of Texas in Austin. I told him that the show was way better than watching a Marilyn Manson
Concert. He responded, “I wouldn’t know.” What the HELL is going on here? As I pondered on
that query, I watched in horror as the big, brown hairy rodents from the movie BEN scurried
around and ran about the Orchestra Floor.
PEOPLE ARE DYING, SENATOR. WE MUST DO SOMETHING QUICKLY.
THE FEDERATION HAS GONE TOO FAR.
-----Natalie Portman
The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Movie from George Lucas
After the break, the scene opened in a Waterfront Island Paradise, complete with Palm Trees and
a wet bar. And then all the most distinguished looking designer evening-wearing honorable ladies of
the Houston Grand Opera House, proudly wearing their heads high with their expensive hairspray
bouffant were slowly tortured to watch silently as their faithful husbands were in the swimming pool
sipping gently on their martini glass. The wives watched in horror as their husbands were served by
girlies looking like Playboy Centerfolds in this totally nude girlie bar. The licking lap dancers and
short skirt table dancers from The Men’s Club were serving the drinks. The faithful husbands
smiled and enjoyed this whole scene, unaware that their wives were watching. It was really funny.
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MEFISTOFELE
ACT II:
In a garden, the rejuvenated Faust (now calling himself Enrico) courts Margherita, while Mefistofele
distracts her neighbor, Marta. Faust persuades Margherita to let him visit her at her home, and
gives her a sleeping potion (provided by Mefistofele) for her mother. Faust reassures Margherita
that the potion will not harm her mother.
Later, on the Witches’ Sabbath, Mefistofele urges Faust up the mountains to witness the revelry.
Witches and warlocks appear, and Mefistofele demands homage as their king. They present him
with a symbol of the world, which he mocks and then destroys. Faust suddenly sees in the sky a
vision of a young girl in chains who resembles Margherita. Mefistofele tries to dismiss it as a trick of
imagination, but Faust realizes that the woman with the ring of blood around her neck is indeed the
girl he abandoned.
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William Joyner as Faust and Samuel Ramey as Mefistofele
Ramey, Baby, I wanna see you raise the roof! Samuel Ramey is singing to Faust onstage. Speaking
of the Devil, they picked Baritone Ramey for the part of the Devil because his voice was so low.
And he can sing and burp at the same time. And he can nauseate and vomit on cue. And he can
conduct a bunch of operatic chorus line to sing and vomit on cue as well. It was a command
performance evening.
And then all the Playboy Centerfolds at the Men’s Club were vomiting as well into the swimming
pool. And all the faithful husbands with their little two-inch genitals swam away from the green and
brown vomit. This one girl, Miss October, the one with really huge hanging jugs vomited in
puke-red. Another other one had corn. And then everyone in the Houston Grand Opera House
who had dinner before the Opera emitted flatulence.
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
All you bastards in the I.R.S.
For the crooked cops
And the cluttered desks
For the shots of jack
The cabs of meth
Half pints of love
And the fifth’s of stress
For the hookers all trickin’ out in Hollywood
And for my hoods
Of the world misunderstood
I said it’s all good
It’s all in the fun
Now get in the pit and try to love someone
-----KID ROCK, BAWITDABA
Patricia Racette as Margherita
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MEFISTOFELE
ACT III
Margherita is in prison for poisoning her mother and drowning the child she bore Faust. She has
lost her reason and will soon be executed; Faust begs Mefistofele to save her. The devil denies
responsibility, but gives Faust a key to her prison. When Faust approaches, Margherita thinks he is
the executioner, but then she recognizes him and begins to relive their past. Faust urges her to
escape with him, but she cannot face a life filled with remorse. They imagine the happiness they
might have had. When Mefistofele orders Faust to leave with him, Margherita prays for forgiveness
and renounces Faust, and a celestial choir proclaims her salvation.
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"Witches and warlocks appear.” And they were all naked. And they were fat and they were old.
Their tits, their asses, their rolls of Fat were out hanging in full view. Everything was hanging. I guess
we have proven that gravity does exist in HELL. And the little penises were peeking out of their
thick black pubic hair. And they were all bald and short and fat and pudgy, with rolls and rolls and
rolls of fat. They were wearing cool shades and pointy party hats, dressed in bow ties and garter
belts looking like those people in the Rocky Horror Picture Show Movie, except they were all
naked.
But they sure had VOICES, Strong Powerful Voices. So Powerful that it caused this really Huge
Bomb Explosion. They Raised the Roof. The casual wear people watching from the outside saw
the roof BLOW OVER THE TOP. Everyone inside the Wortham Center Bomb Shelter, everyone
wearing designer evening gowns and tuxes were CHARRED. CHARRED TO THE CORE. They
raised the roof Big Willie Style. David Gockley sure does draw Inspiration from The Dead.
“WHAT? ARE YOU FEEDING HIM? WHY DON’T YOU JUST KILL HIM?”
-----SETH GREEN
AUSTIN POWERS
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
Bawitdaba-da bang-da bang-diggy-diggy-diggy
Said the boogie-said up jump the boogie
For the time bombs tickin’
And the heads they hang
All the gangs getting’ money
And all the heads they bang-bang
Wild mustangs
The porno flicks
All my homies in the country
In cellblock six
The grits where there ain’t
Enough eggs to cook
For D. B. Cooper
And the money he took
You can look for answers
But that ain’t fun
Now get in the pit
And try to love someone
What
Come on
Love Love
And for the hate
And for the peace
War
Come on
-----KID ROCK, BAWITDABA
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MEFISTOFELE
ACT IV
In his quest for true happiness, Faust has been transported by Mefistofele to ancient Greece. Elena
(Helen of Troy) and her companion Pantalis serenade the full moon. Faust is enchanted with his
surroundings and with Elena’s beauty. Elena and Faust pledge their love, contemplating life
together.
EPILOGUE
In his study, Faust reflects sadly on his past. His love for Margherita had ended in tragedy, and
Elena had only been an illusion. Mefistofele despairs that Faust has still not experienced the
promised moment of true happiness. Fearing that his victim will escape, Mefistofele urges Fuast to
accompany him once again. But Faust prays for forgiveness; in a vision, he sees a celestial city and
hears the angel choir. In this moment of supreme joy, he dies. He is redeemed, and the angels carry
him to heaven.
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Robert Carsen
PRODUCTION: ROBERT CARSEN
Robert Carsen has directed for opera and theater companies throughout North America and
Europe, including Flemish Opera, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Vienna State Opera, Opera
Bastille in Paris, Zurich Opera, Munich Opera, Welsh National Opera, New York's Roundabout
Theater and the Old Vic Theatre. His 1992 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for the
Aix-en-Provence Festival won the 1992 French Critics Prize. Mr. Carsen also wrote and directed
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for Euro Disney, and he directed a recording of Stravinsky's The
Soldier's Tale, conducted by Kent Nagano with Ian McKellen, Sting and Vanessa Redgrave.
Some of his recent new productions include a seven-part Puccini cycle for Flemish Opera, Semele
for the Aix-en-Provence Festival, the Lohengrin, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Nabucco and Manon
Lescaut for Opera Bastille.