Boito Mefistofele ~ Samuel Ramey (Mefistofele); Dennis O'Neill (Faust); Gabriela Benackova (Margarita and Elena); soloists; Chrus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera; Maurizio Arena, conductor; Robert Carsen, director ~ Kultur D0024.

When Göthe wrote that cornerstone of German literature, Faust, he expressed the hope that someone would turn it into an opera. Several composers granted his wish, but mostly after his death. Ludwig Spohr wrote the first significant operatic setting, mostly forgotten now.

Schuman wrote his less-than-memorable Scenes from Goethe's Faust a bit later, Liszt wrote a Faust Symphony and Wagner a Faust Overture. No one knows quite what to make of Berlioz's Damnation of Faust. It is called a "dramatic legend" and is in the form of a mammoth cantata. It was not originally intended to be staged, but stage versions have been mounted with varying degrees of success.

By far the best known operatic adaptation is Gounod's Faust, a sentimentalized but otherwise fairly faithful adaptation of Part I of Göthe's play. With its endless supply of memorable tunes, colourful orchestration and sure dramatic sense, it has held the stage well in the 140 years since it was premiered despite frequent changes in fashion.

That leaves us with Mefistofele, by Arrigo Boito, who was more of a poet and librettist for other composers (he wrote the texts for Verdi's Otello and Falstaff) than a composer himself.

If Mefistofele is only a modestly successful work by the standards we usually apply to opera, it nevertheless has much to recommend it. For one thing, it is the most serious attempt to encompass the narrative breadth of Göthe's Faust. Its text is intelligent and literate. Its representation of Part II is limited to the Helen of Troy episode and Faust's salvation, but there remains a measure of dramatic coherence. And those scenes are among the opera's best.

If you've been waiting for the "but," here it is: The music is intelligently conceived and executed, sometimes effective but rarely inspired. That, combined with the libretto's episodic structure, limits the sense of urgency that an opera on the Faust legend really needs.

This DVD is based on a lavish production given in San Francisco and jointly owned by the San Francisco Opera, the Geneva Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Although Mefistofole can be produced successfully on a nearly-bare stage, the sets, costumes, lighting and everything else here are eye-popping. They work very well, or at least it looks as though they worked very well at the live performance. The video production sometimes gives the impression of looking through a peephole at something too grand for a television screen. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable to watch.

Samuel Ramey is a terrific Mefistofole. Tall, "devlishly" handsome and possessing the dark, powerful voice the role demands, he is the most commanding presence on stage. This is necessary for any successful realization of the opera, but Ramey goes far beyond the bare necessities.

Dennis O'Neil's Faust comes across as a bit of a sap but that's an interpretation the character can bear. Unfortunately, one ends up not caring much whether O'Neill is saved or damned, though the music is pretty spectacular as the angels bear him off to Glory.

Boito draws the character of Margarita fairly sketchily, but Gabfiela Benackova makes the most of it with her lovely singing and good dramatic sense. Her aria at the beginning of the prison scene is one of the highlights of the production. She is ravishing in the complementary role of Elena (Helen of Troy). Using the same singer for Margarita and Elena is particularly effective in suggesting the conflicted nature of Faust's quest for love.

The remaining soloists are excellent as well. Conductor Arena has a good grasp of the score and generally does well by it. The Prologue in Heaven drags a little musically, but still works. The chorus, by the way, is sensational.

There remains Robert Carsen's post-modern staging to discuss. Though I don't approve of directors discarding the composer's intentions and substituting their own ever-so-relevant conceptions, that isn't really what Carsen is doing here. He elaborates extravagently on Boito's stage directions, but he doesn't obscure the thrust of things. As I've already suggested, his approach works adequately on DVD and must have been amazing for those who saw it live.