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Première performance of Mefistofele opera5.3.1868
Boito immediately set to work revising his opera, greatly reduced its length and making many scenes smaller in scale. For instance, he removed the entire original act 4 and rewrote act 5 as an epilogue, adding the duet Lontano, lontano in the process. Faust was changed from a baritone to a tenor.
The revised version was premiered in Bologna on 4 October 1875, this time sung by what is generally regarded to be a very fine cast, and was an immediate success. This change in reception is thought to be partly due to Boito's revisions making the opera more traditional in style, and also to the Italian audience having become familiar with, and more willing to accept, developments in opera associated with Wagner.
Boito made further minor revisions during 1876, and this version was first performed in Venice on 13 May 1876. The first British performance took place at Her Majesty's Theatre, London on 6 July 1880 and the American premiere was on 16 November 1880 in Boston. Thereafter Boito continued to make small changes until the final definitive production in Milan on 25 May 1881.
In the early 20th century, revivals of the opera were associated particularly with the famous Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin: he sang the title role on the occasion of his first appearance outside Russia (La Scala, Milan, 16 March 1901) and also on his North American debut (Metropolitan Opera, New York, 20 November 1907). Chaliapin made his first appearance at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 25 May 1926. Parts of a subsequent performance on 31 May were recorded by His Master's Voice.
The Metropolitan Opera has given the work a total of 67 times since it first appeared there on 5 December 1883, most recently in February 2000. The Royal Opera in London has only given one performance of the opera, a concert version in March 1998 at the Barbican Centre, with Samuel Ramey as the title character. As Mefistofele, the American bass made the role a signature one, appearing in many productions in the 1980s and early 1990s, including one given by the San Francisco Opera in November 1994.
