‘Son lo spirito che nega’ (Mefistofele, Act I)

Program notes

About the Work

This is the calling-card aria of Boito’s devil. In the Prologue and opening act of Mefistofele, the title character, Boito’s version of Goethe’s Mephistopheles, introduces himself to Faust with a self-portrait that is at once philosophical and gleefully malevolent. ‘Son lo spirito che nega sempre tutto’ (‘I am the spirit that denies everything always’) is a near-direct setting of Goethe’s famous line, ‘Ich bin der Geist, der stets verneint.’ The devil declares himself the eternal negator, the enemy of creation, the force that wills evil and (to his own annoyance) sometimes does good. Boito caps the aria with a notorious theatrical effect: a sharp, mocking whistle, as Mefistofele pierces the air with a derisive fischio. Written for a true basso cantante with menace and swagger, it is a gift to any great bass-baritone: a chance to be charming, sardonic, and frightening within four minutes.

What to Listen For

Listen for the swagger in the vocal line. Boito gives the devil a rolling, almost dance-like buoyancy that makes his nihilism sound like fun. The orchestra needles him with sardonic little figures, and everything builds toward the whistle, the moment the audience waits for: a literal whistle that turns metaphysics into music-hall. Note too how the laughter is built into the phrasing, the voice sliding mockingly between registers as the devil relishes his own wickedness.