PBS shows the way to enjoy Boito whilst not compromising your modesty. Today, Sept. 30, is of double significance Mefistofele-wise:
KQED-TV's whacky assignment of the Devil to insomnia hell had the last of telecasts of San Francisco Opera's splendid 2013 production at 3 a.m. today (I am not making this up), and on the same day — if at a more convenient time — SFO releases a DVD and Blu-ray of the same production.
An idle inquiry to SFO about what if anything is the difference brought this response:
"Just confirmed for sure that because of FCC rules for broadcast, PBS blurred out the real and costumed nudity. For DVD we did not blur anything out and added brief language on the DVD wrap 'Contains real and simulated nudity'."
This is just so silly when talking about a great, relative rarely performed opera in last year's superb revival of the spectacular 1989 Robert Carsen production, with Ildar Abdrazakov, Ramón Vargas, Patricia Racette, and the San Francisco Opera Chorus at its mightiest.
However many times I might have seen performances in the War Memorial (of this and previous productions), the discs provide a whole new experience, in sight and sound. Sure, live opera is the best, but this recording is something special.
With its 35-gigabyte capacity, the Blu-ray has the whole opera (and additional material) on a single disc, but the DVD edition is split between two discs, with the first three acts on one, Act 4 and Epilogue on the second (which, even with the addition of applause and credits, runs only 40 minutes).
Considering the expense of producing Mefistofele on this scale, it's highly unlikely that we'll see a live performance in the War Memorial for decades to come. No matter, you can now see it any old time.