A deal with the devil is struck with powerful results in Arrigo Boito’s riveting Italian retelling of Goethe’s classic Faustian legend. This much anticipated Opera di Roma season-opening new production is staged by acclaimed Australian film and theatre director Simon Stone, presenting an opera in Italy for the first time. Starring as Mefistofele – one of the great bass-baritone roles in opera - is John Relyea, opposite Maria Agresta as Margherita and Joshua Guerrero as the bargain-making philosopher Faust. Conducted by maestro Michele Mariotti, Boito’s score conjures a vivid clash between the forces of good and evil, which only finds resolution in the work’s powerful ending.