La caracterización de personajes en la ópera a través del arquetipo de Mefistóteles

Abstract

This thesis arises as a consequence of the lack of studies that rigorously analyze the importance of characterization in opera. For this we will use the devil as a character. We hypothesize that the aesthetic evolution experienced by the characterization is influenced by the geographical area and the level of the theater where the representation takes place. The theater has made repeated use of archetypes, one of the most used is the devil, the most recurrent being Mephistopheles (antagonist in the Faust myth), brought to opera by various composers, such as Berlioz, Gounod or Boito, in the which we will base our work. We will carry out a thematic and diachronic journey through the facets of the devil in music, literature and the plastic arts. Likewise, using graphic and videographic material, we will analyze the operas in which Mephistopheles appears and the aesthetic and iconographic evolution that it has experienced to this day.