Went to NYC Opera many times. A highlight was Samuel Ramey as Mephostophlies in 1977. And incredible night at the opera.
I saw Ramey in that three times. If you remember, the great “Prolouge in Heaven” was basically a light show-and it was not unusual to sniff out the seeming odor of Cannibis burning in the Lincoln Plaza those days shortly before the performance began. Of course, I did not inhale!