Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Arrigo Boito

Role / Field:

Italian librettist, composer, and critic, best known for Mefistofele.

Born:

1842-02-24

Died:

1918-06-10

Century / Era:

1842s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Arrigo Boito (Italian: [arˈriːɡo ˈbɔito]; born Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito; 24 February 1842 – 10 June 1918) was an Italian librettist, composer, poet and critic whose only completed opera was Mefistofele. Among the operas for which he wrote the libretti are Giuseppe Verdi's monumental last two operas Otello and Falstaff as well as Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda. Along with Emilio Praga and his brother Camillo Boito, he is regarded as one of the prominent representatives of the Scapigliatura (Italian bohemian) artistic movement. He wrote essays under the anagrammatic pseudonym of Tobia Gorrio.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Boito was born in Padua. He was the son of Silvestro Boito, a painter of miniatures, who was not of noble birth but passed himself off as a nobleman, and his wife, a Polish countess, Józefina Radolińska. His older brother, Camillo Boito, was an Italian architect and engineer as well as a noted art critic, art historian and novelist. Boito studied music at the Milan Conservatory with Alberto Mazzucato until 1861, where he was a contemporary of Albert Visetti and Amintore Galli. In 1866, with Galli, Franco Faccio, and Emilio Praga, Boito fought under Giuseppe Garibaldi in...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Arrigo Boito