Arrigo Boito

Arrigo Boito was an important member of a group of Italian artists in the mid nineteenth century known as the “scapigliatura.” The word literally means “unkempt,” and it has many of the same connotations as do the variants, in a number of languages, of the French term “la bohème.”

Boito both composed and wrote the libretto for Mefistofele, an operatic treatment of the Faust legend that premiered at La Scala in Milan, in March 1868. It was at first rejected by the public, closing after only two performances. No less of an authority than Giuseppe Verdi agreed with the audiences’ reaction. Verdi said of Boito in this connection, “He aspires to originality but succeeds only at being strange.” But Boito made extensive revisions and the work in its new form was more successful at Teatro Comunale, in Bologna, in October 1875. From 1889 to 1897, Boito served as the director of the Parma Conservatoire.