Arrigo Boito

Arrigo Boito was an Italian writer and composer who was best known for his opera libretti. He was not a prolific composer, but his two operas were notable for their original plots, grand scale, and rhythmic diversity. Boito was born in 1842 in Padua, Italy, and he had an older brother, Camillo. His mother, Józefina Radolińska, was a Polish countess, and his father, Silvestro, was an artist who deserted the family when the boys were still young. As a single parent, Radolińska moved with her two sons to Venice, where Boito took music lessons from Antonio and Giovanni Buzzolla ...