September 8, 1860:
Il quattro giugno, a cantata by Arrigo Boito (18) and Franco Faccio to words of Boito, is performed for the first time, at Milan Conservatory. It celebrates the Battle of Magenta, at which a friend and classmate of the composer was killed.
April 13, 1862:
When Giacomo Meyerbeer (70) hears from Arrigo Boito (20) that Giuseppe Verdi (48) will be traveling to London to produce his piece for the exhibition, he decides to do the same.
November 11, 1863:
After the premiere of Franco Faccio’s opera I profughi fiamminghi at La Scala, Milan, Arrigo Boito (21) recites his ode All’arte italiana, condemning the current state of Italian art and advocating the ideas of Faccio, Boito, and their bohemian friends.
March 5, 1868:
Mefistofele, an opera by Arrigo Boito (26) to his own words, is performed for the first time, at Teatro alla Scala, Milan. The performance is accompanied by warring factions in the audience proclaiming their positions and the relative inferiority of their opponents.
May 21, 1868:
In the Milan newspaper Il pungolo, Arrigo Boito (26) attacks the Italian Minister of Education Broglio for a public letter he wrote to Gioachino Rossini (76) snubbing Giuseppe Verdi (54). Verdi has already returned the title Commander of the Crown of Italy over the incident. The article is seen as the beginning of a reconciliation between Boito and Verdi.
January 26, 1871:
Giulio Ricordi writes to Giuseppe Verdi (57) that he recently met with Arrigo Boito (28). He reports that Boito would be thrilled to write the libretto to a projected Nerone to be composed by Verdi. Verdi never writes the opera but this is the beginning of a working relationship between the two.
November 19, 1871:
Giuseppe Verdi (58) attends a performance of Richard Wagner’s (58) Lohengrin in Bologna, also attended by Arrigo Boito (29). Verdi is recognized after the second act and applauded for 15 minutes, but refuses to show himself to the crowd. He brings with him a copy of the score and makes notes on it throughout the performance. His opinion: “Impression mediocre.”
October 4, 1875:
A revised version of Mefistofele by Arrigo Boito (33) to his own words after Goethe, is performed, much more successfully than the premiere, in Teatro Comunale, Bologna. See 5 March 1868.
April 8, 1876:
La Gioconda, an opera by Amilcare Ponchielli (43) to words of Gorria (pseud. of Boito (34)) after Hugo, is performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
June 23, 1879:
While visiting Milan, Arrigo Boito (37) presents Giuseppe Verdi (65) with a scenario for Otello.
December 2, 1879:
Arrigo Boito (37) sends Giuseppe Verdi (66) the libretto to Otello and offers to make any revisions that Verdi might require.
February 5, 1887:
Before dawn. Crowds of people anticipating the evening performance are so large that the area around Teatro alla Scala, Milan becomes impassable.
Morning. The Mayor of Milan orders that all streets in the vicinity of Teatro alla Scala be closed to traffic.
Throughout the day, large crowds assemble outside the theatre and windows facing La Scala are filled with people. They continually shout “Viva Verdi!”
Otello, a dramma lirico by Giuseppe Verdi (73) to words of Boito (44) after Shakespeare, is performed for the first time, at Teatro alla Scala, Milan. It is a thunderous, overwhelming success. There are dozens of curtain calls for the performers, Verdi, and Boito. The composer and his wife, along with the librettist are mobbed as they leave the theatre. Verdi is almost denuded. As they enter their carriage the crowd detaches it from the horses and it is drawn by manpower to the Grand Hôtel de Milan. Finally making it inside, the three appear on the balcony to the multitude. Crowds in the streets of Milan shout “Viva Verdi” and music is played under his window until 05:00 tomorrow morning. In the orchestra for the premiere is a 19-year-old cellist named Arturo Toscanini.
July 10, 1889:
Giuseppe Verdi (75), in Montecatini, writes to Arrigo Boito (47) agreeing to compose Falstaff.
November 4, 1889:
Arrigo Boito (47) arrives at Sant’ Agata for a week of work on Falstaff with Giuseppe Verdi (76).
May 19, 1890:
Arrigo Boito (48) receives the royal appointment of honorary director of Parma Conservatory. He reluctantly accepts.
November 30, 1890:
Giulio Ricordi reveals in Gazzetta musicale di Milano that Giuseppe Verdi (77) and Arrigo Boito (48) are working on a new comic opera on the theme of Falstaff.
February 9, 1893:
Falstaff, a commedia lirica by Giuseppe Verdi (79) to words of Boito (50) after Shakespeare, is performed for the first time, at Teatro alla Scala, Milan. Numerous state and musical luminaries are present including Giacomo Puccini (34), Pietro Mascagni (29) and Teresa Stolz. Unlike the premiere of Otello, Verdi, his wife, and Boito manage to make it out of the theatre unscathed, but when they reach the Grand Hôtel de Milan the mob of admirers and well wishers awaits. The three make it into the lobby to be greeted by dignitaries and then appear to the crowds on the balcony. See 5 February 1887.
June 12, 1893:
A concert celebrating tomorrow’s degree recipients takes place in Cambridge. Max Bruch conducts a scene from his choral work Odysseus, Camille Saint-Saëns (57) conducts his Fantasy L’afrique, Arrigo Boito (51) conducts the prologue from his Mefistofele, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (53) conducts his Francesca da Rimini, and Charles Villiers Stanford (40), the musical organizer of the festivities, conducts Edvard Grieg’s (49) Peer Gynt Suite no.1. Stanford finishes the concert by conducting his own East to West.
June 13, 1893:
Cambridge University confers honorary Doctor of Music degrees on Camille Saint-Saëns (57), Arrigo Boito (51), Max Bruch, Edvard Grieg (49), and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (53). Grieg is unable to attend due to illness.
February 1, 1896:
La bohème, an opera by Giacomo Puccini (37) to words of Illica and Giacosa after Murger, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Regio, Turin. The audience, which includes members of the royal family, Arrigo Boito (53), and Pietro Mascagni (32), is appreciative but not wildly enthusiastic. Reviews are poor. The composer is disappointed.
November 22, 1898:
Iris, a melodramma by Pietro Mascagni (34) to words of Illica, is performed for the first time, in Teatro Costanzi, Rome, the composer conducting before a glittering audience which includes Queen Margerita and many aristocrats, Gabriele d’Annunzio, Giacomo Puccini (39), Arrigo Boito (56), and Siegfried Wagner. It is a popular but not critical success. Puccini feels that Mascagni did the best he could with a poor libretto. The rehearsals were a shambles, with the original conductor, Edoardo Mascheroni, storming out and sending off an indignant letter to the press.
June 10, 1918:
Arrigo Boito dies in Milan, Kingdom of Italy of a heart ailment aged 76 years, three months, and 17 days. His mortal remains will be laid to rest in Cimitero Monumentale, Milan.
May 1, 1924:
Nerone, a tragedia by Arrigo Boito (†5) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in the Teatro alla Scala, Milan in a version completed by Tommasini and Toscanini.
February 28, 1928:
The newly renovated Teatro Costanzi in Rome is opened as a national opera house with the first Rome performance of Nerone by Arrigo Boito (†9).