Editing Arrigo Boito (section)

==Biography==
[[File:Arrigo Boito photo.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Boito at age 44]]
[[file:Arrigo Boito - Birthplace in Padua.jpg|thumb|Birthplace in Padua]]
Boito was born in [[Padua]]. He was the son of [[:it:Silvestro Boito|Silvestro Boito]], a painter of miniatures, who was not of noble birth but passed himself off as a nobleman, and his wife, a [[Polish people|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]],<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Di Cesare |first=Maria Carmela |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/amintore-galli_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |title=Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani |year=1998 |volume=51 |language=it-IT |trans-title=Biographical Dictionary of Italians |chapter=Galli, Amintore |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref> Boito fought under [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] in the [[Austro-Prussian War|Seven Weeks' War]] in which the [[Kingdom of Italy]] and [[Prussia]] fought against [[Austria]], after which [[Venice]] was ceded to [[Italy]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Between 1887 and 1894, he had an affair with the celebrated actress [[Eleonora Duse]]. Their relationship was carried out in a highly clandestine manner, presumably because of Boito's many aristocratic friends and acquaintances. Despite this, their voluminous correspondence over the years survives. The two remained on good terms until his death.

Towards the end of his musical career, Boito succeeded [[Giovanni Bottesini]] as director of the [[Parma Conservatory]] after the latter's death in 1889 and held the post until 1897. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Music from the [[University of Cambridge]] in 1893, and on his death in Milan, he was interred there in the [[Cimitero Monumentale di Milano|Cimitero Monumentale]]. He was an atheist.<ref>Businelli, p. 51</ref>

A memorial concert was given in his honour at La Scala in 1948. The orchestra was conducted by [[Arturo Toscanini]]. Recorded in very primitive sound, the concert has been issued on [[CD]].