Sydney Opera Society - Murray Dahm Talk on Boito's Mefistofele.

The Opera

Mefistofele is a notable composition among the many classical works inspired by the Faust legend, with Arrigo Boito drawing heavily from Goethe’s version as his foundation. An admirer of Richard Wagner, Boito took the bold step of crafting his own libretto, a choice that was quite unconventional in Italian opera during that era. This innovative approach not only showcased his artistic ambitions but also emphasized the thematic depth of the narrative. Remarkably, much of the libretto is a literal translation of Goethe’s original German text into Italian, allowing the essence of the story to remain intact while exploring new musical expressions. Through Mefistofele, Boito contributes a unique voice to the Faustian theme, blending lyrical richness with dramatic intensity, ultimately pushing the boundaries of Italian operatic tradition.

The Speaker

Murray Dahm, is an independent academic researcher based in Sydney Australia. Originally from New Zealand moved to Australia in 2001. He started out as an ancient military historian studying the didactic military literature tradition of Greece and Rome but which also encompasses other times and cultures. Murray also started to write scripts for the dead genre of the radio play - but has since branched out to write stage play scripts and opera libretti. He started to lecture and write about opera and has done so around Sydney since 2003. Murray Dahm attended conferences worldwide and presented papers on Nero in opera, Attila in opera and on the dating debate around Dido and Aeneas. These are in addition to presenting at academic conferences on 'normal' ancient history which he presented at around the world.

Murray has presented his research in the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.