Mefistofele by Boito, Brittania Bridge, Katyn

On the 5th of March –

Mefistofele, opera by Italian composer Arrigo Boito, premieres in the Scala in Milan in 1868. Boito is perhaps more known as a librettist, with works such as Verdi’s Otello and Falstaff.


All in all we have about 70 sound fragments from this one opera 🙂

In 1850 the Britannia Bridge between the Isle of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales is opened. The original rail bridge was replaced after a fire in 1970 by a rail-and-road bridge. We do not have apicture of the original bridge, but we do have one of the monument celebrating this opening:

In 1940 the Russian Politburo signed the order for the execution of 27.500 Polish citizens and military, that later became known as the Katyn massacre. In a classic case of ‘the pot calling the kettle black’ this event was expoited by nazi propaganda:


After the war a perhaps slightly more independent inquiry was conducted. For this we have an Italian newsreel (alas, no thumbnail).

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