Librettist Lorenzo da Ponte

Mozart Contemporaries / Librettists

Lorenzo Da Ponte, Italian Librettist of Wolfgang Mozart

Lorenzo Da Ponte's life and times, Italian librettist who wrote three of Mozart's four best operas.

Lorenzo Da Ponte (10 March 1749 – 17 August 1838), born in Céneda, near Treviso, Veneto, Italy, is an important librettist of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was a Venetian opera librettist and poet. He wrote the librettos for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte.  He was married to Nancy Grahl in Trieste, Italy, had one son.



Da Ponte was Jewish by birth. He later became a priest. His freethinking about religious doctrine, and his pursuit of an adulterous relationship, eventually led him to his expulsion from the Venetian state in 1779. Taking up residence in Vienna, perhaps about the time that Mozart also left Salzburg for Vienna, Da Ponte became official poet to the court of Emperor Joseph II. It was in this capacity that he wrote successful librettos for numerous musicians.

In 1783, he became an acquaintance with Wolfgang A Mozart. As Mozart's librettist, he produced three texts, all masterpieces - Le nozze di Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), and Così fan tutte (1790).  It was also this same period that he achieved his greatest success with the libretto to Martín y Soler’s Una cosa rara (1787).  Da Ponte’s version of the Don Juan legend, in particular, exercised a lasting literary influence.

Unfortunately, he was left with no financial support after Joseph II’s death in 1790, a year before Mozart's death. After a period in London (1792–1805), he emigrated to the U.S.  to escape his creditors. He settled in New York, where he devoted himself to teaching Italian language and literature at Columbia College. He also promoted Italian cultural activities.

He died in New York, U.S.


Mozart's music excerpted from Le Nozze di Figaro is captured here. Enjoy!





Sources:

• Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Accessed January 26, 2013


• The Grove Dictionary of Music, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: Macmillan, 1994.

Video Credit:

Le Nozze di Figaro  YouTube, Accessed Jan 26, 2013.

Image credit:

Lorenzo Da Ponte.  Public Domain.