Lorenzo Da Ponte: The Life and Times of Mozart's Librettist

Three of the greatest operas ever written & mdash;The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cos︡ fan tutte & mdash;join the exquisite music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with the perfectly matched libretti of Lorenzo Da Ponte. Da Ponte & rsquo;s own long life (1749 & ndash;1838), however, was more fantastic than any opera plot. A poor Jew who became a Catholic priest; a priest who became a young gambler and rake; a teacher, poet, and librettist of genius who became a Pennsylvania greengrocer; an impoverished immigrant to America who became professor of Italian at Columbia University & mdash;wherever Da Ponte went, he arrived a penniless fugitive and made a new and eventful life. Sheila Hodges follows him from the last glittering years of the Venetian Republic to the Vienna of Mozart and Salieri, and from George III & rsquo;s London to New York City "Three of the greatest operas ever written - The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan tutte - join the exquisite music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with the perfectly matched libretti of Lorenzo Da Ponte. Da Ponte's own long life (1749-1838), however, was more fantastic than any opera plot. A poor Jew who became a Catholic priest; a priest who became a young gambler and rake; a teacher, poet, and librettist of genius who became a Pennsylvania greengrocer; an impoverished immigrant to America who became professor of Italian at Columbia University - wherever Da Ponte went, he arrived a penniless fugitive and made a new and eventful life. Sheila Hodges follows him from the last glittering years of the Venetian Republic to the Vienna of Mozart and Salieri, and from George III's London to New York City."--Jacket

Three of the greatest operas ever written—The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte—join the exquisite music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with the perfectly matched libretti of Lorenzo Da Ponte. Da Ponte’s own long life (1749–1838), however, was more fantastic than any opera plot. A poor Jew who became a Catholic priest; a priest who became a young gambler and rake; a teacher, poet, and librettist of genius who became a Pennsylvania greengrocer; an impoverished immigrant to America who became professor of Italian at Columbia University—wherever Da Ponte went, he arrived a penniless fugitive and made a new and eventful life. Sheila Hodges follows him from the last glittering years of the Venetian Republic to the Vienna of Mozart and Salieri, and from George III’s London to New York City.

Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 8 Foreword......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 LORENZO DA PONTE......Page 16 Chronological Table of the Main Events of Da Ponte’s Life......Page 247 Da Ponte’s Works......Page 249 Acknowledgements......Page 259 Notes and References......Page 262 Note Regarding the Memoirs......Page 272 Appendix......Page 273 Bibliography......Page 281 Index......Page 290