Lorenzo Da Ponte

Lorenzo Da Ponte

2 books
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About the Author

Lorenzo Da Ponte, born Emanuele Conegliano in 1749 near Venice, was an Italian poet, librettist, and adventurer whose life bridged the worlds of Enlightenment Europe and the nascent American republic. A Jewish convert to Catholicism, he fled political persecution in Italy, finding patronage in Vienna where he collaborated with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on some of the composer's most enduring operas, including the libretto for Cosi fan Tutte, a witty exploration of love and fidelity. Exiled again for his scandals, Da Ponte emigrated to the United States in 1805, becoming a professor of Italian at Columbia University and introducing Italian opera to New York audiences. His memoirs, rich with anecdotes of Mozart and Casanova, reveal a man of sharp intellect and unyielding passion for the arts, leaving a legacy that fused literature, music, and cultural diplomacy until his death in 1838.

Common genres
Biography History memoir Music Opera
Writing style
elegant witty poetic

Books by Lorenzo Da Ponte