Lorenzo Da Ponte

Librettists get overlooked, but Mozart's great operas wouldn't be what they are were it not for Da Ponte, who was immensely gifted

- Richard Coles

IN PROFILE

Lorenzo Da Ponte was an opera librettist, poet and Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for a string of operas by various composers, including three of Mozart's best-known works: The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787) and Così fan tutte (1790). After a spell living in England, he became a professor at Columbia University in New York City.

When did you first hear about Ponte?

I discovered Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro when I was 18, and instantly fell in love with it. When I got to know the libretto in English, I realised just how funny and clever it was, and thought: “I wonder who wrote it?” That’s when I discovered Lorenzo Da Ponte.

What kind of man was he?