Biography of Pietro Metastasio

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most impressive figures in the history of Western music. He was born in Salzburg, Austria, where his father, Leopold, was a violinist and composer in the service of the Prince Archbishop. Leopold aspired to become the leading musician in the Prince's court, but a recognition of his son Wolfgang's potential soon led him to forego his own ambitions.

After being taught simple pieces for clavier (a predecessor of the piano) at the age of four, Mozart progressed rapidly and began to write his own pieces at the age of five. Recognizing his son's talent, Mozart's father was determined to make him famous, although Leopold's motivation for doing so may have been impure: a child prodigy like Mozart represented quite a financial advantage for a relatively poor family. But Leopold also believed that his son's talent was God-given, and that it was his duty to make it known to the world.

In 1762, before Mozart was six years old, his father brought him and his sister Maria Anna to Munich to perform in the court of Bavarian royalty. After a similar visit in Vienna, Mozart and his sister had caused such a sensation that they went on an extremely successful three-and-a-half year tour of Europe.

At the age of twelve, Mozart wrote his first opera, La Finta Semplice, and then resumed his travels. Eventually returning home to Salzburg in 1771, he spent his teen-age years composing Masses, concertos, divertimenti and serenades for the Archbishop Colloredo.

In 1781, at the age of twenty-five, he wrote his first great opera, Idomeneo, and was called to Vienna by the Archbishop soon after its first performance. Mozart was treated badly in the Archbishop's service, and his resulting frustration led him to angrily offer his resignation. At his last interview, he was literally kicked out of the Archbishop's Vienna residence.

Mozart stayed in Vienna, determined to make his way as a composer. He married Constanze Weber, and they survived for a while on money Mozart made by teaching a few pupils. In the early 1780s he met librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, who provided him with the libretto for Le Nozze di Figaro. Figaro premiered on May 1st, 1786 to an enthusiastic reception. Mozart and da Ponte soon began to work on Don Giovanni.

Don Giovanni had a successful premiere in Prague in October of 1787, but was not so well received when a slightly different version was performed in Vienna the next year. Mozart's financial situation worsened. He had become Court Composer to the Emperor, but was not extremely well paid for his work. In 1789, he was offered a more generous salary by the Prussian Emperor, but Mozart refused to move from Vienna. His monetary troubles deepened. Constanze fell ill, adding to his problems, and a third opera written in collaboration with da Ponte, CosÏ fan tutte was not enough to alleviate his problems. In 1791, his final year, he wrote two operas: Die Zauberflöte and La Clemenza di Tito. While Die Zauberflöte is considered one of his greatest works, La Clemenza seems somewhat lackluster by comparison.

Throughout the year he became more ill and despondent, never receiving the sort of public recognition he deserved. When he died on December 5th of 1791, his funeral was attended by a few friends but not by his wife, who was too ill and grief-stricken. He died penniless and, according to the Viennese custom of the time, was buried in a mass grave.

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Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782)

The first step on the road to fame for Antonio Trapasso was changing his name to its Greek translation: Pietro Metastasio. The young librettist would carry this name with him for the rest of his life, through twenty-seven grand opera libretti and hundreds of other works.

Mestastasio was adopted at a young age by the jurist Vincenzo Gravina, who taught him both the art of law and the finer points of poetic technique. At fourteen, Metastasio had already written his first tragedy, Justin. When Gravina passed away in 1718, Metastasio inherited his large fortune and was able to live comfortably for some time. When his funds dwindled, Metastasio apprenticed himself to a lawyer, who found that the young man’s poetic talents far exceeded his legal ones. Soon Metastasio was composing verse for a living.

Metastasio’s operatic career did not begin until his melodrama Orti Esperidi won him the admiration of famous Italian actress and singer Marianna Benti-Bulgarelli, nicknamed La Romanina. Impressed with the young man’s talent, she commissioned him to write a new work. This was to be his first operatic libretto, Didone abbandonata, which made him famous throughout Italy. La Romanina took Metastasio on tour with her to Rome and Venice, during which time his libretti gained immense popularity. His works were so popular that Roman and Venetian composers literally fought over the chance to be the first to set them to music.

In 1729, Metastasio received an invitation from Austria to take up the position of Imperial poet at the Viennese court of King Charles VI. When the King passed away in 1740, the new Empress Maria Theresa asked considerably less of Metastasio, giving him more time to compose works he was personally interested in. He retained his position until his death in 1782.

During his own time Metastasio’s talent as a librettist was unmatched. His works were translated into French, German, English, Spanish, and Greek, all during his lifetime. The libretto for La Clemenza di Tito was set to music by scores of other composers before Mozart created his definitive opera. Metastasio’s most popular works were his heroic operas. They frequently portrayed characters overcoming difficult tragic circumstances by using their reason instead of succumbing to desire.