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The Man Who Wrote Mozart: The Many Lives of Lorenzo Da Ponte

The Man Who Wrote Mozart: The Many Lives of Lorenzo Da Ponte

by Anthony Holden (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2007

    $3.28
Synopsis

In June 1805, a 56-year-old Italian immigrant disembarked in Philadelphia carrying only a violin. Before dying in New York 23 years later he would find New World respectability as the first Professor of Italian at Columbia University. For now, he set up shop as a grocer. There was always an air of mystery about the Abbe Lorenzo da Ponte. A scholarly poet, teacher and priest, with a devoted wife, he also had a reputation as a womanizer. Da Ponte charmed all he met, pioneering the place of Italian music in American life. But his self-assurance also excited mistrust. When the first Italian opera was performed in New York in 1825, he had the nerve to claim he had written it. Like the memoirs he had recently written, to pay off more debts, the old man was so full of tall stories...The many lives of Lorenzo da Ponte - librettist of Mozart's three great operas, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Cosi Fan Tutte - begin in Venice, linger in Vienna and London and ends in New York, where today he lies buried in an unmarked grave in the world's largest cemetery.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 256
 Edition: Reprint
 Publisher: Phoenix
Published: 04 Jan 2007
ISBN 10: 075382180X
ISBN 13: 9780753821800
Book Overview: Anthony Holden's reputation as a biographer and music critic, is well attested; 'scholarly, witty and bold' Melvyn Bragg THE MAN WHO WROTE MOZART has received excellent reviews: 'A rollicking yarn ... a riproaring read' Hugh Canning, Sunday Times 'Anthony Holden writes extremely well, telling the racy story energetically ... he provides a rattling good read, filled with vivid anecdotes' Spectator 'Holden's companionable new biography is a refreshing take on an old story' Mail on Sunday 'His life of Da Ponte is engrossing and bound to be definitive. It is a brilliant story' Observer 'The Man Who Wrote Mozart is a genuine pleasure. At turns amusing, poignant and instructive, it engagingly captures the chemistry between librettist and composer that produced those masterpieces of the operatic repertoire' Irish Times

Media Reviews
'Anything biographical or musical that Anthony Holden writes is automatically worth reading, and this exquisitely written book sees him dicourse eruditely on both topics.' -- Alex Larman OBSERVER 'Clear, impartial, accessible and concise' -- Ross Leckie THE TIMES 'An enjoyable biography of a remarkable man' THE SUNDAY TIMES
Author Bio
Anthony Holden enjoyed an award-winning career at the Sunday Times before becoming a full-time writer and broadcaster 20 years ago. Also known for his translating of opera libretti, he is currently music critic of the Observer.