Metastasio, Pietro eigentlich Antonio Domenico Bonaventura Trapassi#
b. Rome (Italy), Jan. 3, 1698, d. Vienna, April 12, 1782, poet. M. came to Vienna in 1729 as court poet and librettist. Succeeding A. Zeno, he gave the Italian libretti ( Opera) a classical overtone, which became a standard until the end of the 18th century. Several of his libretti were set to music (e.g. by A. Caldara, C. W. Gluck and W. A. Mozart). Sarcophagus in the crypt of the Michaelerkirche church in Vienna.
Works#
27 operas (all in 3 acts); 8 oratorios; 37 feste teatrale, serente, componimenti; poems and cantatas. - Several complete editions from the 1730s onwards; B. Brunelli (ed.), Gesamtausgabe P. M., 5 vols., 1947-1954.Literature#
A. Sommer-Mathis (ed.), P. M. - uomo universale (1698-1782), 2000.