The Poets

The Architecture of the Verse

The task of a poet for music is different from that of a literary poet. The poet for music must anticipate rhythm, leave room for breath, and construct vowels that allow the voice to expand. From Pietro Metastasio to Mogol, from Felice Romani to the poets of the parlor romance, the challenge is always the same: to create a metrical structure that the composer can transform into sonic emotion.

"Music first or words first?"

It is the eternal dilemma of Italian opera. In the seventeenth century, the word commanded the music ("Recitar cantando"). In the Belcanto era, music took over, forcing poets to bend their verses to the needs of the virtuosos. With Verdi and later with the great singer-songwriters, a perfect balance has been sought: a symbiosis where one can no longer distinguish where the verse ends and the melody begins.

POETS

Librettists

The architects of drama. Those who invented the stories, defined the characters, and built the "scenes" upon which opera theater is founded.

Pietro Metastasio

The Legislator

The Caesarean poet who codified Opera Seria for all of Europe.

Lorenzo Da Ponte

The Quick Wit

The genius who gave Mozart the rhythm of the human comedy.

Felice Romani

The Romantic Classic

The elegant pen behind the masterpieces of Bellini and Donizetti.

Arrigo Boito

The Scapigliatura

The intellectual who challenged Verdi and led him to Otello.

Go to Librettists list

The libretto is not minor literature. It is a form of theater in verse, often more influential than literature itself in spreading the Italian language worldwide.

POETS