Anti-Da Ponte

Translated with Commentary by Lisa de Alwis (2015)

Lorenzo Da Ponte
Portrait of Lorenzo Da Ponte, ca.1775

In 1791, an anonymous author wrote a scathing and vicious pamphlet attacking the work and character of Mozart’s most famous librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749–1838). Anti-Da Ponte is translated here in its entirety for the first time, with the German and English text on facing pages for convenient comparison. The first part of the pamphlet is a response to an actual letter that Da Ponte wrote to emperor Leopold II, while the second part takes the form of a mock trial in which famous figures such as Mozart and Salieri denounce the librettist. The introduction and notes provide context as well as explication of the unusual references and turns of phrase that abound in Anti-Da Ponte. This book is available for purchase from Amazon.com.

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