Memoirs of Lorenzo Da Ponte (New York Review Books Classics)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.23 (812 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0940322358 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 472 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-11-01 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Da Ponte doesn't interrupt his tale to ask probing questions. One reason to write memoirs is to tell your side of the story, and Da Ponte spends a lot of time settling scores. Though he salutes the composer's genius, he offers no insights into Mozart's personality or their collaboration. The notes do inform us when the author is mixing up his facts, which is fairly often. The most important period, his association with Mozart, passes with disappointing brevity. This paperback is part of the New York Review of Books Classics imprint, an invaluable series that repu
His Memoirs, a minor classic of Italian literature, are the picaresque and engrossing story of a man of enormous talent and unsurpassed flair who was, above all, an indefatigable survivor."I shall speak of things so singular in their oddity as in some manner to instruct, or at least entertain, without wearying." —Lorenzo da Ponte. His Memoirs record a fantastic variety of romantic, political, and professional intrigues, and tell of meetings with a host of remarkable men. In a life that took him from the canals of Venice to the streets of New York, Da Ponte was at different times priest, professional gambler, proprietor of a bordello, political agitator, court poet, impresario, grocery store owner, and the first professor of Italian literature at Columbia University. Plot and counterplot lie at the heart of Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and The Marriage of Figaro, the three brilliant libretti that Lorenzo Da Pon
Interesting Book, Shameful Presentation Buce Da Ponte's Memoirs are a worthy, if eccentric, addition to the NYRB catalog, but the NYRB provides almost no help in situating it. This translation first appeared, I believe, in 1929 and has been available in recent years from both Dover and Da Capo. One, (or was it both?), carried an excellent preface by the distinguished scholar of t. Five Stars It's nice to have a translation to check when you're reading the original in Italian!. Mozart's Librettist The intrigues of Italian life in the late 1700's rival the intrigues of a Mozart opera. What a tale! The scullduggery is endless-and shameless-and makes for compulsive reading.