Mattia Verazi (1730 – 20 November 1794) was an Italian
librettist
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
primarily active at the court of
Charles Theodore in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
. He became known as the leader of a group of librettists who challenged the conventions of ''
opera seria
''Opera seria'' (; plural: ''opere serie''; usually called ''dramma per musica'' or ''melodramma serio'') is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to abo ...
'' in the mid-18th century and was a long-time collaborator of composer
Niccolò Jommelli
Niccolò Jommelli (; 10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic reforms including redu ...
. He also produced the libretti for Salieri's ''
Europa riconosciuta
''Europa riconosciuta'' (; meaning "Europa revealed" or "Europa recognized") is an opera in two acts by Antonio Salieri, designated as a ''dramma per musica'', set to an Italian libretto by Mattia Verazi.
The opera takes place in Tyre in Phoeni ...
'', Sacchini's ''
Calliroe'', and J. C. Bach's ''
Temistocle
''Temistocle'' (''Themistocles'') is an opera seria in three acts by the German composer Johann Christian Bach. The Italian text is an extensive revision of the libretto by Metastasio first set by Antonio Caldara in 1736, by Mattia Verazi, cou ...
''
The exact date and place of Verazi's birth are unknown, but he was described in contemporary libretti as "Romano" (from Rome). His first known opera libretto was for Niccolò Jommelli's ''Ifigenia in Aulide'' which premiered in Rome in 1751. It was the beginning of a 20-year friendship and collaboration, with Verazi producing the libretti for seven of Jomelli's operas, including ''
Ifigenia in Tauride'' and the innovative ''
Fetonte''. Verazi served as the official court poet and personal secretary to Charles Theodore in Mannheim from 1756 to 1778 and later worked in Milan and Munich where he died in 1794.
References
Further reading
* McClymonds, Marita P. (1995)
"Transforming opera seria: Verazi's innovations and their impact on opera in Italy"in E. Bauman and M. McClymonds (eds.). ''Opera and the Enlightenment'', pp. 119–134. Cambridge University Press.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verazi, Mattia
1730 births
1794 deaths
Italian poets
Italian opera librettists