Pietro Metastasio

Born in Rome in 1698 as Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, he showed an astonishing gift for improvising verse while still a child. The man of letters Gian Vincenzo Gravina became his patron, gave him the Hellenized name Metastasio, and helped guide him toward a literary career.

Metastasio became the most celebrated librettist of his age. Writing for opera seria, he created dramas whose balance, clarity, and lyrical feeling made them favorites with composers across Europe; his librettos were set hundreds of times. In 1730 he moved to Vienna, where he served for decades as imperial court poet and produced many of the works that secured his lasting reputation.

Although operatic taste changed after his lifetime, his influence on 18th-century music and poetry was enormous. He died in Vienna in 1782, remembered as one of the defining literary voices behind the golden age of Italian opera.