Pietro Pariati

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Pietro Pariati (born March 27, 1665 in Reggio nell'Emilia , Italy , † October 14, 1733 in Vienna ) was an Italian poet and librettist .

Life

Pariati was initially secretary to Rinaldo , the Duke of Modena . After a stay in Madrid in 1695, he spent three years in prison. From 1699 to 1714 he lived in Venice , where he began to write libretti , initially in collaboration with Apostolo Zeno , and later alone. He specialized in comedies , tragicomedies and interludes , often based on older models ( Plautus , Molière , Cervantes ). The composers who set his texts to music included Albinoni , Caldara , Gasparini , Lotti and Porpora .

In 1714 Pariati became court poet to Charles VI. in Vienna . By 1729 he wrote 13 oratorios , 15 cantatas and 14 stage works for the festivities of the imperial family, mostly set to music by the court composer Johann Joseph Fux . The most famous was the “festa teatrale” Costanza e fortezza (1723). He revised earlier works for the court theater, wrote new libretti with tragic and comic content and continued working with Zeno , who had also been in Vienna since 1718.

Pariati's successor as court poet was Pietro Metastasio in 1729 .

style

Pariati's comedy style is characterized by a fast pace, cheerful dialogues and a preference for extreme choice of words. His serious plays have a tendency to parody and social criticism .

Works (selection)

literature

  • Giovanna Gronda: La carriera di un librettista. Pietro Pariati da Reggio di Lombardia (= Proscenio. Vol. 5). Società Editrice il Mulino, Bologna 1990, ISBN 88-15-02494-8 .
  • Claudia Michels: Carnival opera at the court of Emperor Charles VI. (1711-1740). Art between representation and amusement (= publications of the Institute for Austrian Music Documentation , Volume 41). Hollitzer, Vienna 2019, ISBN 978-3-99012-366-9 .
personal data
SURNAME Pariati, Pietro
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian poet and librettist
DATE OF BIRTH March 27, 1665
PLACE OF BIRTH Reggio nell'Emilia , Italy
DATE OF DEATH October 14, 1733
Place of death Vienna