Lorenzo De Ponte

"Don Giovanni, you invited me to sup with you, and I have come...." Born March 10, 1749, Lorenzo Da Ponte was a Venetian, later American, opera librettist, poet and Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's greatest: The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte. Later in his career he was Columbia University's first professor of Italian literature. He died in New York and is buried there. You usually see the first picture in books. The second picture is interesting because it's by Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph and noted portrait painter.