One of the most prolific opera librettists of the 19th century, Jacopo Ferretti's work was set to scores by composers including Donizetti, Mercadante, Pacini, Ricci, Rossi, Zingarelli, and Rossini. Ferretti was a master of the written word, and fluent in Latin, Ancient Greek, French and English, as well as his native Italian. But even this was not enough to earn him a living as a writer, and he worked in a tobacco factory for a large portion of his life.
Ferretti's first libretto, and now perhaps his most famous was actually a very last-minute affair. After multiple rejections, Ferretti and Rossini finally settled on the subject of La Cenerentola for a Christmas opera. Ferretti worked for days to put together his beautiful retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale, rushing to meet the deadline for the theatre manager.
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