Vittorio Amadeo Cigna-Santi

Italian librettist and poet Vittorio Amadeo Cigna-Santi grew up in the court of Savoy in Turin, and had an excellent education. His first publication, a collection of poetry, was in 1748, when he was just 20, and shortly after this Cigna-Santi turned his hand to writing opera libretti.

His wide and varied career as a librettist saw him collaborate with composers such as Mozart, de Majo, Myslivecek, Paisiello, Galuppi, Sacchini, Zingarelli, and Haydn. Many of his works focussed on historical stories, in the format of opera seria, including his work Mitridate, re di Ponto a retelling of Jean Racine's play. This libretto proved popular with composers, and most importantly with Mozart, whose version of the opera remains popular today.