Francesco Maria Piave
Birthplace: Murano, Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
Francesco Maria Piave was an Italian librettist and Verdi's most frequent collaborator, writing ten librettos for him, among them Rigoletto, La traviata and La forza del destino. The son of a Murano glass-maker, he studied for the church and worked as a proofreader. He was poet and stage director at La Fenice, and in 1859, on Verdi's recommendation, took the same post at La Scala. Verdi harried him and often had his work revised, and Piave repaid him with devoted friendship. A stroke left him paralysed and speechless for his last years, and Verdi helped to support his family.
Works
- Aroldo — Librettist
- Ernani — Librettist
- I due Foscari — Librettist
- Il corsaro — Librettist
- La forza del destino — Librettist
- La traviata — Librettist
- Macbeth — Librettist
- Rigoletto — Librettist
- Simon Boccanegra — Librettist
- Stiffelio — Librettist
Written from
- Black, J. (1992) 'Piave, Francesco Maria', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 3, p. 999.
- Wikipedia (2026) Francesco Maria Piave. (Accessed: 29 September 2026).