Giacomo Rossi was an Italian poet, translator and librettist who settled in London early in the 18th century and wrote librettos for George Frideric Handel, between 1710 and 1729.

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According to Rossi Rinaldo was written by Handel in a fortnight. Aaron Hill seems to have given his sketch to Rossi to translate.[1][2] The libretto is according to Winton Dean confusing.[3][4]

Rossi probably worked on Il pastor fido[5] and Silla. Handel emerges from the enterprise with scarcely more credit than Rossi.[6]

Rossi's name is also mentioned with for the libretto of Amadigi di Gaula,[7] or assisting in Poro re dell'Indie[8] and Lotario.[9] The result of this latter work is unusually concise and easily understandable for a baroque opera. Rossi not only shortened the recitatives for Handel, but improved the text by shortening, rearranging and rewriting it. Almost half of the text was new.[10]

In 1729 Paolo Antonio Rolli wrote: You will have heard by now that Attilio and Haym have died. I inform you now that the famed Rossi, Italian writer and poet is Handel’s librettist.

Notes

Sources

• Dean, Winton; Knapp, J. Merrill (1987). Handel's Operas, 1704–1726. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-315219-3
• Dean, Winton (2006). Handel's Operas, 1726–1741, p. 173. The Boydell Press. ISBN 1-84383-268-2

На других языках

[fr] Giacomo Rossi