What's In A Name?

The librettist of La Clemenza di Tito was Pietro Metastasio, originally born Pietro Trapassi. Although the two last names sound completely different, "Metastasio" is just a translation into Latin of the Italian "Trapassi." La Clemenza di Tito had been set by over 40 composers, but our composer boasted that he would make it into a "proper opera." Almost a third of Metastasio's libretto was cut, and what remained was altered as he saw fit.