-LRB- James R. Oestreich -RRB- ` LORENZO DA PONTE : A BRIDGE FROM ITALY TO NEW YORK ' -LRB- Wednesday -RRB- Even die-hard Mozart fans may not realize that Lorenzo Da Ponte , the composer 's librettist for '' The Marriage of Figaro , '' '' Don Giovanni '' and '' Cosi Fan Tutte , '' emigrated to America in 1805 and , among other odd jobs , taught Italian language and literature at Columbia University .