The Marriage of Figaro (play)
The play formed the basis for an opera with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte and music by Mozart, also called "The Marriage of Figaro" (1786). In 1799, another opera based on the same play, "La pazza giornata, ovvero Il matrimonio di Figaro", was produced in Venice with libretto by Gaetano Rossi and music by Marcos Portugal.
Mozart, l'opéra rock
After the success of "The Abduction from the Seraglio", Wolfgang enjoys a celebration with his friends and wife where they mock Salieri and Rosenberg's attempts at upsetting the show. It is here that Wolfgang is approached by the well-known librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who expresses interest in working with him. He presents Wolfgang with the work he had in mind, but Wolfgang refuses, instead proposing "The Marriage of Figaro", a controversial drama by Beaumarchais. Da Ponte initially refuses, wary of the trouble it could cause, but is swayed when Wolfgang explains that he associates not with radical politics, but the triumph of Figaro as a free man. Da Ponte agrees, and they begin work.