Piave, Francesco Maria (1810–1876)

Italian librettist. He collaborated largely with Verdi, most notably La Traviata and Rigoletto. He also wrote libretti for Pacini and Mercadante, though not for Ponchielli, as has been stated elsewhere.

He studied briefly for the priesthood and for a time earned subsistence from a publisher. A collaboration with Verdi began in 1844 with Ernani. Other libretti for Verdi were I due Foscari, Macbeth, Il corsaro, Stiffelio, Simon Boccanegra, Aroldo, and La Forza del Destino. An abandoned project, Allan Cameron, was taken up with Pacini and produced in Venice in 1848. In the same year Piave's libretto for Mercadante's La schiava Saracena/The Saracen Slave-Girl was produced in Milan.