(b Murano, Venice, May 18, 1810; d Milan, March 5, 1876). Italian librettist. The son of a glass-maker, he studied for the church before obtaining employment as a proofreader. On the failure of his father’s business he went to Rome, where he joined a literary circle that included the librettist Jacopo Ferretti, with whom he remained on close terms. He returned to his old position in Venice in 1838, and in 1842 wrote a libretto, Don Marzio, for Samuel Levi, but it was not performed. He also provided the third act of Pacini’s Il duca d’Alba, which Giovanni Peruzzini had been prevented by illness from completing. The autograph survives, heavily corrected by the composer. Piave was recommended to Verdi by Count Mocenigo, and there began a long and successful collaboration from Ernani (1844) to La forza del destino (1862). Following a period as poet and stage director at La Fenice, Piave moved in ...