On Paris Cemetery

The evocative article on Pere-Lachaise credits Beaumarchais as the librettist for Mozart’s operas. He is the source for one of the Mozart operas, “The Marriage of Figaro,” but the librettist was Lorenzo da Ponte, a Casanova figure who later emigrated to the New World, taught Italian at the school that is now Columbia University and is buried in Manhattan. Beaumarchais’ “Barber of Seville” inspired several composers, most notably Rossini (but not Mozart). Here the librettist was Cesare Sterbini. Rossini also is honored in Pere-Lachaise with a monument.

DAVID ALAN BIGG

Beverly Hills