Da Ponte brought a great deal of classical literature in his collaboration with Mozart and even though he did not necessarily had interest in originality, he managed to put it across by adapting a series of classical Italian texts (Zweifel & Zweifel, 2006).
The poetry da Ponte created as a result of modifying old documents was particularly impressive. Da Ponte's poems are certainly incomplete when they are not sung in accordance with Mozart's music. However, one can appreciate them as poetry, without concentrating on the fact that they are in truth of fact meant to be sung. Mozart and da Ponte virtually completed each-other in the operas they wrote.
After their relationship, both Mozart and da Ponte were unable to ever produce works that equaled the three that they produced during their relationship. Da Ponte was particularly affected by this cooperation because his later librettos appeared to be less professional and did not attract any supporters ("Da Ponte, Lorenzo," 2009). In contrast, Mozart managed to continue his career and did not disappoint through his later works.
Don Giovanni is one of the best operas...
One of the reasons for which many people were inclined to disapprove of the opera might be that most of Mozart's early admirers were accustomed with lighthearted operas.
Works cited:
Mont, Mary Du, the Mozart-Da Ponte Operas: An Annotated Bibliography (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000)
Steptoe, Andrew, the Mozart-Da Ponte Operas: The Cultural and Musical Background to Le Nozze Di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi Fan Tutte (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990)
Winston, Richard and Winston, Clara eds., Mozart and His Times, 1st ed. (New York: Alfred a. Knopf, 1959)
Zweifel, Kathleen and Zweifel, Paul "Lorenzo Da Ponte: Mozart's Finest Librettist," Musical Opinion Nov.-Dec. 2006
"Contents," Wolfgang Amade Mozart: Essays on His Life and His Music, ed. Stanley Sadie (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996)
"Da Ponte, Lorenzo," the Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
"Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus," the Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed
