of Vienna in 1718, his brother, Pier Caterino took over the direction until 1732, publishing the periodical annually. Apostolo remained in Vienna until 1729, at which point he was replaced by Pietro Metastasio. He returned to Venice, dedicating himself to works of erudition and to coin-collecting. Zeno wrote the libretti for 36 operas with historical and mythological themes, including Gli inganni felici (1695), Odoardo (1695) Faramondo (1698), Lucio Vero, Imperatore di Roma (1700), Griselda (1701), Temistocle (1701), Merope (1711, Edition, 1727), L'Ambleto (1712), Alessandro Severo (1716), T'Euzzone (1719), Ormisda (1721), Artaserse (1724), Semiramide (1725), Domenico Sarro's Il Valdemaro (1726), Astarto (1730), Caio Fabbricio (1733), Euristeo (published 1757), and Sesostri re d'Egitto (Prague edition 1760) as well as 17 oratorios, including Giuseppe (1722), Gioaz (1726), David umiliato (1731). Among his literary works, the Dissertazioni vossiane are additions and corrections to De historicis latinis by Voss. His Annotazioni to the Biblioteca della eloquenza italiana by Giusto Fontanini were published posthumously. His correspondence (Epistolario) is ample. Critical evaluation From condemnation of the unrealistic and exaggerated elements of melodrama was born a demand for greater verisimilitude in plots and for literary dignity in texts. Zeno was the first to undertake reform to make melodrama more sober, according to the arcadici principles, developed further by Metastasio. Inspired by French tragedians, he respected, as they did, the rule of the unity of time and space. He reduced the number of characters and scenes and eliminated the clown roles, constructing his works so that they could be presented also without music. Francesco de Sanctis, referring to Metastasio, wrote that "if we look at the structure, his drama is constructed in the fashion which Apostolo Zeno already demonstrated. But the structure is only a simple skeleton. Metastasio breathed into that skeleton the grace and the romance of a happy and harmonious life. He was the poet of melodrama; Zeno was the architect." References External links 1669 births 1750 deaths Italian poets Italian male poets Italian opera librettists Apostolo 18th-century Venetian writers Italian male dramatists and playwrights 18th-century Italian journalists 17th-century journalists