Gamerra, Giovanni de (b. Livorno, 1743; d. Vicenza, 20 Aug. 1803). Italian poet, dramatist and librettist. Gamerra, who as a young man studied law and subsequently served in the Austrian army, was poet at the Teatro Regio Ducale, Milan, from 1770 to 1774 and the librettist for Mozart's Lucio Silla (Milan, 26 Dec. 1772). In 1781 Mozart set an aria from Gamerra's text for Paisiello's Sismano nel Mogol (‘A questo seno deh vieni – Or che il cielo a me ti rende’, K374). Gamerra was court poet in Vienna 1774–6 and again 1793–1802; in 1794 his Italian translation of Die Zauberflöte was performed in Prague.

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Gasparini, Quirino (b. Gandino, near Bergamo, 1721; d. Turin, 30 Sept. 1778). Italian composer. A student of G. A. Fioroni, maestro di cappella of Milan Cathedral, and G. B. Martini, Gasparini was appointed maestro di cappella of Turin Cathedral in 1760. In 1767 he set Mitridate, a libretto set by Mozart for Milan three years later. According to Leopold Mozart's letter of 2 January 1771, the singers had wanted to substitute some of Gasparini's numbers for Mozart's; in the event, the tenor Guglielmo d’Ettore performed the older composer's ‘Vado incontro’ (Act 3), as a result of which the aria was later incorrectly attributed to Mozart. Nevertheless, relations between the Mozarts and Gasparini, whom they met later in January 1771, were good.