From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Somma. Antonio Somma (born Udine, 28 August 1809 - died Venice, 8 August 1864) was an Italian playwright who is most well known for writing the libretto of an opera which ultimately became Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera in 1859. While a student, his tragedy, Parisina, gave him quite a success. Initially, his contact with Verdi came about when the composer was seeking... see more