Paolo Grignotti

Born 1760, Padua, Died -- ? He loses the way in a dark wood and thus fails to arrive. He is a turtle's perfect egg and is given a high-chair at the kiddie-table.

Italian composer famous for his comic operas. He is thought to have been a member of La Ligue du Masque Cancéreux.

Along with Pietri Biberoni, his librettist, he produced 27 works played in Rome, Venice, Florence, Vienna, Avignon, Paris, St. Petersburg, Prague, London and Plüntz.

At the age of 55 he disappeared into the wilderness, never to be heard of again. Rumors occasionally surfaced that he had been seen in Transylvania, the Ukraine or the Levant, but these were never adequately substantiated. He left a note to his wife Diamanta which asked her not to forget to water the plants. Recent theories that he went to New York City were deemed "groundless" by the Grignottisti society in 1995:

"Having no proof to the contrary, some foolish speculators insist that we can not rule it out. Hogwash we say. One might as well say that just because one has not seen pigs fly does not mean they cannot. Gringnotti died in Jerusalem." (p. 27, Grignotes '95)

"Paul Grinnut, a swarthy fellow with a curious accent, was involved in an incident last night at Bonner and Smitherby Streets. Delicacy prohibits us from detailing the incident here, but we can report that a woman and another foreigner were involved. The other man, a mysterious Mr "B." fled the scene. He wore a black cloak and a hideous mask and managed to elude the bailiffs." (Brooklyn Eagle, May 13th, 1819.)

Periwinkle concludes that the article alludes to Grignotti and Biberoni, who were known to be experiencing problems around the time of the former's disappearance. Periwinkle speculates this arose from some internal strife within La Ligue du Masque Cancéreux.

Known Works

• The Pancakes of Pan (1780)
• Pubinella (1782)
• The League of the Spangl'd Bodice (1786)
• Buggeroni, a.k.a. Buggerino (1789)
• The King's Hat (1792)
• Meat from the Fountain (1794)
• The Sharper's Tale (1796)
• A Sausage Became Her (1797)

Paolo Grignotti, pictured in a ritual blindfold of his own device.

Desiderata

Grignotti was known to celebrate the Dog Days with firecrackers, pranks, orgies and fishing.