[2] In 1788 Porta moved to France,[1] where he composed Le diable à quatre ou La double métamorphose (1790) on a libretto by Michel-Jean Sedaine for the Théâtre Italien.
[4] Porta's 3-act opera Les Horaces with a libretto by Nicolas-François Guillard (based on a play by Corneille) was premiered by the Paris Opéra at the Théâtre de la République et des Arts on 18 October 1800.
Guillard's libretto had already been set by Antonio Salieri as Les Horaces (premiered by the Opéra in 1786), but this work had been a failure and was dropped after three performances.
Porta's opera would be totally forgotten today, except for an attempted assassination of Napoleon, which occurred at the theatre during one of its performances.
[6] Porta also composed masses, motets, oratorios and some instrumental music: 6 duo's for two cello's, 2 trio's, 3 quartets for flute, violin, alto and bass, and quintets.