Libretto
For the subnotebook PC manufactured by Toshiba, see Libretto (notebook). |
Antonio Ghislanzoni, nineteenth century Italian librettist. |
A
libretto is the complete body of words used in an extended musical work such as an
opera,
operetta,
masque, sacred or secular
oratorio and
cantata,
musical, and
ballet. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as
mass and
requiem.
The libretto includes the stage directions, the lyrics to the musical numbers, and any spoken passages or pantomime, as applicable. The word
libretto is an
Italian word which translates literally as "little book." It is distinct from a synopsis or
scenario of the plot.
The relationship of the
librettist (
i.e., the writer of a libretto) to the composer in the creation of a musical work has varied over the centuries, as have the sources and the writing techniques employed.
Operatic libretti have been adapted from myths and legends, historical events, biographies, plays, poems, short stories, novels, and sometimes even non-literary sources (as with
Goyescas, by
Enrique Granados, inspired by paintings of
Francisco Goya). The librettist
Francesco Maria Piave adapted works by
Victor Hugo, the
Duke of Rivas, and others. Many other libretti do not derive from a pre-existing work, as with the libretti
Hugo von Hofmannsthal wrote for
Richard Strauss.
The works of
William Shakespeare have inspired many composers, including
Purcell,
Gounod,
Verdi and
Britten.
Goethe's
Faust also spawned a large number of opera adaptations.
Pushkin's works have provided the source for many Russian operas.
Perhaps more rare is to have an existing work of musical drama inspire other hands to write another one. Such is the case with
Bizet's opera
Carmen, which was refashioned as an African-American musical (with dialogue)
Carmen Jones by
Oscar Hammerstein II. Goethe himself wrote a libretto for a projected sequel to
Mozart's opera
Die Zauberflöte.
Naturally it is easier to work with a source for a new libretto if the source is in the public domain, but even with the new work, of course, both the music and the text can be copyrighted.
Libretti for operas, oratorios, and cantatas in the 17th and 18th centuries generally were written by someone other than the composer, often a well-known poet.
Metastasio (
1698–
1782) (real name Pietro Trapassi) was one of the most highly regarded librettists in
Europe. His libretti were set many times by many different composers. Another noted
18th century librettist was
Lorenzo da Ponte, who wrote the libretto for three of
Mozart's greatest operas.
Eugène Scribe was one of the most prolific librettists of the
19th century, providing the words for works by
Meyerbeer (with whom he had a lasting collaboration),
Auber,
Bellini,
Donizetti,
Rossini and
Verdi. The French writers' duo
Henri Meilhac and
Ludovic Halévy wrote a large number of
opera and
operetta libretti for the likes of
Jacques Offenbach,
Jules Massenet and
Georges Bizet.
Arrigo Boito, who wrote libretti for, among others,
Giuseppe Verdi and
Amilcare Ponchielli, composed two operas of his own.
The libretto is not always written before the music. Some composers, such as
Mikhail Glinka,
Alexander Serov,
Rimsky-Korsakov,
Puccini, and
Mascagni wrote passages of music without text and subsequently had the librettist add words to the vocal melody lines. (This has often been the case with American popular song and musicals in the 20th century, as with
Richard Rodgers and
Lorenz Hart's collaboration, although with the later team of
Rodgers and Hammerstein the lyrics were generally written first.)
Some composers wrote their own libretti.
Richard Wagner is perhaps most famous in this regard, with his transformations of Germanic legends and events into epic subjects for his operas and music dramas.
Alban Berg adapted
Georg Büchner's play
Woyzeck for the libretto of
Wozzeck.
Sometimes the libretto is written in close collaboration with the composer; this can involve adaptation, as was the case with
Rimsky-Korsakov and his librettist Bel'sky, or an entirely original work. In the case of musicals, the music, the lyrics, and the "book" (i.e., the spoken dialogue and the stage directions) may each have their own author. Thus, a musical such as
Fiddler on the Roof has a composer (
Jerry Bock), a lyricist (
Sheldon Harnick), and the writer of the "book" (
Joseph Stein).
Other matters in the process of developing a libretto parallel those of spoken
dramas for stage or screen. There are the preliminary steps of selecting or suggesting a subject and developing a sketch of the action in the form of a
scenario, as well as revisions that might come about when the work is in production, as with out-of-town tryouts for
Broadway musicals, or changes made for a specific local audience. A famous case of the latter is Wagner's
1861 revision of the original
1845 Dresden version of his opera
Tannhäuser for
Paris.
The opera libretto from its inception (ca. 1600) was written in verse, and this continued well into the 19th century, although genres of musical theater with spoken dialogue have typically alternated verse in the musical numbers with spoken prose. Since the late 19th century some opera composers have written music to prose or free verse libretti.
As different musical traditions developed over time in different places, libretti were sometimes subjected to changes because of local requirements of performance practice. For example, an 18th-century Italian comic opera like
Pergolesi's
La Serva Padrona was to be sung all the way through in Italy, but in France the
recitatives had to be converted into spoken dialogue.
As the originating language of opera, Italian dominated that genre in
Europe (except in
France) well through the 18th century, and even into the next century in
Russia, for example, when the Italian opera troupe in
Saint Petersburg was challenged by the emerging native Russian repertory. Significant exceptions before
1800 can be found in Purcell's works, German opera of
Hamburg during the Baroque,
ballad opera and
Singspiel of the 18th century, etc.
Just as with literature and song, the libretto has its share of problems and challenges with
translation. In the past (and even today), foreign musical stage works with spoken dialogue, especially comedies, were sometimes performed with the sung portions in the original language and the spoken dialogue in the vernacular. Availability of printed or projected translations today makes singing in the original language more practical, although one cannot discount the desire to hear a sung drama in one's own language.
Many writers of libretti have been sadly overlooked today in the receipt of credit for their work. Certainly some still are recognized as part of famous collaborations, as with
Gilbert and Sullivan. Often in the 17th and 18th centuries the librettist was considered equal to or more important than the composer; this state of affairs was emphasized by the fact that libretti were more easily printed then, and the music was left in manuscript or even lost. However, today the composer (past or present) of the musical score to an opera or operetta is usually given top billing for the completed work, and the writer of the lyrics relegated to second place or a mere footnote. In some cases, the operatic adaptation has become more famous than the literary text on which it was based, as with
Claude Debussy's
Pelléas et Mélisande after a play by
Maurice Maeterlinck.
On the other hand, the affiliation of a poor libretto to great music has sometimes given the libretto's author a kind of accidental immortality. Certainly it is common for works of
classical music to be admired in spite of, rather than because of, their libretti.
The question of which is more important in opera has been debated over time, and forms the basis of an opera, specifically Strauss's last,
Capriccio.
Libretti have been made available in several formats, some more nearly complete than others. The text is commonly published separately from the music (such a booklet is usually included with sound recordings of most operas). Sometimes (particularly for
operas in the
public domain) this format is supplemented with melodic excerpts of
musical notation for important
numbers. Printed
scores for
operas naturally contain the entire libretto, although there can exist significant differences between the score and the separately printed text. Because the modern musical tends to be published in two separate but intersecting formats (i.e., the book, with all the words, and the piano-vocal score, with all the musical material, including some spoken cues), both of these are needed in order to make a thorough reading of an entire show.
*
Public-Domain Opera Libretti and Other Vocal Texts*
400 Librettos of the most famous Operas
