Libretto

Libretto is Italian for ‘little book’ — the text of an opera, oratorio, cantata, or other extended vocal work. Traditionally distributed to audiences as small printed booklets, the libretto provides the words sung by the performers and the structure of dramatic events.

The librettist (the writer of the libretto) is often distinct from the composer. Famous librettist-composer collaborations include Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte (Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, Così fan tutte), Verdi and Arrigo Boito (Otello, Falstaff), and Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal (Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra). The librettist’s craft is essential to the opera’s success.

In modern usage, ‘libretto’ refers to the published text of the opera, often with translations. A bilingual libretto allows audiences to follow the original-language sung text with a parallel translation.

Italian, ‘little book’, diminutive of libro (‘book’), from Latin liber.

Singers should know the libretto thoroughly — not just their own lines, but the full dramatic context. Audiences benefit from reading the libretto in advance to follow the story.