| In order to enjoy opera, you have to know a number | | | | requests some changes. The librettist refuses to make |
| of very simple, straight-forward TECHNICAL things | | | | the changes. The composer threatens him and |
| about it. (This may surprise some people; but, really, in | | | | blackmails him into making the changes. |
| my experience, when introducing folks to opera, I've | | | | Once the changes are made, the composer sets to |
| found (repeatedly) I have to cover the very basics, | | | | work, writing something called a SHORT SCORE. |
| however briefly. | | | | That's, like, music without orchestration. You can play all |
| A libretto (plural: libretti) is THE LYRICS. Like, ALL of | | | | of it on the piano. The composer then realizes that |
| them. Plus, it includes some very basic blocking (who's | | | | some of the high notes cannot be sung, because the |
| on the stage, who's picking up what from the table, | | | | vowels in the libretto are wrong. (Consider the word |
| who's going after whom with a dagger, that kind of | | | | "glory." Now imagine that the last syllable of the word |
| thing). | | | | "glory" is a high note. Try singing it. It sounds ridiculous, |
| Here's how a libretto is normally written. | | | | doesn't it?). The composer drops by the librettist's |
| A composer sees a play at some theatre, or reads a | | | | place and demands more changes, showing the exact |
| book, or hears an interesting story. He then decides | | | | spots in which he wants good singable vowels for his |
| that the plot has enough material for an opera. (This is | | | | high notes. The librettist curses, threatens the |
| VERY important. A good opera story should be very, | | | | composer, makes a scene, but eventually agrees to |
| very dramatic, otherwise it just won't fly). He then | | | | make the changes. After that, the composer finds that |
| (normally) turns to his LIBRETTIST, a person who | | | | there's something totally wrong (in the dramatic sense) |
| specializes in writing opera lyrics, and asks him to | | | | with the second scene of the first act. It's manure. It's |
| adapt the story. They agree on the terms, and the | | | | pathetic. It has to be rewritten from scratch. And so |
| librettist sets to work. | | | | forth. |
| It is the librettist's job to make sure the text can be | | | | Finally, the libretto is ready. The words in it are what |
| easily sung. (Good singable vowels in all the right | | | | you'll hear when you listen to the opera. |
| places). The composer goes over the libretto and | | | | |