| u’re a behind-the-scenes kind of person, the | | | | they are so powerful, so “Wagnerian.” |
| assistant who gets the presentation ready for the uy | | | | This is quite a feat because composing music and |
| in marketing but does not get to go in the meeting, then | | | | writing words require different parts of the brain. |
| this article is just for you. Are you the PR professional | | | | Sometimes the composer and librettist met in person, |
| who writes all their speeches and answers all the | | | | while other times the work was done by |
| complaint letters for the chief executive officer; pianist | | | | correspondence. Strauss worked exclusively with one |
| practices; the deputy chief whose job description is | | | | librettist, after writing his own lyrics for his first opera |
| doing all the things the chief doesn’t like to do or | | | | and finding out he wasn’t good at it, but most |
| can’t do; or the paralegal who prepares all the | | | | other composers switched around, finding the right |
| pleadings, knows all the codes, and does all the licking | | | | librettist for the job, or one who was available. |
| and stamping. | | | | It’s not unlike the way a lot of us work these |
| Temistocle Solear, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Henri Meilhac, | | | | days – long distance and by contract. |
| Jules Barbier, Michael Carre, Guiseppe Giacosa, Luigi | | | | Again, grasp the significance of the work these unsung |
| Illica, Renato Semoni, and Nicola Haym all know what | | | | heroes did. The words are so integral to the opera |
| this is like. | | | | they are never translated. Subtitles run across the big |
| Who on earth are these people?? | | | | screen on stage, or the little screen on the chair in |
| Well even if you’re not an opera fan, I bet | | | | front of yours at the opera. We read them in our |
| you’ve heard of the composers Verdi, Bizet, | | | | native tongue while they are sung on stage in the |
| Mozart, Strauss, Gounod, Handel, Donizetti and Puccini. | | | | original German, Italian, or French. (For aficionados, |
| And I’m sure you’ve heard of some of | | | | anyway. Beginners may enjoy translations, such as |
| their operas – Aida, Carmen, Cosi fan Tutte, | | | | The Chandos Opera In English series, which translates |
| Madame Butterfly, Faust, and Don Giovanni, for | | | | the lyrics into English.) |
| instance. | | | | What an incredible collaboration an opera is. It takes |
| Did you know that these composers wrote the music | | | | costume designers as well, because an opera is as |
| for their operas but not the lyrics? Solear, Ghislanzoni | | | | much visual as it is auditory. The Grand Opera is |
| and the other individuals in the list are what’s | | | | known for its elaborate sets and costumes. In |
| called “librettists.” It is they who wrote | | | | “Turandot,” when the mob turns surly |
| the words to the music that tell the story, without | | | | and the moon appears, she is personified and |
| which you would be listening to a symphony, not an | | | | costumed in a magnificence dominated the stage for |
| opera. And we never hear their names! | | | | what seems like half an hour, that will keep you |
| They’re called “librettists” | | | | transfigured. |
| because the words to the songs, which basically | | | | One opera I hope to see one day is Verdi’s |
| comprise the script of the opera, is called a | | | | “Aida,” excuse me, Verdi and |
| “libretto.” It’s Italian for little book. | | | | Ghislanzoni’s “Aida” at the Bath |
| Like Gilbert and Sullivan, the pairs worked together. | | | | of Caracalla in Rome, where the Triumphal March of |
| The inimitable Richard Wagner was the only one to | | | | Rhadames features live elephants and horses on |
| compose all his operas entirely by himself, creating | | | | stage. Now that’s entertainment! |
| both music and lyrics, which may account for why | | | | |