Oddly enough, but if we asked what a libretto is, a resident of the 17-18 centuries, he would answer with full confidence that this is a book! Indeed, the name of this
musical term is translated that way. The libretto used to be called the literary basis of opera, ballet and other dramatic works.
This brochure was a kind of scenario where the action of the stage production was described. But he was not given the
opportunity to become a separate
literary genre , because the plot described in the book was closely connected with the opera or musical itself. Later, this term began to be called individual
musical works.Libretto story
Until the mid-18th century, all productions in this musical vein were staged, adhering to a certain scheme. This was due to the fact that most of the dramatic tasks were of the same type. Several composers could use the same libretto in their works. But in the second half of the 18th century, even a separate type of activity appeared - the composition of musical accompaniment. The librettist was supposed to come up with individual stories, not like the previous ones. This man understood best what libretto is, and, working together with the composer, he was ready to offer suitable options. Of course, it was necessary to understand and convey the original author’s idea, the nature of the dramatic work. We can say that the librettists faced a difficult task - to combine poetry, the musical component and the actions of the characters of the production. For example, the famous masters of this genre were R. Calzabigi (Gluck used his services while working on Orpheus and Eurydice) and Da Lonte (collaborated with Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and other great composers).
What is a libretto in the 19th century?
In these times, composers began to shift professional authors to write the literary foundations of operas, ballets and operettas. True, in order to understand what a libretto is and how to complement the production, considerable creative potential was required. Among the composers were those who continued to collaborate with the librettists, but already trusted them to perform other tasks. A person, for example, had to prepare only a poetic text.
Examples of productions and their authors
To this day, the basis for the libretto is literary works, which are processed in accordance with musical and stage requirements. For example, this feature can be seen when comparing Pushkin’s Queen of Spades and Tchaikovsky’s interpretation of it. Few works of this genre can be called autonomous, that is, written specifically for a specific production. It is known that the composer Richard Wagner wrote libretto independently for all his works. Alexander Serov, a Russian composer, had the same talent. He is the author of the libretto of the operas Judith and Rognada, although the latter was co-written with theater critic Dmitry Averkiev.
The relevance of the genre in modern times
Modern musical theater does not stand still and actively offers viewers new genres and performances. Of course, the musical was the most striking innovation. The libretto for this genre differs slightly, because this musical production is essentially a “native” from an American operetta. A musical at its core is also a musical interpretation of a literary work. True, there is more theatricality in it, complemented by choreography, staged situations, and especially the actors' plastique. And, of course, the main role in it is played by music, which means that the libretto in this case receives much more significance than it had in the operetta before.