- Robinson, Paul. “A Deconstructive Postscript: Reading Libretti and Misread-
ing Opera.” In Reading Opera(#218), 328–346.
“Intended as a polemical dissent to certain assumptions informing the essays
in this collection, and indeed, informing most operatic criticism that I have
read.” Robinson holds that “any interpretation of opera derived exclusively,
or even primarily, from the libretti is likely to result in a misreading.” For one
thing, the words in a performance are rarely intelligible to the audience,
because they may be in a foreign language, or obscured by the singing itself, or
lost in ensembles, or drowned out by the orchestra. (Robinson recognizes that
these problems vanish if there is prior study of the libretto or if the presenta-
tion has supertitles.) The question is not what does the text say, but “how is
the text realized, or at least addressed, in the music?” The words do count but
simply as “emblems of human volition”; they “identify the singer as a human
actor with specific feelings, giving voice to specific thoughts.”
220.Opera and Libretto I.Florence: Olschki, 1990. viii, 460p. ISBN 88-222-3825-7.
ML1699 .S88 v.1.
A collection of 18 papers presented at five conferences that did not have pub-
lished proceedings. Name index. Three are noted separately later in this guide:
#222 (Osthoff on Goethe translations), #1374 (Piperno on Paisiello), and
#516 (Lippmann on Norma). See next entry.
221.Opera and Libretto II. Florence: Olschki, 1993. viii, 496p. ISBN 88-222- - ML1699 .S88 v.2.
A collection of 22 papers read at earlier conferences; continues the preceding
entry. Name index. Two papers are treated separately later in this guide:
#1315 (Osthoff on Die Entführung) and #2099 (Gallerati on Oberon).
Translations
- Osthoff, Wolfgang. “La maga Circedi Pasquale Anfossi nella traduzione di
Goethe per il teatro di Weimar.” In Opera and Libretto I(#220), 51–76.
Examines Goethe’s approach to translation, with examples of his handling of
passages in the Anfossi libretto. His intent was always to write a text to the
music, not to make a direct transfer of the original text into German.
Libretti Associated with Specific Authors and Texts
- Tedeschi, Rubens. D’Annunzio e la musica. Florence: Discanto, 1988. 229p.
ISBN 88-221-0357-2. ML80 .A6 T4.
A narrative account of the use made of D’Annunzio’s works by opera libret-
tists and composers. Among the composers are Franchetti, Malipiero, Monte-
mezzi, and Zandonai. There is no actual list of the collaborations. The book
also includes a selection of D’Annunzio’s critical articles and reviews. Indexed. - Gooch, Bryan N. S., and David Thatcher. A Shakespeare Music Catalogue.
New York: Oxford U.P., 1991. 5v. ISBN 0-19812-941-6. ML134.5 .S52 G6.
An impressive undertaking, which uncovered 21,362 musical works based in
some way on Shakespearian writings. In v.1–3 these works are listed under the
Libretti and Librettists 53