libretto
nounUK /lɪˈbɹɛt.əʊ/ · US /lɪˈbɹɛt.oʊ/
Etymology From Italian libretto, diminutive of libro (“book”), from Latin liber (“book”).
1
The text of a dramatic musical work, such as an opera.
- From Mozart's letters we know that the composer decided to enlarge the part of Osmin, the harem keeper, because the originator of the part, Ludwig Fischer, had a freakishly low bass voice that Mozart wanted to exploit. Osmin's principal arias and ensembles were duly lengthened beyond what appeared in the original libretto, and he was given yet another song in the third act.2002 January 3, Richard Traubner, “Mozart's Singspiel”, in Playbill:
2
A book containing such a text.
- Derived terms
- librettistic
- Related terms
- librettist, librettistics