libretto

IPA/lɪˈbretəʊ/
KK[ləbrˈɛto]IPA/lɪˈbretəʊ/

libretto — noun

  • librettosingular
  • librettiplural

1. The complete written text of a sung theatrical work like an opera, containing ev

1.nounC1
Definition

The complete written text of a sung theatrical work like an opera, containing every word the performers sing or speak.

Example

The libretto for Puccini's La Bohème was written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

proper nouns: Puccini's La Bohème — real opera example

When Eva attended the new musical, she bought the libretto to follow along during the show.

Common collocations
  • write a libretto
  • translate a libretto
  • read the libretto
  • original libretto
  • full libretto
  • libretto of an opera
  • libretto for a musical
Synonyms
  • script

    used for non-musical plays and films; libretto is specific to opera and musicals.

  • text

    broader term that can refer to any written content; libretto is the precise term for theatrical sung works.

  • book

    in musical theatre, 'book' often means the spoken dialogue and stage directions, while libretto includes sung lyrics too.

Grammar Patterns

the libretto of [opera/musical]

[person] wrote/translated a libretto

Common Mistakes

I read the libretto of the pop song.
I read the lyrics of the pop song.
a libretto is the full text of a staged musical work, not the words of a single song.
The orchestra played from the libretto.
The orchestra played from the score.
the libretto contains only the words; the musical notes are in the score.

Word family

  • librettist
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A libretto contains all the words performed in an opera or musical — both sung and spoken lines. Lyrics refer only to the words of songs, often without any spoken dialogue. A script is used for non-musical plays and films and may include stage directions but no musical notation. The score is the complete musical notation of a work, showing all the notes the orchestra and singers perform, but it does not include the full text. For example, when studying Mozart's The Magic Flute, one might read the libretto to understand the story, listen to the score from the orchestra, and focus on the lyrics of the famous Queen of the Night aria.

libretto ↗lyrics ↗script ↗score ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the libretto of an opera
  • the libretto for a musical
  • based on a libretto by

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinItalianEnglish

From Italian libretto, meaning 'little book' — formed from libro ('book') plus the diminutive suffix -etto ('small'). The term entered English in the 1700s, when Italian opera was at its height of popularity across Europe, to describe the small printed booklets containing the opera's sung text.