libretto

American  

[li-bret-oh] / lɪˈbrɛt oʊ /

noun

• librettos,
  plural
• libretti
  plural

1. the text or words of an opera or similar extended musical composition.

2. a book or booklet containing such a text.

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libretto British  

/ lɪˈbrɛtəʊ /

noun

1. a text written for and set to music in an opera, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• libretti
  plural
• librettos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of libretto

1735–45; < Italian, diminutive of libro book < Latin liber; see -et

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Explanation

In opera, the libretto is the words or lyrics, as distinct from the music. Mozart composed the music to his operas, but the librettos were written by someone else. The life of the librettist is often a thankless one. If the opera is a success, nobody mentions the libretto. Often, the libretto of an opera or musical is called the "book" and refers to all the parts of the script except the music. This can be helpful in remembering what the word means, because libr- is Latin for "book" (as in "library").

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

libretto libretti librettos

With its harmonically lush score and emotionally raw libretto, “The Mothers of Kherson,” though frequently absorbing, is no “Guernica” in sound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

George Brant’s libretto has a torn-from-the-headlines immediacy: It was inspired by a 2022 kidnapping of Ukrainian children from a summer camp in Crimea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The libretto gave Kallman “a purpose he otherwise lacked,” transforming him from “an apparently worthless appendage, in the opinion of others,” to “a creative partner.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

In Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s libretto, a phantom of Helen returns to Troy after the war while the real Helen is whisked away to safety.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

If Ethan were here, he’d have the whole libretto written by the time we stepped out of the car.

From "What If It's Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Those libretti are striking assemblages from documentary and literary sources by Sellars that Adams’ music brings to life.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2022

“I spent a great deal of my time during my college career in creative writing, so the idea of writing my own libretti seemed no stretch at all for me.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 2021

In social media postings, New York composer Daniel Roumain said Sunday he was commissioned to write one of four libretti for a “Greenwood Overcomes” concert scheduled for a May 1 performance by the Tulsa Opera.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 22, 2021

He has collaborated on two libretti, an operatic sideline resulting from a misapprehension.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 8, 2013

None of the new libretti here, would in my opinion be attended with any success whatever, if brought out for the first time on a German stage.

From Letters of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy from Italy and Switzerland by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

He would grab a bunch of different librettos and “Wicked” was one of them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2024

Italian soprano Carmela Remigio told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that it was thanks to the opera and its librettos that Italian language was still known in the world.

From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2023

So she taught herself to write English librettos by studying Wagner and contemporary artists like poet Alice Goodman and composer Kaija Saariaho.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2023

For Schumacher, the push was toward narrative structure; he now writes librettos for all his ballets.

From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2023

Under James I, with the great architect Inigo Jones to devise the machines and setting, and with Ben Jonson to write the librettos, one of these masques was a magnificent affair.

From How Shakspere Came to Write the Tempest by Rudyard Kipling

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Related Words

• article
• book
• copy
• dialogue
• manuscript
• scenario
• text

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