In order to enjoy opera, you have to know a number of very simple, straight-forward TECHNICAL things about it. (This may surprise some people; but, really, in my experience, when introducing folks to opera, I've found (repeatedly) I have to cover the very basics, however briefly.
A libretto (plural: libretti) is THE LYRICS. Like, ALL of them. Plus, it includes some very basic blocking (who's on the stage, who's picking up what from the table, who's going after whom with a dagger, that kind of thing).
Here's how a libretto is normally written.
A composer sees a play at some theatre, or reads a book, or hears an interesting story. He then decides that the plot has enough material for an opera. (This is VERY important. A good opera story should be very, very dramatic, otherwise it just won't fly). He then (normally) turns to his LIBRETTIST, a person who specializes in writing opera lyrics, and asks him to adapt the story. They agree on the terms, and the librettist sets to work.
It is the librettist's job to make sure the text can be easily sung. (Good singable vowels in all the right places). The composer goes over the libretto and requests some changes. The librettist refuses to make the changes. The composer threatens him and blackmails him into making the changes.
Once the changes are made, the composer sets to work, writing something called a SHORT SCORE. That's, like, music without orchestration. You can play all of it on the piano. The composer then realizes that some of the high notes cannot be sung, because the vowels in the libretto are wrong. (Consider the word "glory." Now imagine that the last syllable of the word "glory" is a high note. Try singing it. It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?). The composer drops by the librettist's place and demands more changes, showing the exact spots in which he wants good singable vowels for his high notes. The librettist curses, threatens the composer, makes a scene, but eventually agrees to make the changes. After that, the composer finds that there's something totally wrong (in the dramatic sense) with the second scene of the first act. It's manure. It's pathetic. It has to be rewritten from scratch. And so forth.
Finally, the libretto is ready. The words in it are what you'll hear when you listen to the opera.
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Source: www.ezinearticles.com
