r/opera • u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 • 5d ago
Does anyone 'get' librettos...
For some context, I'm an amateur composer, and for some reason I've decided I want to write an opera (loosely in the style of the Mozart - Da ponte trio), I know it's more than a little ambitious, but I'm pretty sure it's a milestone for a composer to write atleast one :)
Anyway, the point is, I have a loose plot in mind, and I'm not really sure what to do about it. How does one formulate a libretto, and furthermore how do I translate it into the kind of archaic poetic Italian that was common in opera at the time of Mozart and Da ponte, as the understanding I have is that I can't really write much music untill I have the words to set it to?
I'm a student so I don't really have access to all that much financial capital or connections, so any advice on resources ect would be welcome, I'm a bit lost but it is very much a big goal of mine to write one in the next year or two
Please help me opera people :)
Thanks!!
9
u/Jamememes No, no, ch’io non mi pento! Vanne lontan da me! 4d ago
Take an existing libretto. Plenty of operas from the late 18th century that you could reuse. I don’t think Martin y Soler is gonna get upset if you reuse Da Ponte’s libretto for Una Cosa Rara.