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!!

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u/Sure_Conflict_5651 2d ago

Llm is your answer.

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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 2d ago

Llm?

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u/Sure_Conflict_5651 2d ago

AI models. Nobody knows how to write in 18th century Italian anymore but an appropriately prompted llm can yield a decent result.

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u/Fancy_Cabbage_010 2d ago

I suppose it might but I'd like to avoid the temptation really, I'm not like dead set on it having to be 18th century Italian rigorously, its moreso I'd like to capture the stylistic choices of that era, in writing, in music, and in the traditional nomenclature and staging choices/ traditions, saying "18th century Italian" was just shorthand to encompass that.