Libretto
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A libretto is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term libretto is also sometimes used to refer to the sto
Cover of a 1921 libretto for Giordano's Andrea Chénier
The composer of Cavalleria rusticana, Pietro Mascagni, flanked by his librettists, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci
Pages from an 1859 libretto for Ernani, with the original Italian lyrics, English translation and musical notation for one of the arias
Henry Purcell (1659–1695), whose operas were written to English libretti
Richard Wagner
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Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor, best known for his operas, although his mature works are often referred to as music dramas. Unlike most compose
Libretto
…Rodgers and Hammerstein the lyrics were generally written first, which was Rodgers' preferred modus operandi). Some composers wrote their own libretti. Richard Wagner is perhaps most famous in this regard, with his transformations of Germanic legends and events into epic subjects for his operas and music dramas…
Wagner in 1871
Wagner's birthplace, at 3, the Brühl, Leipzig
Wilhelmine "Minna" Planer (1835), by Alexander von Otterstedt
Wagner c. 1840, by Ernest Benedikt Kietz