The Libretto as Literature

📖 The Scoop

This thesis undertakes an examination of opera libretti from the literary point of view. The first chapter is a historical survey of the libretto from the time of its inception until the present day. Particular emphasis is given to those ''reform movements" which have stressed the importance of the words over the music and to the ''literari- zation" of the libretto which is the distinctive feature of librettowriting in the twentieth century. Chapter Two deals with the question of a poetics of the libretto and of the necessity of understanding librettistic convention. This chapter is devoted primarily to an examination of the various ways in which the libretto's alliance with music influences such literary considerations as subject matter, plot construction, characterization and style. The third chapter studies one libretto in particular. The Rake's Progress by English poet W.H. Auden. This chapter opens with a brief outline of Igor Stravinsky's attitude towards the literary quality of a libretto and towards the issue of artistic convention in general. It is shown how these had an impact both on modern librettistic trends and on the librettistic theories of Auden. The Rake itself is examined primarily in the light of Auden's definition of opera as "pure artifice" and in the course of this study, Auden's relationship to various contemporary philosophical streams of thought, including existentialism, is noted. This thesis is written with the hope that the libretto, as a viable literary form in its own right, will at last receive the critical justice that is its due.

Genre: No Category (fancy, right?)