Librettos & Synopses
You can find librettos and synopses in the Fine Arts Library's collections, eBooks, and on dozens of web sites. Below are just a few to get you started. Another great source for librettos is booklets included with CDs of operas in the Fine Arts Library.
Find Librettos in the Library
The University of Kentucky Libraries uses the Library of Congress Classification System for call numbers. Librettos can be found under ML50 and then alphabetical by composer. Collections of librettos can be found under ML48 and ML49. Check the Reference section, too, for librettos with IPA. You can browse the shelves or search by call number in InfoKat Discovery.
Browse librettos by call number (ML48-ML50) in InfoKat Discovery.
Libretto : Reference Resources
Catalogue of Opera Librettos Printed before 1800 by
Call Number: REF ML136 .U55 C45 1968 v.1-v.2I libretti itliani a stampa dalle origini al 1800 : catalogo analitico con 16 indici by
Call Number: REF ML136 .A1 S27 1990 v.1-6Libretti : Verzeichnis der bis 1800 erschienenen Textbücher by
Call Number: REF Z929 .W623 v.14
Libretti italiani d'operetta nella Biblioteca nazionale centrale di Roma by Call Number: REF ML136 .B54 L170 1979
Librettos : Leyerle Publications "Castel IPA Books"
The Little Fine Arts Library Reference section holds Leyerle's publications of librettos, which are sometimes referred to as the "Castel IPA books." Below are a few of the titles in this series:
The Complete Verdi Libretti, vol.1-4Call Number: REF ML49.V45 C372 1994- Der Ring des NibelungenCall Number: REF ML50.W14 R32 2003
- Four Strauss Opera LibrettiCall Number: REF ML49.S76 O62 2002
- French Opera Libretti byCall Number: REF ML48 .F875 1999
- German Miscellaneous Opera LibrettiCall Number: REF ML48 .G373 2005
- Gluck & Monteverdi Opera LibrettiCall Number: REF ML48 .G57 2008
Handel Opera Libretti, vol.1-2Call Number: REF ML49 .H236 2005
Italian Belcanto Opera Libretti, vol.1-4Call Number: REF ML48 .I882 2000
Italian Verismo Opera Libretti, vol.1-3Call Number: REF ML48 .I89 2000
The Libretti of Mozart's Completed Operas, vol.1-2Call Number: REF ML49.M83 C37 1997
Libretti of Russian OperasCall Number: REF ML48 .L53 2004- Three Wagner Opera LibrettiCall Number: REF ML49.W14 C32 2006
Librettos : IPA Source
- IPA Source
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Librettos: Naxos Music Library
- Naxos Music Library
- This link opens in a new window
Librettos : Microform Collections in the Library
- Catalog of Venetian Librettos at the University of California, Los Angeles byCall Number: REF ML136 .L842 U682 1993
- Venetian opera libretti a microfilm of Raccolta de' drammi : a collection of 1,286 opera libretti held by the University of California, Los Angeles.Call Number: Microforms B98-1 reels 1-41Use Irene Alm's *Catalog of Venetian Librettos* to locate works.
Librettos Online
- German Historical Institute, Rome: LibrettosMusic History Department of the German Historical Institute collection contains 1,500 historical libretto prints from L’Andromeda by Francesco Manelli (1637) and the early days of opera in Venice, since the opening of the first public opera houses, up to the year 1734.
- HathiTrust: LibrettosOver 3,000 public domain librettos are available at HathiTrust.
- IMSLP: LibrettosIn additional to scores, you can also find librettos on IMSLP.
- Internet Archive: LibrettosThousands of librettos are available at the Internet Archive.
- Library of Congress Albert Schatz CollectionThe Albert Schatz Collection at the Library of Congress totals over 12,000 operatic and 238 oratorio and cantata librettos, including many first and early Italian, German and French editions from the 17th and 18th centuries.
- Libretti d'opera italianiItalian librettos can be found at Libretti d'Opera Italiani.
English, French, German, and Russian librettos can be found at its sister site Operalib.Edu. - Librettosammlung Her der Bayerischen StaatsbibliothekThe Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek entire collection of over 5,600 libretti from operas, oratorios, and ballets has been digitized.
- Opera GlassIn addition to librettos (many with translations), OperaGlass at Stanford University also contains information on source texts and synopses.
- Operalib.eduEnglish, French, German, and Russian librettos. Italian librettos can be found at its sister site Libretti d'opera italiani.
- OpernführerAlong with librettos, Opernführer, contains information on premieres and original casts.
- Pietro Metastasio Drammi per musicaDrammi per Musica compares different versions of librettos from the 1700s by Metastasio.
- Raccolta DrammaticaBiblioteca Nazionale Braidense's Ufficio Ricerca Fondi Musicali holds over 8,000 librettos & synopses.
- University of North Texas Digital Library: LibrettosUNT's Digital Library--Librettos provides access to a number of 18th-century librettos.
Librettos Online : Libretto Index
Libretto Index contains links to hundreds of digitized libretti from VnF's Gallica, Libretti d'opera Italiani, Bayerischen Staatsbibliotek, and others. Some dead links.
Synopses : Resources in the Library
The Definitive Kobbe's Opera Book by Call Number: REF MT95 .K52 1987Now, after more than ten years, this famous work of the stories of more than 300 of the world's great operas has been entirely revised, updated, expanded, and reset in a manner zestfully responsive to the explosion of enthusiasm for opera over the last decade."
The Metropolitan Opera Stories of the Great Operas, vol.1-2 by Call Number: REF MT95 .M49 1984Includes the complete plots of 150 different operas and biographical information on the composers represented.
The Opera Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera by Call Number: REF MT95 .M253
