# Anyone else get distracted by libretto reading?



## nefigah (Aug 23, 2008)

It's perhaps my unique cross to bear, but I'm having little success with CD-plus-libretto listening. It's not particularly the lack of onstage action or anything--rather, it seems I'm OCD about making sure I'm following *exactly* with the words, to the point of distraction from the music and the work as a whole.

I haven't had this problem with live performances (with supertitles) or video with subs, because they take care of "synching" for me. But sometimes I'd like to be able to just lie down with the headphones. Alas. And yeah, just going without the libretto won't work either... That's like ultimate torture.

Is there a support group I can join?


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## david johnson (Jun 25, 2007)

i do not have that problem. hope you get better 

dj


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I tend to read the libretto or synopsis before listening so that I can still concentrate on the music. And usually I just listen for the music. For the story I prefer to watch a DVD or see live


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

nefigah said:


> It's perhaps my unique cross to bear, but I'm having little success with CD-plus-libretto listening. It's not particularly the lack of onstage action or anything--rather, it seems I'm OCD about making sure I'm following *exactly* with the words, to the point of distraction from the music and the work as a whole.


Have you tried a Handel opera? There, all the action is in the recitatives (easy to follow in the libretto), but the words of the arias are usually few, fairly predictable '(Tossed like a ship in a storm, I long for land', or some such) and not really very important. What's important, musically, is the _situation_ that the character is in; exactly what words are being sung at any given moment in an aria doesn't really count for much.

So you can follow the story development in the recitative, then skim quickly through the words of the aria when it starts - and then forget it and listen to the music!


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

Sounds like you're trying Wagner.. I'd skip those complex librettos until you've been listening to opera for a year-plus.


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## nefigah (Aug 23, 2008)

Ravellian said:


> Sounds like you're trying Wagner.. I'd skip those complex librettos until you've been listening to opera for a year-plus.


Does that mean this issue is a "skill" that can be improved?


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

nefigah said:


> Does that mean this issue is a "skill" that can be improved?


I don't think it could be adequately described as a 'skill' as such; I think it might be more like a _discipline_ - a matter of consciously trying to adjust one's focus - that gets easier with practice.

Seriously - try some Handel: a good recording of one of the great Handel operas (_Alcina_ or _Giulio Cesare_, maybe), where you can just revel in the music of the arias without worrying at all about the fine detail of what the words are. Another possibility would be to try an opera sung in English - eg:

Chandos Opera Recordings in English


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## scytheavatar (Aug 27, 2009)

Join the crowd who has realized that DVD >>>> CD. I can never understand why so many classical music fans still discriminate against DVD recordings. Yeah, lots of DVDs have subpar subtitles (bloody DG), but that's usually better than nothing. I listen to CD recordings only after watching DVD recordings repeatably and knowing the libretto by heart.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I totally agree with Elgarian and scytheavatar:

Watch the DVD first, lots of times, so that you are familiar with the story.

Handel is great for listening with the libretto. Also the oratorios are in English - try Solomon or Hercules.

Or watch an opera in English - I would recommend this DVD from ENO:










Fantastic staging and good singing.

And the other thing I would say is, relax and just let the music sink in. There's plenty of time to get to know the stories, just go with the flow and listen.


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## nefigah (Aug 23, 2008)

Oh? How common is it to "redo" an opera in English?


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

nefigah said:


> Oh? How common is it to "redo" an opera in English?


The translated recordings are greatly outnumbered by the original language ones; but there are over 50 titles given in the Chandos list at the link I gave above. That's plenty to keep you happy for a while. I have this one myself:










In _Seraglio_ there's no recitative - the dialogue is purely spoken; so it comes across quite naturally in English.


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## Elgarian (Jul 30, 2008)

scytheavatar said:


> I can never understand why so many classical music fans still discriminate against DVD recordings.


Well, we're all different. Speaking purely for myself, I find that defects I might be able to tolerate in the theatre become too distracting on the small screen, so that unless the production is _particularly_ good, I simply don't enjoy it. (That's why I find the detailed recommendations in our 'Opera on DVD' thread are so helpful to me.) If what I'm seeing is at odds with what I'm hearing (as for instance with the _Rodelinda_ production discussed in that thread), then I far prefer just to listen to a CD and imagine the visuals myself - just as I would if I were reading a novel. In fact one of my favourite activities in summer is to set myself up in the garden with an opera box set, a portable player, a pair of headphones, the libretto, and a coffee pot.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

nefigah said:


> It's perhaps my unique cross to bear, but I'm having little success with CD-plus-libretto listening...it seems I'm OCD about making sure I'm following *exactly* with the words, to the point of distraction from the music and the work as a whole.


I can see three situations that will be a particular challenge to following along with the libretto. Let me know if any of them apply more or less than the others. (I have some speculations, but I want to be sure to get _your_ testimony on this issue.)

1. Following along with something like the quintet in Wagner's _Meistersinger_. Then, of course, there are the concluding scenes of some of the very famous Mozart operas. Multiple singers voicing different words at the same time, often in different note-patterns. I'm disinclined to think that this a special issue to you, since you seem to say that you can handle this situation on DVD.

2. Repeats- particularly as concerns those taken with the lyrics, and not reiterated on the libretto. One of the earliest librettos I obtained was an "all-repeats-included" libretto of _Aïda_. Those things aren't common- and positively unheard-of as an insert to a CD-set.

3. Hefty narration, particularly when the sung music differs from the main melodic line. A prototypical example is the "Rome Narrative" from _Tannhäuser_. As a matter of memorability, it's my experience that one absorbs the orchestral melody first, then the music of the sung line, and the text of the sung line comes last.

Before further conjecture on that front, I'd be interested in seeing how we handle each of those three situations.


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## nefigah (Aug 23, 2008)

Chi_town/Philly said:


> 1. Following along with something like the quintet in Wagner's _Meistersinger_. Then, of course, there are the concluding scenes of some of the very famous Mozart operas. Multiple singers voicing different words at the same, often in different note-patterns. I'm disinclined to think that this a special issue to you, since you seem to say that you can handle this situation on DVD.


This can be difficult, yes. The DVD takes care of the temporal issue, even though it may not be doing the most accurate job of portraying what is being sung. For some reason this bugs me less.



Chi_town/Philly said:


> 2. Repeats- particularly as concerns those taken with the lyrics, and not reiterated on the libretto. One of the earliest librettos I obtained was an "all-repeats-included" libretto of _Aïda_. Those things aren't common- and positively unheard-of as an insert to a CD-set.


I'm limited in my experience, but it seems repeats tend to happen during arias, which tend to be obvious when they occur, so generally I don't get _too_ lost here.



Chi_town/Philly said:


> 3. Hefty narration, particularly when the sung music differs from the main melodic line. A prototypical example is the "Rome Narrative" from _Tannhäuser_. As a matter of memorability, it's my experience that one absorbs the orchestral melody first, then the music of the sung line, and the text of the sung line comes last.


As someone above correctly guessed, it's Wagner that's been the cause of most of my libretto-following grief. There's not a lot of respite from the musical "dialogue," none of which I want to miss. Trying to appreciate *what* is sung along with *how* it's sung is difficult because there's no "aria break" where we're given a long time to mull over the implications of a few phrases.

For example, I like making note of Wagner's alliteration, but by the time I've taken time to admire it, someone else is singing, and I have to find my place because my German is poor. While "scanning," my brain is not listening to the music, and all of a sudden I'm reading a book instead of taking in the whole experience of opera.


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## Danny (Feb 16, 2010)

A teacher I once had once likened this - when I complained of a similar problem - to a train driver. They have to "learn the route" and they may have to travel that route with guides and diagrams several times before being let out solo.

Once you know the route, its fixed in and then you can just listen.


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## ozradio (Oct 23, 2008)

Danny said:


> Once you know the route, its fixed in and then you can just listen.


I'm not to this point yet, but now that I've listened to my favorite operas 2 or 3 times, I can read a chunk of the libretto, remind myself of the gist of what's happening, then listen without following line for line. But I cannot listen to an opera without knowing what's going on.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I got accustomed to following the libretto while listening to the complete recordings over 40 years ago when I was a teenager. I discovered that my local library had an extensive collection of complete operas on LP and later on CD , and I got hooked for life on opera. 
I now know the librettos of the famous operas and many others so well I don't even need the libretto now, but always use them plus the translation when listening to a CD of an opera that's new to me. 
And there are so many operas I had never heard before available on CD today, and a growing number on DVD with English subtitles. 
I think I've heard over 400 operas on LP,CD and tape, and that doesn't count all the operas I've heard multiple recording of. Opera is as addictive as drugs, but much safer !


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

nefigah said:


> It's perhaps my unique cross to bear, but I'm having little success with CD-plus-libretto listening. It's not particularly the lack of onstage action or anything--rather, it seems I'm OCD about making sure I'm following *exactly* with the words, to the point of distraction from the music and the work as a whole.
> 
> I haven't had this problem with live performances (with supertitles) or video with subs, because they take care of "synching" for me. But sometimes I'd like to be able to just lie down with the headphones. Alas. And yeah, just going without the libretto won't work either... That's like ultimate torture.
> 
> Is there a support group I can join?


I'm pleased I'm not the only one who's obsessive about following the words. 

I love Un Giorno di Regno & get very frustrated with the libretto. Listening on my walk to work though has almost cured me of my obsession. I can't read & walk at the same time & all I can do is listen.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

I never read libretto while listening. If I take the opera that I'm about to listen seriously I always learn the libretto before. I read it many times until I can listen to the music and follow the lyrics. 

You know what's great? Opera can teach you language, I never learned italian and now I have situations like reading "Listen, listen..." and thinking "ach, yes, in the original libretto the character will sing: Ascolta, ascolta!". 

It takes one familiar word to assume in which part of the libretto you are, so it can be really easy to follow everything properly. It takes only really minor experience with language to work everything out without sitting with libretto on your knees.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Aramis said:


> I never read libretto while listening. If I take the opera that I'm about to listen seriously I always learn the libretto before. I read it many times until I can listen to the music and follow the lyrics.


What an excellent tip - I never thought of doing that.



Aramis said:


> You know what's great? Opera can teach you language, I never learned italian and now I have situations like reading "Listen, listen..." and thinking "ach, yes, in the original libretto the character will sing: Ascolta, ascolta!".


I agree - my Italian is improving a bit!



Aramis said:


> It takes one familiar word to assume in which part of the libretto you are, so it can be really easy to follow everything properly. It takes only really minor experience with language to work everything out without sitting with libretto on your knees.


grazie signor


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## Herkku (Apr 18, 2010)

I think I have learnt most of my Italian from opera librettos, following the English and Italian side by side, some French and German too, although those I have studied separately as well. So, opera is very useful!


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## wirorg (Feb 17, 2016)

Attention works akin to a flight officer. 

So, there's an officer reading the radar data, when the point blinks and it sounds. 
Sometimes, he starts doing something else unless the radar blinks or sounds abnormally.

That's the point here as well: you either draw your attention to the radar (listen to the music), or read (the synopsis).


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

nefigah said:


> It's perhaps my unique cross to bear, but I'm having little success with CD-plus-libretto listening. It's not particularly the lack of onstage action or anything--rather, it seems I'm OCD about making sure I'm following *exactly* with the words, to the point of distraction from the music and the work as a whole.
> 
> I haven't had this problem with live performances (with supertitles) or video with subs, because they take care of "synching" for me. But sometimes I'd like to be able to just lie down with the headphones. Alas. And yeah, just going without the libretto won't work either... That's like ultimate torture.
> 
> Is there a support group I can join?


Gosh, I will miss you from our little group who prefers to close one's eyes and simply allow the music and singing wash over us. It may not be "de rigueur" but I could not care less what the critcizers have to say about that.
I much prefer reading a synopsis of an opera I am unfamiliar with first and then picture the rest in my own mind while I listen. 
As to supertitles: I rarely need to look at them as I am quite familiar with most operas I attend and find them a bit distracting from the art going on onstage, especially at the Met where the supertitles are on the seat in front causing one to squint to read the words, thereby missing some stage action. However, if I am unfamiliar with a work, I find they are most helpful and much appreciated.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

nina foresti said:


> Gosh, I will miss you from our little group who prefer to close one's eyes and simply allow the music and singing wash over us. It may not be "de rigueur" but I could not care less what the critcizers have to say about that.
> I much prefer reading a synopsis of an opera I am unfamiliar with first and then picture the rest in my own mind while I listen.
> As to supertitles: I rarely need to look at them as I am quite familiar with most operas I attend and find them a bit distracting from the art going on onstage, especially at the Met where the supertitles are on the seat in front causing one to squint to read the words, thereby missing some stage action. However, if I am unfamiliar with a work, I find they are most helpful and much appreciated.


I know this may be a sin among you opera aficionados but I can't listen to music and read a damned libretto at the same time. I am listening to Wagner's Ring as we speak and I've no intention of ever reading the thing. The music is all that matters to me.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Once I get to know the plot reasonable well I refer to the libretto less and less. Before my first listen to an unfamiliar work I read the synopsis and then the libretto in its entirety. For the first listen itself I read the libretto again but in decent-sized chunks after having read the synopsis once more beforehand. This interrupts the flow of the music as I have to stop the player at a certain junction in order to read the next bit of libretto, but after that I usually have the action sufficiently in my mind's eye - this means for further listens I just need to occasionally dip into the libretto while keeping an eye on the track listing just to make sure I'm at the right place.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I would not even attempt reading a libretto when listening to CD. I either read it separately or if a DVD is available will get my libretto via subtitles, which are distracting but do make the opera far more enjoyable through understanding.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Since my earliest years as an opera-lover I've learned operas by listening to a recording or broadcast and following along in a printed libretto; and while this can be (but usually wasn't, for me) a bit tedious, it's also true that the better you learn the opera, the more you can listen _without_ the libretto in the future.

Interestingly, just last Friday I was in a distracting situation, but with surtitles. I saw the opera-like musical LOST IN THE STARS (Kurt Weill), sung in English, with projected English surtitles. Even though I mostly could understand the singers' diction, I still found my eyes wandering to the surtitles now and again. While this was necessary at those few moments when I _couldn't_ understand the singers' diction, I did wish I could have stopped myself from reading at all other times.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Interesting that there won't be multi-lingual surtitles on the back of the seats in the refurbished opera house in Berlin. I don't like them anyway and if possible turn them off.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

My my! Look at all these posters coming out of the closet!!


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Florestan said:


> I would not even attempt reading a libretto when listening to CD. I either read it separately or if a DVD is available will get my libretto via subtitles, which are distracting but do make the opera far more enjoyable through understanding.


I like listening and reading the libretto when I'm flying or travelling any distance by train. It really helps to pass the time.

It also has the advantage of helping with mis-heard lyrics.


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

I probably approach this differently. When I listen or watch a recorded opera, it's generally for the express purpose of getting familiar with the libretto in advance of an upcoming live performance. So while I try to be respectful of the recording and generally enjoy the high points, the recording is more an accompaniment to and occasional distraction from my libretto study.

I should add that I can relate to the thread-originator nefigah's word-for-word compulsion, to the extent that I now insist on following along in the original language (in those languages in which I am opera-fluent*). I kind of became an "accidental purist" on my first opera trip to Italy several years ago, when I applied my tourist Italian to libretto study. I did so because I figured that I wouldn't have the crutch of English sub/supertitles in the Italian houses, but found my enjoyment of opera increased manifold with a cursory understanding of the original language text. And my new hometown house, the Met, only enables my compulsion with their multi-lingual seat back subtitles.

There is hope though: as others have pointed out, as you get more and more familiar with the libretto you need it less and less and simply take it all in.

*Has nothing to due with any actual useful sort of fluency.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

sospiro said:


> I like listening and reading the libretto when I'm flying or travelling any distance by train. It really helps to pass the time.
> 
> It also has the advantage of helping with mis-heard lyrics.


:lol: "Misheard lyrics" could be a whole separate thread topic, think.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Cavaradossi said:


> I probably approach this differently. When I listen or watch a recorded opera, it's generally for the express purpose of getting familiar with the libretto in advance of an upcoming live performance. So while I try to be respectful of the recording and generally enjoy the high points, the recording is more an accompaniment to and occasional distraction from my libretto study.


Yes that's mostly what I do now.



Cavaradossi said:


> I should add that I can relate to the thread-originator nefigah's word-for-word compulsion, to the extent that I now insist on following along in the original language (in those languages in which I am opera-fluent*). I kind of became an "accidental purist" on my first opera trip to Italy several years ago, when I applied my tourist Italian to libretto study. I did so because I figured that I wouldn't have the crutch of English sub/supertitles in the Italian houses, but found my enjoyment of opera increased manifold with a cursory understanding of the original language text. And my new hometown house, the Met, only enables my compulsion with their multi-lingual seat back subtitles.
> 
> There is hope though: as others have pointed out, as you get more and more familiar with the libretto you need it less and less and simply take it all in.
> 
> *Has nothing to due with any actual useful sort of fluency.


If it's an opera I know, I like having the original language subtitles on with a DVD. Personally, the more homework I do, the more enjoyment I get.

* I can relate to this. Knowing the words of _Caro nome_ doesn't help much when you have to ask directions to get back to your hotel in Milan.


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

I'm pretty well useless with libretti myself. Once it gets repetitive I wander off and start reading something else and before you know it they've moved on an aria or two. I do best with a vocal score that has a piano reduction so it's not too unwieldy, and then the original language + an English translation under it. There are a ton of them for free at IMSLP.org


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Has nobody else commented that libretto is the apposite word for CD booklets? They are small with text that is too small for good reading. You wouldn't read a paperback with a font so small. The answer, of course, is LP box sets with their big books . For The Ring, get Spencer's excellent paperback guide with text and translation.


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