# Opera libretti



## Vlad (Feb 23, 2012)

I would really like to have the full libretti for at least the most common operas, but searching on Google and this forum in particular reveals no book or website that has everything. Can you folks confirm this is accurate? I'm just out of luck?

I can hardly believe none of you opera fools out there haven't squirreled away a libretto gold mine in dropbox or something!


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## The nose (Jan 14, 2014)

Often if you search the wikipedia page of the opera and you look down in the external likn section there's a source of the libretto (in fact all pre-XX librettos are out of copiright laws).
For exemple if you goes there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigoletto
in the external links section you find the libretto link


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## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Not strong on English translations, but this site has librettos for 500 different operas:

http://www.operafolio.com/list_of_opera_libretti.asp


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## Figleaf (Jun 10, 2014)

http://opera.stanford.edu/

This site has quite a few libretti.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

This site has most of them but not everything in translation.

If you're after a particular one, it might be worth your while to buy a cheap used box set which has the libretto included.


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## KRoad (Jun 1, 2012)

I sympathise - an opera without the Libretto remains essentially unaccessible, even if it is in one's native tongue. Unless it is at super bargainprice I prefer not to buy a recording without one. I agree with the OP, getting hold of a Libretto, especially one in Translation, can be very difficult and very frustrating.


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

This has been the subject of frequent complaints in the past. It is surely not unreasonable to expect record companies to make the libretto available as a download, and this could apply to the notes as well. Recently there has been a whole swathe of reissues without the libretti which had been available in the original releases.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

manyene said:


> This has been the subject of frequent complaints in the past. It is surely not unreasonable to expect record companies to make the libretto available as a download, and this could apply to the notes as well. Recently there has been a whole swathe of reissues without the libretti which had been available in the original releases.


The sadly defunct EMI used to supply them in four languages as pdfs


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## anmhe (Feb 10, 2015)

If I can't get a libretto off the internet, I can usually find it at the library.

Yes, I do realize that library selections differ from place to place.


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## Vlad (Feb 23, 2012)

anmhe said:


> If I can't get a libretto off the internet, I can usually find it at the library.
> 
> Yes, I do realize that library selections differ from place to place.


The Library! I forgot all about that place. Certainly worth a try.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

My library has a couple dozen librettos. Also there are many at John King Books in Detroit, not sure if it is searchable on their web site (if they have a web site) but I found one there for a reasonable $3.


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