# The best pairings



## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

When a composer decides to write an opera, the first thing that's needed is a libretto.

Some composers decide to go and do it themselves. Unfortunately, many times the results are not really good, because the talent for music and plot, to put the story in words, is not the same. Of course, some people have both, but usually is better to trust the libretto to a bona fide writer.

Sometimes, there is a wonderful interaction between writer and composer that trascends the work at hand, and makes of their collaboration something special, and that extends to another operas later.

Let's look at some of those magical interactions:

*Giacomo Puccini - Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa*

Before working with Illica and Giacosa, Puccini has been already succesful with _Manon Lescaut_, in partnership with Illica and Giacosa, true, but also with other writers. However, the three operas that they made together: _La Bohème_, _Tosca_ and _Madama Butterfly_, still are the most popular of the tuscan composer. Basically, Illica cared about the plot, Giacosa about the words, and Puccini contacted them frequently to review the drafts. Though Puccini was more appreciative of Giacosa's work, Illica was the more succesful, writing important pieces like _La Wally_ or _Andrea Chénier_.

*Richard Strauss - Hugo von Hofmannsthal*

Arguably the most succesful association in the 20th century. Strauss' great talent merged well with the austrian poet, dramatist, and novelist abilities. Though outside of the german speaking world von Hofmannsthal is more recognized for his work with Strauss, her plays and poems are quite appreciated in Germany and Austria. Both artists were able to create six great operas: _Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Die Ägyptische Helena_ and _Arabella_. Best from Strauss?. Well, before _Elektra_, he has already composed _Salome_, and before his death he will still be able to give us a marvel like _Capriccio_. Strauss' talent was greater than von Hofmannsthal's, but together they reach one of the pinnacles of the history of Opera.

*Giuseppe Verdi - Francesco María Piave*

Verdi liked to work several times with the writers that cooperated in his operas. During his first years, he worked with Solera or Cammarano, in pieces such as _Il Trovatore_, _Nabucco_ and _Luisa Miller_, but it was Francesco Maria Piave, also his friend and fellow italian patriot, with whom he maintained the most intense collaboration. They wrote together _Ernani, I due Foscari, Attila, Macbeth, Il Corsaro, Stiffelio, Rigoletto, La Traviata, Simon Boccanegra_ (first version) and _La Forza del destino_. Verdi also requested Piave to start working in _Aida_, but the death of the venetian writer prevented him for completing this piece. Doubtless, a genius like Verdi was the leading man in this partnership, but we must admit also Piave's talent as a very good librettist.

*Giuseppe Verdi - Arrigo Boito*

Verdi's opinion of Boito was not really high in the beginning, but after they cooperated in a revision of the failed _Simon Boccanegra_, he changed his mind and decided to work with Boitio (also a succesful librettist of Ponchielli's _La Gioconda_, and a composer on his own right) in his last works, the mastery _Otello_ and _Falstaff_.

*Benjamin Britten - Myfanwy Piper*

Britten worked with several librettists during his career, but for some of his last operas, perhaps the best ones, he cooperated with the english writer Myfanwy Piper (the mother of painter Edward Piper). Ms. Piper adapted two exceptionals literary pieces: Henry Jame's _The Turn of the Screw_,and Thomas Mann's Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig) a quite complex and difficult task. The result was incredibly good, even better than the originals. Between those 'tour de force', Britten and Piper also worked together in Owen Wingrave, with good results, but short of the other two wonders.

*Vincenzo Bellini - Felice Romani *

Bellini was a promising youth when he started to work with the experienced Felice Romani. The genoan dramatist was much in demand, and he wrote very succesful pieces for Mayr, Rossini or Donizetti (_L'elisir d'amore, Lucrezia Borgia_,...), but it was working with Bellini when he reached his full stature as a librettist: _Il pirata, La straniera, Zaira, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, La Sonnambula, Norma and Beatrice di Tenda_. All of the important Bellini operas, except _I Puritani_. When we look at the weak libretto of this last opera, we can understand how much Bellini needed Romani.

*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Lorenzo Da Ponte *

One of the great pairings ever. It's clear that the astonishing talent of Mozart was far superior than Da Ponte's, but their operas together were the best ones of the genius from Szalburg. There was something in the astute and libertine Da Ponte, that was able to encourage Mozart's inventiveness to its highest peaks. Of course, we are talking about _Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni_ and _Così fan tutte_.

There have been other very interesting pairings like Donizetti - Cammarano, Gounod - Carré/Barbier, Meyerbeer - Scribe,... but the above are perhaps the more interesting ones, in my opinion.

What is the best for you?.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

Wagner - Wagner


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

Predictable. 

I was expecting this as the second or third answer, though. Well, it came first, no big deal either.

The poll is about partnership between composer and librettist, when they are different persons.


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

I can't really decide as I like all the pairings - as you have described in your fine mini-guide they all have their respective merits so I hope you don't mind if I sit on the fence with this one. If voting for 'other' I might just have gone for Offenbach/Halevy just for contrast but that wouldn't be totally right as Halevy often collaborated with others to provide Offenbach's libretti. G &S would have been another possibility but as I can't really stand the music that option was off-limits.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Predictably (for me) Verdi + Boito, mainly because of _Simon Boccanegra_.

I have this on order & can't wait to read it.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Aramis said:


> Wagner - Wagner


Along the same illicit lines:

Metastasio - Everybody.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Boito-Verdi. Simply because Falstaff is such a masterpiece.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Aksel said:


> Boito-Verdi. Simply because Falstaff is such a masterpiece.


Did you vote, Aksel? Be sure to add your ballot!


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

amfortas said:


> Did you vote, Aksel? Be sure to add your ballot!


I did, earlier today.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

sospiro said:


> Predictably (for me) Verdi + Boito, mainly because of _Simon Boccanegra_.
> 
> I have this on order & can't wait to read it.


Annie, Simon's libretto is by Piave. Boito only wrote two libretti for Verdi, Otello and Falstaff.


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

I'd say Mozart and Da Ponte, with Verdi-Boito and Verdi-Piave being close.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Herr Mozart and Signore da Ponte. But like many composer-librettist professional relationships, they all had their peaks and troughs. Here we see Mozart, at least initially, suspicious of the Italian poet in a letter to Leopold (Mozart's father):-

Vienna, May 7, 1783 to his father in Salzburg; extract,

_"... a certain da Ponte here as a text poet; he has an incredible number of revisions to do at the theater - he also has to do per obligo a whole New libretto for Salieri - which he won't be able to finish for 2 months. He promised to write me something New after that; but who knows whether he will keep his word or even wants to! You know, these Italian gentlemen, they are very nice to your face! enough, we all know about them! And if he is in league with Salieri, I'll never get a text from him, and I would love to show here what I can really do with an Italin opera ... "_


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

There were a few surviving letters between Handel and Charles Jennens (1700-1773), who was the librettist for Handel often from first principles, for several of Handel's dramatic English oratorios, including _The Messiah_. Fascinating insight into the compositional and pragmatic artistic spheres of composer and librettist, very often dispelling romantic myths about a composer, especially for us modern folks.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> Annie, Simon's libretto is by Piave. Boito only wrote two libretti for Verdi, Othello and Falstaff.


Piave wrote the 1856 version, which wasn't a great success.

For the revised 1881 version Verdi collaborated with Boito.


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

sospiro said:


> Piave wrote the 1856 version, which wasn't a great success.
> 
> For the revised 1881 version Verdi collaborated with Boito.


Moral of the story: never argue with Annie about Simon Boccanegra. NEVER!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Moral of the story: never argue with Annie about Simon Boccanegra. NEVER!


 And I even misspelled Otello...
Oh well, because of this blunder, I'll subtract one from the number of wet-fish-on-the-head hits I'm planning for her for when we meet next year.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Almaviva said:


> And I even misspelled Otello...
> Oh well, because of this blunder, I'll subtract one from the number of wet-fish-on-the-head hits I'm planning for her for when we meet next year.


I should be the one to apologise, I'm becoming a _Boccanegra Bore_.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

sospiro said:


> I should be the one to apologise, I'm becoming a _Boccanegra Bore_.


No, you made a worthwhile point. The Verdi-Boito collaboration on _Boccanegra_, aside from dramatically improving that opera, was an important testing ground for their new working relationship, and helped set the stage for _Otello_ and _Falstaff_ to follow.

Boito even started work on _King Lear_, Verdi's dream project, but sadly completed only part of an opening scene.

If we're going to vote on best composer/librettist pairings, well may as well give Verdi and Boito full credit for their accomplishments together.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Wagner and Wagner!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Verdi with Piave...........................


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Scribe + Meyerbeer!
(And Scribe + Halevy, Auber, Donizetti, Rossini, Boieldieu, and by extension Bellini, Cilea, etc......)

Also:
Beaumarchais + Salieri
Meilhac & Halevy + Offenbach
Gilbert + Sullivan


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Fritz Kobus said:


> Wagner and Wagner!





Rogerx said:


> Verdi with Piave...........................





Dr. Shatterhand said:


> Scribe + Meyerbeer!
> (And Scribe + Halevy, Auber, Donizetti, Rossini, Boieldieu, and by extension Bellini, Cilea, etc......)
> 
> Also:
> ...


Someone resurrect a thread from 2011 :lol:


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Dr. Shatterhand said:


> Scribe + Meyerbeer!
> (And Scribe + Halevy, Auber, Donizetti, Rossini, Boieldieu, and by extension Bellini, Cilea, etc......)
> 
> Also:
> ...


I'm so glad someone mentioned Gilbert and Sullivan. Gilbert's way with the English language is almost Shakespearean in its inventiveness and Sullivan's setting of the words was so apt that their work has been compared to Wagner in that it sounds as if the words and music were written by the same person.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I wonder how many people in this thread can read and understand the librettos in their original language. When talking about a good libretto are people mostly thinking about the plots or the actual words as well?

N.


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## schigolch (Jun 26, 2011)

The actual words, for an opera, are as important, or even more, than the plot itself.

Personally, I can read and understand English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese. However, while I have no clue about Russian, for instance, I do enjoy the sound of the words in many Russian operas.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

The Conte said:


> I wonder how many people in this thread can read and understand the librettos in their original language. When talking about a good libretto are people mostly thinking about the plots or the actual words as well?
> 
> N.


Most of them yes, and not one word in Dutch.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Boito and Verdi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Sieglinde (Oct 25, 2009)

Boito and Verdi, although even Boito couldn't make sense of Amelia Grimaldi's convoluted backstory. How was she with her dad as a baby if her mom was captive? Did they smuggle her out? Did Maria escape with Simon, have a baby, and at some point go back to Fiesco hoping he would be chill by now (he wasn't)? But then why didn't she bring his granddaughter along? Also, how is Amelia, who must be AT LEAST 28 after the time jump, still a maiden and only now getting married?

I still love this opera a lot but the backstory... it gives me a headache. Apart from Amelia it's fairly straightforward and working. It also kind of feels like everyone expect Simon acts like an Overdramatic Opera Character(TM) and he's just a normal reasonable person who happens to sing.


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