In 2017, I took a workshop offered by the Seattle Opera on how to write a libretto. That means how to convert a story into words that will be sung and spoken as a means of telling a story that is fundamentally musical. Grand opera, chamber opera, operetta, oratorio, and musical theater, such as Broadway shows, are various options.
The workshop was taught by Jessica Murphy Moo, who wrote the libretto for "An American Dream," an opera that has been performed in Seattle (where it was commissioned), Chicago and various other venues. Her course materials focused on a three-act contemporary opera, but she told the dozen or so participants they could do any form they wanted.
Not a fan of contemporary operas, which are typically "sung through" as opposed to having a number of often-memorable stand-alone arias, I opted for a one-act operetta in neo-Baroque, or Baroque-influenced form. Baroque operas and oratorios, and most notably those by G.F. Handel, most definitely put singers first. Great vocalization was what 18th century London audiences most wanted to hear and Handel knew how to deliver it, often at great expense since while having one of the best European choral traditions (which Handel exploited), the Britain of his day was not known for producing opera singers, most of whom then came from Italy.
Most useful for me were four points that Ms Murphy Moo emphasized: start in medias res, or in the middle of an ongoing story; the main protagonist must want something; there should be a twist in the plot, and cut, cut, cut, cut, cut.
I used one chapter of a novel I had been trying to write and boiled it down to rhyming lyrics that packed as much meaning into as few words as possible. It was both a challenge and a lot of fun to do so. Unfortunately, the workshop did not involve any significant collaboration with a composer, and what will follow in subsequent posts has to do with that very significant shortcoming.
I will write more about this project, but meanwhile, if you would like to see whether the concept worked, click the link below.
www.youtube.com/@operetta-patricia
The two songs (about 7 minutes in total) are "All my life I've been sensible" and "I'm good at my work." After playing the first, YouTube may take you off to other stuff that has nothing to do with me and you may have go back, perhaps by starting over. Be sure to start each song from the very beginning because there are a few spoken words that help to explain why the songs are being sung. There are also explanations of the songs, including the lyrics, just below the pictures of the videos if you are interested. Click on “more” when you see the text.
Comments are encouraged.
