A librettist is a writer who creates libretti, or musical texts, to accompany musical performances. The text that goes with an opera is the most famous example of a libretto, but librettists can also write words for musicals, cantatas, oratorios, ballets, and liturgical works such as masses and requiems. Being a librettist necessitates a unique set of skills; she or he must not only be good with words, but also with music.
The librettist and composer may be the same person in some cases. This isn’t always the case, though. Some extremely talented composers lacked the ability to write words or preferred to concentrate on the music, leaving it to someone else to find words that would fit their works. Because the score and words must go together harmoniously or audiences will find the piece jarring to listen to or see, librettists and composers tend to work closely together during the development of a piece.
The words for a piece are sometimes written before the score is written. In other cases, a librettist works alongside a composer, adding words to an already-completed musical composition. It’s also possible to work on both at the same time, with the composer and librettist working closely together every step of the way.
Depending on the needs of the composition, librettists can work in both verse and plain speech. Working with music is difficult because people must consider how the words will sound when sung; something that sounds good when spoken can sound terrible when sung, and singers may struggle with certain arrangements that stretch their voices and abilities.
It’s common to sit down and write a plot before writing the score or libretto. Plotting is sometimes done by someone who isn’t involved in the creation of the music or the words, and is simply hired to plot out the story. People can determine where major musical numbers or arias should occur once the story has been established, and they can begin to structure the music and words that will bring the story to life on stage.
Historically, librettists have been undervalued to the point of not being credited for their work, and the identity of the authors of some well-known musical works’ words is unknown. Credit is now more commonly given to the libretto’s author, as well as other people involved in the work’s creation.