ADAPTING LITERATURE TO MUSIC: THE OPERA LIBRETTO
ADAPTER LA LITÉRATURE AU MILIEU MUSICAL: LE LIVRET D’OPÉRA
ADAPTAREA LITERATURII LA MEDIUL MUZICAL: LIBRETUL DE OPERĂ
Letiția GOIA,
Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie „Iuliu Hațieganu” Cluj-Napoca, Disciplina Limbi Moderne, str. Pasteur 6;
E-mail: letigoia@gmail.com
Abstract
One major aspect discussed when researching the opera libretto is the process of adaptation. Librettos are mostly adaptations of plays, novels, short stories or even poems. Until recently, when analyzing literary librettos, theories from other fields, such as the cinema, were ”borrowed”, due to the lack of specialized bibliography. Lately, however, specialists in the field have shown a greater concern for this matter, reflected in articles published in specialized journals or in volumes from the literary field. Therefore, in order to understand more clearly the concept of libretto, it is necessary to follow the path it takes from the source text to its entwinement with music. The work of a librettist in close collaboration with that of the musician represents an extremely elaborate act of adaptation, apropriation and transformation.