Have you ever wanted to get the libretto for a fascinating, yet rather obscure opera and ended up trawling the net fruitlessly. Well, Francesco Zanibellato and his friends in Italy have the answer for you, operalibretto.com
This is a website which collects rare Italian librettos. There are currently around 400 librettos, so if you are looking for Domenico Monleone's Cavalleria Rusticana (premiered in Amsterdam in 1907) then look no further. And there are editorial plans to include a further 700 librettos next year. The focus is on opera from the age of Verdi and after - first generation of Verismo composers (e.g, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Giordano), the older generation of modernist composers (e.g., Zandonai, Alfano), and the Generazione dell’Ottanta (e.g., Pizzetti, Malipiero). But they want to include all the librettos that they can provide, and where possible there will be a synopsis and guidance notes.
Currently the website is only in Italian, but that is certainly not a limitation to the intelligent seeker after (operatic) truth. Do explore!
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