Opera Libretti, Translations, and Opera History
Explore opera libretti, composer biographies, historical milestones, and professionally formatted side-by-side translations.
A curated guide to the world’s most important operas, composers, and libretto traditions.
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Introducing LibrettoArchive in One Minute
LibrettoArchive brings original opera libretti and English translations together side by side, online and in bilingual paperback editions. This short video introduces the project, which now includes 33 published editions — and growing.
Faust: French–English Side-by-Side Libretto With Translation
A new side-by-side French–English libretto is now available on LibrettoArchive, along with the German text, a new paperback, and a PDF preview.
Otello: Italian–English Side-by-Side Libretto With Translation
A new Italian–English edition of Verdi's Otello is now published, following a detailed review of Boito's Italian text, corrections to the English translation, and improvements to the side-by-side paperback layout.
Maria Stuarda: Italian–English Side-by-Side Libretto With Translation
A new Italian–English bilingual libretto of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, with a newly prepared paperback. A closer look at the translation, corrections to the Italian text, and some interesting differences between printed and performed versions.
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La bohème
Giacomo Puccini · 1896
Puccini’s La bohème tells the moving story of young artists, love, and loss in nineteenth-century Paris. Explore the complete Italian libretto with side-by-side English translation, recently updated for clarity and presentation.
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart · 1790
Mozart’s Così fan tutte features a newly revised Italian–English libretto, with improvements to translation accuracy, formatting, and consistency. A new second edition paperback is also available.
Macbeth
Giuseppe Verdi · 1847
Explore Verdi’s Macbeth with the complete Italian libretto and a new English translation by Dmitrii Murashev, presented side by side on LibrettoArchive. A good time to revisit the opera: the Metropolitan Opera opens its 2026–27 season with a new production of Macbeth on September 22, with performances through October 20.
Jenůfa
Leoš Janáček · 1904
New on LibrettoArchive: Jenůfa by Leoš Janáček — a new Czech–English side-by-side edition with a newly prepared English translation. With a new production of Jenůfa coming to the Metropolitan Opera in November 2026, explore the opera in advance and follow Janáček’s original Czech line by line alongside the English.
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Today in Opera History — October 26
All1786
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne's tragédie lyrique "Phèdre", with a libretto by François-Benoît Hoffman based on classical mythology, received its world premiere at the royal court theater in Fontainebleau, France.
1811
Gioachino Rossini's two-act comic opera "L'equivoco stravagante", with a libretto by Gaetano Gasbarri, received its world premiere at the Teatro del Corso in Bologna. It was Rossini's first large-scale opera.
1867
Giuseppe Verdi's "Don Carlos" received its first Italian staging at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, conducted by Angelo Mariani. The opera had originally premiered in French at the Paris Opéra earlier that year.
1875
Jacques Offenbach's opéra-féerie "Le Voyage dans la Lune", inspired by Jules Verne's fictional lunar voyages, received its world premiere at the Théâtre de la Gaîté in Paris. The spectacular production featured elaborate scenery and stage effects.
1961
Robert Ward's three-act opera "The Crucible", with a libretto by Bernard Stambler based on Arthur Miller's play about the Salem witch trials, received its world premiere at New York City Center, performed by New York City Opera. The work subsequently won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Music.
The Daily Opera Chronicle
Selected premieres and milestones from the world of opera — published daily.
The complete archive remains here on the website.