Research Guides: Vocal Music and the Voice: A Guide to Research and Resources: Librettos & Song Texts

Finding Librettos

Click here to view all of the librettos at Princeton.

Collections

Word-by-word Translations of Songs and Arias by Berton Coffin, et al.
Call Number: ML54.6 .W65 v.1-v.2
Volume VII in The Singer's Repertoire Series, providing translations of German and French art songs and arias
The Ring of Words by Philip L. Miller
Call Number: ML54.6.M5 R5 1973
An anthology unlike any other, The Ring of Words assembles lyrics of the most famous art songs of Europe with literal line-by-line English translations printed on the facing pages.
The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder: The texts of over 750 songs in German by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, et al.
Call Number: ML54.6 F513 1977
Parallel German text and English translation of standard repertoire German Lieder.
Lieder Line by Line, and Word for Word by Lois Phillips
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML 54.6.P55 L5 1996
Includes English translations of the most common German songs (lieder) by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler, and Strauss in both word-for-word and clear prose versions.
Masters of the French Art Song: Translations of the Complete Songs of Chausson, Debussy, Duparc, Fauré & Ravel
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML 54.6 .M33 2001
Presents the French texts and precise word-for-word and poetic English translations of the texts used by the five most important French art song composers.
Libretti of Russian Operas by Anton Belov
Call Number: ML48 .L484 2004
Includes text, translations, and IPA for works by Mussorgsky, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, et al.
French Opera Libretti by Nico Castel
Call Number: ML48 .F875 1999 v.1-v.2
Includes text, translations, and IPA for works by Debussy, Bizet, Gounod, et al. Another essential Nico Castel volume.
Italian Belcanto Opera Libretti, Vol. 1 by Nico Castel; Scott Jackson Wiley; Marcie Stapp
Call Number: ML48 .I83 2000 v.1-v.3
Includes text, translations, and IPA for works by Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. Another essential Nico Castel volume.
German Miscellaneous Opera Libretti by Nico Castel & Marcie Stapp
Call Number: ML48 .G4 2005
Includes text, translations, and IPA for works by Wagner, von Weber, Beethoven, et al. Another essential Nico Castel volume.

Sacred Music

Sacred Latin Texts and English Translations for the Choral Conductor and Church Musician: Propers of the Mass by William Bausano
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML54.8 .S23 1998
Provides English translations of the Latin Mass texts of the Proper (in alphabetical order) most frequently found in Gregorian chant and polyphonic motets.
Handbook to Bach's Sacred Cantata Texts: An Interlinear Translation with Reference Guide to Biblical Quotations and Allusions by Melvin P. Unger
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML 54.B15 U52 1996
Provides the original German texts and word-for-word English translations for all of J. S. Bach's church cantatas.

Specific Composers

The Singer's Debussy by Marie-Claire Rohinsky (editor)
Call Number: ML54.6.D42 R62 1987
An annotated collection of French texts to the mélodies, with phonetic transcriptions and both word-for-word and literary English translations.
Schubert: The Complete Song Texts
Call Number: Reference (SV) ML 54.8 /S23 1988
Texts of Schubert's Lieder and Italian songs, with English translations. Attempts "to provide clear, straightforward translations that remain close to the originals with descending into stilted translation-ese."
Handel Opera Libretti, Vol. 1 & Vol.2 by Nico Castel & Hemdi Kfir
Call Number: ML49 .H236 2005 vol.1-vol.2
Includes text, translations, and IPA for popular Handel Italian operas
The Complete Puccini Libretti by Nico Castel (translator)
Call Number: ML49.P75 C37 1993 v.1-v.2
Includes text, translations, and IPA for popular Puccini's operas
Gluck & Monteverdi Opera Libretti by Nico Castel & Marcie Stapp
Call Number: ML48 .G57 2008
Includes text, translations, and IPA for commonly-performed Gluck and Monteverdi operas
The Libretti of Mozart's Completed Operas, Vol. 1 by Nico Castel
Call Number: ML49.M83 C315 1997 v.1-v.2
International Phonetic Alphabet transcriptions, word for word translations, including a guide to the I.P.A. and notes on the Italian and German transcriptions