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Listen Wider Challenge 2020

Playlists and Reading Lists for the Listen Wider Challenge

Challenge

6. An opera with a libretto by an author of color

A librettist is the author of the script for an opera or musical, the person who writes the words, usually in collaboration with a composer who writes the music. Librettos, or "books" of operas are often written by poets or writers who also work in other formats, and sometimes by the composers themselves. While "librettists of color" could include many different groups, I chose to focus on the work of African American librettists. 

How I Found These

Searching by librettist is tricky-- operas are often discussed primarily as the work of the composer, and there are not as many resources dedicated to librettists as there are for composers. In this case, I found it useful to search the Oxford African American Studies Center, which includes extensive biographical entries on many African Americans of note across fields.

 

Bibliography and Resources