5. What makes a good libretto?

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Award-winning writer Stephen Wyatt is on a mission. He thinks that the contribution of the librettist to opera and musical theatre is too often under-appreciated or just plain ignored. But what makes a good libretto? It isn’t necessarily its literary merit. What’s most important is the overall structure. Here Stephen gives some examples where the conflicting intentions of composer and librettist have meant that beautiful words and glorious music end up in dramatic dead ends. But an expert librettist in tune with their musical collaborator can make excellence seem effortless. Stephen singles out WS Gilbert as sitting at the pinnacle of the librettist’s art and suggests that if you want know what a good libretto looks like, you need look no further than Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera The Mikado. Production Coordinator: Nina Semple Sound: Sean Kerwin Producer: Torquil MacLeod Executive Producer: Peter Hoare A Pier production for BBC Radio 4