Do words in opera correspond to the stated title and our expectations of the content? This is the question that started this series of infographic posters. Three well-known works were selected (Le nozze di Figaro, Carmina Burana and Carmen) and, by analyzing the recurring words in the librettos of these operas, the most frequently used words were noted and graphically displayed on the plot line and highlighted in the text.
To create this series, I worked directly with the original librettos of each opera. For the sake of data clarity, all character names, stage directions, prepositions, interjections, and other auxiliary words were removed. The cleaned texts were then processed using large-scale text analysis to identify the most frequently recurring words (including their morphological variations). The top three words for each opera were highlighted through a system of color indicators. Each occurrence was placed according to its position in the libretto and shown as colored circles along the plot line, making the structure and language of the opera easy to see at a glance.
Carmen is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, which premiered on 3 March 1875 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. Carmen become one of the most popular and frequently performed operas in the classical canon; the «Habanera» and «Seguidilla» from act 1 and the «Toreador Song» from act 2 are among the best known of all operatic arias. The opera is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of Don José, a naïve soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery gypsyCarmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts from his military duties, yet loses Carmen’s love to the glamorous torero Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage.
Carmina Burana (Latin: Carmina Burana; full: Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis) is a cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by German composer Carl Orff, to his own libretto, based on 24 medieval poems from the collection of the same name, written in 1935–1936.
The title translates as «Songs of Beuern: Secular Songs for Singers and Choirs to Be Sung with Instruments and Magical Imagery.» The libretto includes poems in both Latin and Middle High German. It explores a wide range of secular themes relevant both in the 13th century and today: the fickleness of fortune and wealth, the transience of life, the joy of spring’s return, and the pleasures of drunkenness, gluttony, gambling, and carnal love.
The Marriage of Figaro (Italian: Le nozze di Figaro), is a commedia per musica (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1st May 1786. The opera’s libretto is based on the 1784 stage comedy by Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro («The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro»). It tells how the servants Figaro and Susanna succeed in getting married, foiling the efforts of their philandering employer Count Almaviva to seduce Susanna and teaching him a lesson in fidelity.
