Some of the Music Section’s most ardent patrons are operagoers. This comes as no surprise to other opera aficionados, but blind/low vision operagoers are usually not able to pick up a program in braille or large print and read a synopsis when they arrive at the theater; that is, until they (or the opera companies) find out they can borrow large print and braille librettos from the NLS Music Section.
Soaring arias, passionate glances, murder, lust and merriment are the standard for a good opera. (What? This doesn’t happen in your life every day?) But beyond the music, beautiful sets, costume design, and acting, the singers onstage actually are communicating feelings and emotions common to all of us. The libretto (text for an opera or stage work) details how the characters came to this moment, and how they will act on it.
We receive many urgent last minute requests for a libretto, as a patron decides to attend a performance or prepares to listen to the Saturday matinee for the Metropolitan Opera Broadcast. Frequently, patrons request audio, braille and large print materials when they are aware of the Saturday Matinee schedule published in the October-December issue of our magazine Musical Mainstream and prepare accordingly.
Florida Grand Opera has taken accommodations for their patrons to a different level; they are providing NLS large print/braille libretti to their audience when they come to a performance. On one occasion they hosted attendees from the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and the Broward Lighthouse for the Blind. With enough notice, we can send the requested libretti to the company in time for their performances.
Enough chit-chat, check out the Library of Congress National Jukebox site and hear a sample of historic voices, like Enrico Caruso and Geraldine Farrar in their most famous roles.
Share the news (sing with passion and drama if you choose) of free available braille/large print libretti for patrons of the NLS program with your favorite opera fan today!