We understand by libretto that written work that is used as a guide for the actors of a film or theatrical work. The libretto is usually made up of the dialogue that such actors have to repeat and interpret and, in addition, indications about positions in the space in which they act (sitting on a chair), movements (entering the room) or information on the stage, environment and so on. These indications that are not part of the dialogue are not read or interpreted, they simply serve to facilitate the creation of the scene.
The librettos arose historically with the first theatrical performances, those that arose in Ancient Greece (although for some, they already exist from the Egyptian civilization). The librettos, or these early forms of what we now know as librettos, were written to guide the actors in the dialogue and were probably much simpler than the librettos of today. The existence of librettos can be found both in the Middle Ages and later in the Modern Age in which William Shakespeare was undoubtedly one of the highest representatives of librettos for plays.
A libretto is a text format that exposes the content of a play, indicating the literary and technical details that must be taken into account when putting a play on stage. A script for a play contains, in terms of literature, the dialogues and speeches of the intervening characters; As for the technical aspects, it describes the details, the dimensions, the scenery, the costumes, the sound, among others.
In general, the forms or structures of the booklets are similar. They are divided into acts or scenes in which a series of events or related dialogues take place. Each scene clarifies, as much as possible, the location of each character, the environment in which they are found, and other information, and then moves on to the actual dialogue between the different characters in the play. This dialogue is written clarifying the name of each person who speaks or interacts with others. Words, sounds and even silences should be marked in the scripts so that the actors can know when to speak and when to remain silent.
