Abstract

This work analyzes four Italian opera librettos derived from the four comedies of Calderón (El alcaide de sí mismo, Ni amor se libra de amor, El Faetonte, Eco y Narcisco), centering on the criteria of adaptation that are given between comedies and librettos, whether there is present an intermediary stage (constructed by an Italian or French rewriting), or a direct derivation of the Calderonian texts is treated. The comparison of the librettos with the Spanish «texts of music» further permits a highlighting of the different characteristics of the two types of musical shows, underlining the strong presence in Spain of the literary text, which does not allow for the necessary simplification of the Italian «drama by music».