Earlier today, in preparing my response to jonm’s post above, the expression “reading from the wrong libretto” popped into my head and, while I was aware that my usage of it was not entirely consistent with its general meaning, I decided to include it all the same. Some time later, the thought occurred to me that some members might wish to know the purported history behind this expression, as it was recounted to me more than five decades ago, and that they might wish comment on their experience with this seldom-heard expression.Speakeasy wrote:Thank you, jonm, for your comments. I have made changes to the entry for Assimil Modern Greek. I had consulted the publisher’s website and mistook the continued availability of the Italian and German courses for the current generation; clearly, I was “reading from the wrong libretto!”…
My first encounter with the expression was during my 10th Grade English Literature Class. Our instructor offered its origins as dating from 19th Century London. According to her version of the tale, at least as early as the mid-nineteenth century, “librettos” had been distributed to members of audiences attending the performances of Italian operas. These small pamphlets contained the printed lyrics of operas -- in the original Italian -- which were offered to attendees wishing to follow the dramas or comedies more closely. As the opera companies toured Europe, the practice of distributing librettos, in the original Italian, became a standard practice even in countries where it was unlikely that attendees would actually be able to read Italian at the level required to truly follow the lyrics during the performances. This point was not lost on promoters and, in an effort at reducing their operating expenses, they began distributing any unused librettos (in the original Italian) that they happened to have on hand, irrespective of whether these were for the opera being performed or not. As the story goes, most attendees were quite pleased to receive a (false) libretto and were quite unaware that the printed lyrics were not those being performed. It is also quite possible that some attendees possessed just enough Italian to cause them to be suspicious but that, not wishing to make an issue of the matter, or protest, simply remained silent. In the story at it was recounted to me, one such attendee remarked to her English companion, who spoke Italian quite fluently, that she was experiencing difficulties following the singing with the libretto that she had received, to which he replied: “that’s because your reading from the wrong libretto!!”. The couple recounted their little anecdote to their friends and acquaintances in London Society and the expression entered the language, taking on a broader, figurative meaning as time passed …
As transmitted to me, the expression “to read from the wrong libretto” developed a range of meanings which might coalesce around the idea that someone is incapable of understanding something, or is completely missing the mark, usually on a matter of some importance, because their frame of reference, itself, is incorrect. I tried locating a clearer definition of the expression on internet but could not find one. Nonetheless, my searches did yield the following:
“Gwen has obviously constructed her identity out of her own emotional defences. In doing this, as the novel makes clear, she has been reading life’s script from the ‘wrong libretto.’ The libretto, as Robbins’ metaphor suggests, offers an account of what is happening in the ‘theatre of existence.’ If the script is the wrong one, the person who is following it will likely misread the drama that unfolds. Extending the metaphor to embrace the society around Gwen, Robbins notes that the librettos commonly provided by advertisers, politicians, or other representatives of social institutions can also prove to be ‘dangerously misleading’ …” – Source: Google Books. From “Tom Robbins: A Critical Companion”, 1997, by Catherine E. Hoyser and Lorena Laura Stookey – Greenwood Publishing Group.
While I was mulling over the idea of introducing this expression, my thoughts ranged over the current societal misuse (fake news) of information (librettos). However, as I did not wish to initiate a discussion having political overtones, I had resolved to merely introduce the expression and its meaning, and ask members whether or not they had ever encountered and, if so, how they interpreted it. This continues to be the intent of this post. Nevertheless, while I did not anticipate the final sentence in the above quote, it seems that I was not alone in thinking of the manipulative use of information.
I would point out that my understanding of “reading from the wrong libretto” does not necessarily mean that one is the dupe of disinformation. Rather, as expressed in the quote above, “the script is [merely] the wrong one” for the purposes at hand. It is the failure to recognize the script’s inappropriateness as a valid point of reference that leads to incorrect decision-making and any consequential ill-effects. That is, the script (libretto), itself, could be quite valid in another context.
Readers are invited to recount their own encounters with “reading from the wrong libretto” and how they interpreted it … then and now.
EDITED:
Typos.