--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the opera we call love, the libretto…" description: "\"In the opera we call love, the libretto is almost nothing.\" — Victor Hugo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/victor-hugo-32_love_in-the-opera-we-call-love-the-libretto-i_60205.jpg" --- # In the opera we call love, the libretto is almost nothing. ![“In the opera we call love, the libretto is almost nothing.” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/victor-hugo-32_love_in-the-opera-we-call-love-the-libretto-i_60205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/victor-hugo-32_love_in-the-opera-we-call-love-the-libretto-i_60205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d58/victor-hugo-32_love_in-the-opera-we-call-love-the-libretto-i_60205.jpg) > “In the opera we call love, the libretto is almost nothing.” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is portrayed as an empty script, suggesting that the grand narratives of romance lack substance beneath their dramatic veneer. **In simple terms:** Love's script is hollow. Key Takeaway Romance often lacks depth. Themes love art illusion performance meaning Mood melancholic ironic contemplative Type philosophical literary cynical When to use this quote - reading a play - watching an opera - discussing relationships - analyzing literature - reflecting on personal love Key Concepts narrative emptiness cultural critique Practical Applications - critical essay on romance - creative writing prompt Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean for love to be a performance? - How does this view affect our expectations of romance? A Different Perspective Some argue love's profound emotional experiences contradict the notion of emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Libretto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libretto-823355/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Libretto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-libretto-823354/) [Opera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera/) [Opera Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opera-love-736774/) ## Related quotes > ['The Phantom of the Opera' is about love. It's as simple as that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lloyd-webber/the-phantom-of-the-opera-is-about-love-it-s-as-simple-as-that/) [Andrew Lloyd Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lloyd-webber/) > [The emotion is the music and the script is the libretto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-peck/the-emotion-is-the-music-and-the-script-is-the-libretto/) [Gregory Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-peck/) > [I love rock and opera, and I love musical theater, and I don't want to lose any of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-worsham/i-love-rock-and-opera-and-i-love-musical-theater-and-i-don-t-want-to/) [Lauren Worsham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-worsham/) > [I love opera, I love writing for the voice, I love telling stories with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-davis/i-love-opera-i-love-writing-for-the-voice-i-love-telling-stories-with/) [Anthony Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-davis/) > [“60 beats in minutes of mine, is not the living aspiration. Libretto is the only pulse doing of voice, visions, vapoursation in me is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-finos/60-beats-in-minutes-of-mine-is-not-the-living-aspiration-libretto-is/) [Peter\_Finos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-finos/) > [“...if we aren't learning something from a new experience, it's usually because we aren't paying attention. Or we're following the wrong libretto.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/if-we-aren-t-learning-something-from-a-new-experience-it-s-usually/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Porgy is...an interesting example of what can be done by talent in spite of a bad setup. With a libretto that should never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gershwin/porgy-is-an-interesting-example-of-what-can-be-done-by-talent-in/) [George Gershwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gershwin/) > [A libretto that should never have been accepted on a subject that should never have been chosen bya man who should never have attempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virgil-thomson/a-libretto-that-should-never-have-been-accepted-on-a-subject-that/) [Virgil Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virgil-thomson/) > [Busy yourselves with this, you damned walruses, while the rest of use proceed with the libretto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrymore/busy-yourselves-with-this-you-damned-walruses-while-the-rest-of-use/) [John Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrymore/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. 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It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. 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The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Love quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. 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