Research Guides: Musical Theatre Resources: Vocal Scores & Libretti

Libretto Collections

Hausam, Wiley, ed.
The new American musical: an anthology from the end of the century: Floyd Collins, Rent, Parade, The wild party.
ML 48 .N4851 2003

Kimball, Robert, ed.
The complete lyrics of Ira Gershwin.
ML 54.6 .G28 K551 1998

Kimball, Robert and Linda Emmet, eds.
The complete lyrics of Irving Berlin.
ML 54.6 .B464 K551 2001

Kimball, Robert and Steve Nelson, eds.
The complete lyrics of Frank Loesser.
ML 54.6 .L641 2003

Richards, Stanley, ed.
Great musicals of the American theatre.
ML 48 .R52 1976

Sondheim, Stephen.
Look, I made a hat: collected lyrics (1981-2011) with attendant comments, amplifications, dogmas, harangues, digressions, anecdotes and miscellany.
ML 54.6 .S69 S662 2011

Sondheim, Stephen.
Finishing the hat: collected lyrics (1954-1981) with attendant comments, principles, heresies, grudges, whines and anecdotes.
ML 54.6 .S69 S66 2010

Online Score Resources

In addition to the Music Library's print music holdings, there are other online resources providing access to scores for musicals and/or individual songs within musicals.

Sheet Music of the Musical Theater (Library of Congress)
A collection of more than 16,000 pieces of sheet music published between 1880 and 1922. These songs were taken from musicals, revues, and operettas primarily of the American and British stage. They are arranged for piano and voice, sometimes simultaneously in arrangements for lower and higher voice.
International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
A virtual library created, based on the wiki principle, to gather public domain music scores as well as music scores of contemporary composers who wish to grant free access to their works. IMSLP provides access to a large array of public domain music scores. Over 6,500 composers are represented, and multiple editions, arrangements, and parts are available for some works. For most scores, the publication information is noted; however, some scores do not indicate the publisher and some have been re-set in programs like Finale or Sibelius. For public domain music editions, check here first.
HathiTrust Digital Library
Contains digital versions of works scanned from the libraries of the more than sixty partner institutions. Use the advanced catalog search to limit results by format.
UR Research (University of Rochester - Eastman School of Music - Sibley Music Library)
Includes public domain scores and books, many of which are unique to the Sibley Music Library collection.
Internet Archive
An online digital library that includes materials from libraries around the world. Includes a variety of media, including musical scores – which are best retrieved through keyword searches. Browsing is more difficult, but using a general topic term such as "musicals" works best here. There is no score limiter – use "texts" to limit to books and scores.
More online resources...

Collections & Anthologies

The actor's songbook.
Men's edition: M 1507 .A18 2010
Women's edition: M 1507 .A185 2010

Broadway: anthology of Broadway songs.
M 1507 .B835 2009

The Gershwin song collection.
M 1630.18 .G38 2009

The Jason Robert Brown collection.
M 1507 .B88 2006

The singer's musical theatre anthology.
Volume 1, Soprano: M 1507 .S59 2000 v.1
Volume 1, Mezzo-soprano/belter: M 1507 .S59 2000 v.2
Volume 1, Tenor: M 1507 .S59 v.3
Volume 1, Baritone/bass: M 1507 .S59 2000 v.4
Volume 1, Duets: M 1507 .S59 v.5
Volume 2, Soprano: M 1507 .S592 1993 v.1
Volume 2, Mezzo-soprano/belter: M 1507 .S592 1993 v.2
Volume 2, Tenor: M 1507 .S592 1993 v.3
Volume 2, Baritone/bass: M 1507 .S592 1993 V.4
Volume 2, Duets: M 1507 .S592 1993 v.5
Volume 3, Soprano: M 1507 .S5931 2000
Volume 3, Mezzo-soprano/belter: M 1507 .S5932 2000
Volume 3, Tenor: M 1507 .S5933 2000
Volume 3, Baritone/bass: M 1507 .S5934 2000
Volume 3, Duets: M 1507 .S5935 2012
Volume 4, Soprano: M 1507 .S5941 2005
Volume 4, Mezzo-soprano/belter: M 1507 .S5942 2005
Volume 4, Tenor: M 1507 .S5943 2005
Volume 4, Baritone/bass: M 1507 .S5944 2005
Volume 5, Soprano: M 1507 .S5951 2008
Volume 5, Mezzo-soprano/belter: M 1507 .S5952 2008
Volume 5, Tenor: M 1507 .S5953 2008
Volume 5, Baritone/bass: M 1507 .S5954 2008

The songs of Irving Berlin: Broadway songs.
M 1507 .B52 1991

The Stephen Schwartz songbook.
M 1507 .S42 2001

Tomorrow, Put on a happy face, & other songs of Charles Strouse.
M 1630.18 .S93 2009

Dansicker, Michael, ed.
The 16-bar theatre audition: 100 songs excerpted for successful auditions.
Belter/mezzo-soprano: M 1630.18 .S63 2003
Baritone/bass: M 1630.18 .S631 2003
Soprano: M 1630.18 .S632 2003
Tenor: M 1630.18 .S633 2003

Porter, Cole.
A musical anthology.
M 1507 .P84 199-

Walters, Richard, ed.
Bernstein theatre songs.
High voice: M 3.1 .B53 2010
Medium/low voice: M 3.1 .B53 2010a
Duets & ensembles: M 1507 .B53 2010b

Walters, Richard, ed.
Musical theatre for classical singers.
Soprano: M 1507 .M98 2011
Mezzo-soprano: M 1507 .M982 2011
Tenor: M 1507 .M983 2011
Baritone/bass: M 1507 .M984 2011

Walters, Richard, ed.
Sondheim for singers.
Belter/mezzo-soprano: M 1507 .S72 2013
Soprano: M 1507 .S72 2013b
Tenor: M 1507 .S72 2013c
Baritone/bass: M 1507 .S72 2013d
Duets: M 1507 .S72 2013e

Walters, Richard and Bryan Stanley, eds.
The songs of Richard Rodgers.
High voice: M 1507 .R73 M9 2002
Low voice: M 1507 .R73 M9 2002a

Webber, Andrew Lloyd.
Now & forever
M 1507 .L79 2003