This thesis looks at how the tools of translation studies can be used to examine the role of translation and adaptation in the genesis of an opera libretto. We begin by drawing a parallel between the discourse surrounding Shakespearean opera and the language used to describe translations from prescriptive, source-oriented perspectives, arguing that such rhetoric is problematic because it not only fosters inherent bias against the derived text, but also implies a direct transfer process between the plays and the operas. We then conduct a case study that reconstructs the literary genealogy of Francesco Berio di Salsa’s libretto for Gioachino Rossini’s Otello using the methods of literary translation criticism. The results reveal the presence of a number of complex indirect translation and adaptation processes, pointing to how the libretto can enable us to observe phenomena that have yet to be adequately explored in translation studies.