Bloomsbury Advances in Translation Series Series Editor: Jeremy Munday, Centre for Translation Studies, University of Leeds, UK Bloomsbury Advances in Translation Studies publishes cutting-edge research in the fields of translation studies. This field has grown in importance in the modern, globalized world, with international translation between languages a daily occurrence. Research into the practices, processes and theory of translation is essential and this series aims to showcase the best in international academic and professional output. Other titles in the series: Corpus-Based Translation Studies Edited by Alet Kruger, Kim Wallmach & Jeremy Munday Community Translation Mustapha Taibi Global Trends in Translator and Interpreter Training Edited by Séverine Hubscher-Davidson & Michał Borodo Music, Text and Translation Edited by Helen Julia Minors Quality In Professional Translation Joanna Drugan Retranslation Sharon Deane-Cox The Pragmatic Translator Massimiliano Morini Translation, Adaptation and Transformation Edited by Laurence Raw Translation and Translation Studies in the Japanese Context Edited by Nana Sato-Rossberg & Judy Wakabayashi Translation as Cognitive Activity Fabio Alves & Amparo Hurtado Albir Translation, Humour and Literature Edited by Delia Chiaro Translation, Humour and the Media Edited by Delia Chiaro Translating the Poetry of the Holocaust Jean Boase-Beier Translating for Singing The theory, art, and craft of translating lyrics RONNIE APTER MARK HERMAN Bloomsbury Advances in Translation Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc LONDON • OXFORD • NEW YORK • NEW DELHI • SYDNEY Bloomsbury Academic An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10018 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2016 © Ronnie Apter and Mark Herman, 2016 Ronnie Apter and Mark Herman have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Authors of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the author. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978-1-4725-7189-2 PB: 978-1-4725-7188-5 ePDF: 978-1-4725-7190-8 ePub: 978-1-4725-7191-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Series: Bloomsbury Advances in Translation Typeset by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India Dedicated to Michael Spierman, founder and artistic director of the Bronx Opera Company, who gave us our start, and our fathers, Joseph Herman and Marvin Apter, who sang the songs of Gilbert and Sullivan to us before we could even talk. Contents List of figures ix List of tables xi About this book xiii Foreword xiv Copyright acknowledgments xx Acknowledgments xxiv Frontispiece xxvi 1 Translation and music 1 1.1 A topic of increasing interest 3 1.2 Prima la musica? 6 2 Singable translations 11 2.1 Musical and verbal constraints 14 2.2 Other factors 21 2.3 Multiple audiences to satisfy 22 2.4 A good example 25 2.5 Singable translations versus projected captions 27 3 Foreignization and domestication 31 3.1 Foreign words 34 3.2 Wardour street 38 3.3 Homophony 37 3.4 Important words 38 3.5 Rhyme 42 3.6 Repetition 44 3.7 Nonsense words 46 3.8 Slang 48 3.9 Jokes 51 4 Adaptation and re-translation 57 4.1 Adaptation 57 4.2 Re-translation 65 viii CONTENTS 5 Dealing with difference 73 5.1 Conventions 74 5.2 Common knowledge 78 5.3 Historicity 84 5.4 Sensibility 90 6 Censorship and taboos 101 6.1 Forbidden music 102 6.2 Forbidden words 103 6.3 Forbidden ideas 111 7 Once upon which time? 129 7.1 Once upon a time 130 7.2 Once upon a specific time 133 7.3 Right now 139 8 Verbal delineation of character 143 8.1 Seventeenth-century French rustics 144 8.2 Ad libbing in dialect 146 8.3 Wagner’s Das Rheingold 147 8.4 Changing a speech pattern 155 9 Multiple translations 157 10 When the music is missing 173 11 Verbal and musical form 181 11.1 Rhythm 181 11.2 Rhyme and closure 188 11.3 Repetition 200 11.4 Dynamics and crests 207 11.5 When the composer ignores the verbal form 207 12 Music and meaning 217 12.1 Inherent and acquired meaning in music 218 12.2 The physical act of singing 222 12.3 Sound and sense 228 12.4 The right word on the right note 230 Afterword 241 Bibliography 245 Index 269 Figures 2.1 Allowable changes to the music 18 2.2 Prodaná nevěsta (The Bartered Bride), I.5, m. 1549 19 2.3 The Barcarolle from The Tales of Hoffmann 20 2.4 Messiah, No. 11, mm. 12–14 and mm. 28–30 20 2.5 Abu Hassan, No. 9, mm. 48–49 23 2.6 “Stille Nacht,” mm. 1–2 27 3.1 Ernani, No. 3, mm. 12–15 40 3.2 Maria Stuarda, No. 1, mm. 236–39, “Elisabetta” becomes “Elizabeth” 41 3.3 Maria Stuarda, No. 1, mm. 236–39, “Elisabetta” is eliminated 41 3.4 La fille de Madame Angot, First refrain of the “Political Song” 46 4.1 Il trovatore, No. 11, mm. 138–39 70 5.1 Maria Stuarda, No. 1, mm. 130–33 76 5.2 Die Zauberflöte, No. 3, mm. 40–44 92 5.3 Der Freischütz, No. 3, mm. 86–88 96 6.1 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 12, mm. 135–38 and 153–56 112 6.2 Eraclea, No. 9, mm. 13–15 116 7.1 La figlia del mago, No. 14, Refrain 132 7.2 “Estat ai com om esperdutz,” transcribed by Hendrik van der Werf 140 7.3 “Goodbye Blues” 141 8.1 Le médecin malgré lui, Act III, No. 11a, mm. 21–23 146 8.2 Das Rheingold, Alberich, Scene 4: 233–34 151 8.3 Das Rheingold, Loge, Scene 4: 307 155 9.1 An English version of “Can par la flors josta·l vert folh” 169 9.2 Melismas to emphasize and “paint” words 170 9.3 Variations in enjambment 170 9.4 All is changed at “changed” 170 10.1 La fille de Madame Angot, beginning of Trénitz’s Aria 177 10.2 Raimbaut d’Aurenga’s music and Jaufre Rudel’s lyrics 178 10.3 Four reconstructions of the first two lines of Marcabru’s “Pax in nomine Domini” 180 11.1 La traviata: “Addio del passato,” No. 8, mm. 137–45 183 11.2 La traviata: “Addio del passato,” No. 8, mm. 129–37 183 11.3 Dvě vdovy (Two Widows), I.iii: 54–55 185 x FIGURES 11.4 Pronunciation of “Janáček” 187 11.5 Dvě vdovy (Two Widows), I.vi: 121 187 11.6 Dvě vdovy (Two Widows), II.v: 215 188 11.7 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 21a, mm. 1–14 194 11.8 La traviata, No. 10, mm. 78–89 196 11.9 Das Rheingold, Scene 2: 74 197 11.10 La traviata, No. 7, mm. 698–700 199 11.11 La traviata, No. 2, mm. 204–14 203 11.12 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 19, mm. 65–88 204 11.13 L’occasione fa il ladro, No. 4, mm. 324–28 206 11.14 L’occasione fa il ladro, No. 4, mm. 336–39 206 11.15 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 21, mm. 95–97 207 11.16 Der Freischütz, No. 10, mm. 178–82 208 11.17 “Задремали волны” (“Now the waves are drowsing”), the poem 210 11.18 Triplets suggest rocking waves 212 11.19 Voices in duple time 213 11.20 Flickering rhythm 215 11.21 Keeping the simile going 215 12.1 “Blue Skies” 218 12.2 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 16, mm. 230–31 219 12.3 “Lazy River” 221 12.4 Prodaná nevěsta (The Bartered Bride), I.3, mm. 811–19 221 12.5 Die Zauberflöte, No. 14, mm. 24–31 223 12.6 La traviata, No. 2, mm. 586–93 224 12.7 Prodaná nevěsta, III.7, mm. 1115–23 225 12.8 Un giorno di regno, No. 13, mm. 13–14 225 12.9 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 19, mm. 146–68 226 12.10 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 9, mm. 26–31 227 12.11 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 9, mm. 44–55 228 12.12 Dvě vdovy (Two Widows), I.iv: 67–68 229 12.13 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 4, mm. 5–18 231 12.14 “Oh you can’t get to Heaven” 232 12.15 La fille de Madame Angot, No. 6b, mm. 92–94 232 12.16 Luisa Miller, No. 2, mm. 204–12 235 12.17 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 10, mm. 50–52 235 12.18 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 12, mm. 107–12 236 12.19 The Pirates of Penzance, No. 7, mm. 76–78 237 12.20 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 6, mm. 98–115 238 12.21 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No. 4, mm. 94–98 239 Tables 2.1 Die Entführung aus dem Serail, No.