Two English translations of Jaroslav Kvapil’s Rusalka libretto
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Patrick John Corness
Abstract
This study investigates two translations into English of Jaroslav Kvapil’s Rusalka libretto, set to music by Antonín Dvořák: the singing translation in verse by Daphne Rusbridge (1954) and Paula Kennedy’s (1998) prose translation. It identifies sources in mythologies and folk tales, and outlines notable characteristics of language and composition in the Czech libretto. Semantic and stylistic shifts are discussed, with the aim of highlighting the impact of constraints under which the translators had to work, rather than criticising discovered shifts as avoidable errors. A summary of the translation shifts found, and their implications for the reception in English of Kvapil’s libretto, includes both critical and favourable comments.
Abstract
This study investigates two translations into English of Jaroslav Kvapil’s Rusalka libretto, set to music by Antonín Dvořák: the singing translation in verse by Daphne Rusbridge (1954) and Paula Kennedy’s (1998) prose translation. It identifies sources in mythologies and folk tales, and outlines notable characteristics of language and composition in the Czech libretto. Semantic and stylistic shifts are discussed, with the aim of highlighting the impact of constraints under which the translators had to work, rather than criticising discovered shifts as avoidable errors. A summary of the translation shifts found, and their implications for the reception in English of Kvapil’s libretto, includes both critical and favourable comments.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
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Open perspectives
- Opera and intercultural musicology as modes of translation 13
- Surtitles and the multi-semiotic balance 35
- Tradition and transgression 53
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Across genres and media
- When Mei Lanfang encountered Fei Mu 75
- Fluid borders: From Carmen to The Car Man . Bourne’s ballet in the light of post-translation 95
- Aesthetics of translation 117
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Text and context
- Translations, adaptations or rewritings? 135
- The voice of the translator 159
- “Ordne die Reih’n” 175
- The migration of Madama Butterfly 195
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From text to stage
- The intertwined nature of music, language and culture in Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle 219
- Translating Wagner’s Versmelodie 243
- Operetta in Turkey 271
-
Libretto translation revisited
- Two English translations of Jaroslav Kvapil’s Rusalka libretto 291
- Intertextuality in nineteenth-century Italian librettos: To translate or not to translate? 315
- Multilingual libretti across linguistic borders and translation modes 337
- About the contributors 359
- Index 365
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
-
Open perspectives
- Opera and intercultural musicology as modes of translation 13
- Surtitles and the multi-semiotic balance 35
- Tradition and transgression 53
-
Across genres and media
- When Mei Lanfang encountered Fei Mu 75
- Fluid borders: From Carmen to The Car Man . Bourne’s ballet in the light of post-translation 95
- Aesthetics of translation 117
-
Text and context
- Translations, adaptations or rewritings? 135
- The voice of the translator 159
- “Ordne die Reih’n” 175
- The migration of Madama Butterfly 195
-
From text to stage
- The intertwined nature of music, language and culture in Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle 219
- Translating Wagner’s Versmelodie 243
- Operetta in Turkey 271
-
Libretto translation revisited
- Two English translations of Jaroslav Kvapil’s Rusalka libretto 291
- Intertextuality in nineteenth-century Italian librettos: To translate or not to translate? 315
- Multilingual libretti across linguistic borders and translation modes 337
- About the contributors 359
- Index 365
