How to Enjoy Opera – Tips for Newbies – Why Operas are performed in their original languages



Posted: Monday, November 05, 2007

by
Ricardo

Here are the reasons why most operas are performed in their original languages:

1.Simplicity. Major opera companies employ star performers from a whole bunch of different countries. Star power is supposedly a moneymaker (that is no longer true, but operas powers-that-be are too conservative for their own good). As a company manager, you dont have to bother about troupe (team) issues, nor rehearsals, for that matter. On any given night, you have at your disposal a bass from Japan , a soprano from Italy , a tenor from Russia , a mezzo from Spain , a baritone from Arizona , and another baritone from Cuba , plus some extras from Mexico , France , and Germany . All of them know their parts in the original language (say, Italian). Few of them can even speak English. No need to practice. Because so many of todays stars have contracts with multiple companies, that Japanese bass will be singing the same part in Germany tomorrow night and in Poland next week. He wont have to learn it in German or Polish: German and Polish companies, too, use the original-language method. And so forth. Perhaps I shouldnt have said simplicity." Rather, it is sloth, also known as laziness, thats to blame. According to the Catholic doctrine, sloth is one of the eight cardinal sins, but no matter.

2.Snobbery. Moderation is good for you. A bit of snobbery now and then wouldnt hurt. It is snobbery that keeps intelligent people from wearing exceedingly flashy clothes, uttering platitudes, reading overhyped books, watching TV, etc. Excessive snobbery, however, turns good folks with insecurity complexes into thoughtless machines. Thus, instead of saying that they dont know enough Italian (or German, or French, or Russian) to appreciate a three-hour-long performance and would much prefer listening to it in their native language, many potential opera buffs and experts repeat again and again the industrys maxims, i.e. that

a) Some of the value is lost when you translate an original libretto into a different language

b) A composer writes his music with a specific language in mind

c) English is not really suited for opera

All of which is vapid nonsense, of course. Heres why.

Opera texts present very little artistic value and would be totally worthless without the music. Libretti are NOT poetry. They are functional lyrics, i.e. lyrics that only have one function, which is to SERVE the music. If they were really poetic, they would only distract the listener. Even if they DID have some value, a lot more value (half of it, roughly) is lost when the listeners dont understand what the performers are singing. A general idea" just doesnt cut it: there are too many nuances in opera music and action. Subtitles, titles, or supertitles dont cut it: theyre distracting. To appreciate opera fully, you have to follow the story very closely.

No composer writes music with a language in mind. Thats just horse manure, no more and no less. A composer writes opera music with certain VOWELS in mind. Those vowels are present in all human languages except maybe some Bushmen and Maori dialects. It would probably make sense to perform operas in their original languages in front of a Bushmen audience.

Peter Tchaikovsky INSISTED that his operas be translated when performed abroad. I believe he even had a hand in the German version of his Queen of Spades." Why this same Queen of Spades" is performed in Russian in Germany as well as in the States is therefore still a mystery.

For a long time British opera theatres performed opera in Queens English. Russian opera theatres only switched to the original-language method twenty years ago. Seattle once did Richard Wagners entire Ring Cycle" in English, and the sky did not fall on their heads.

3.Stupidity. Some folks claim they dont understand the lyrics when opera is sung in English. Its just so much gibberish to them.

Well, all it takes, really, is listening to the same piece more than once or twice. There are only sixteen great operas out there, so attending the same ones repeatedly is not really a far-fetched idea. Folks listen to the same popular songs over and over again. You never hear anyone say, No, I love that one, but Ive heard it before, turn it off." By the third time youve listened to the English version of, say, Aida," youll know whats going on. By the tenth time youve listened to ANY opera in English, youll ALWAYS know whats going on, in any opera performed in English. Its not rocket science. (Rocket science is not really rocket science either, for that matter, but thats a whole different story).

So, you see, there are no GOOD reasons to perform opera in languages good folks dont understand.

The point is youre being robbed, dear opera buff. The lazy/stupid/snobbish (take your pick) opera powers-that-be are willfully depriving you (a paying customer, mind you) of your sacred right to get the most out of a performance.

What to do?

In the long run I dont know. Protest? March on the Met and Chicago Lyric with banners and slogans? Open independent opera periodicals and explain, explain, explain as patiently as you and I can?

IN THE MEANTIME, though, you still need to enjoy opera FULLY.

Well. You might want to get your hands on my Getting Opera for real" audio guide first (it would help you a lot); ultimately, however, you really should know an opera these days, before you see a live performance. Sad but true. Get a COMPLETE recording, which should include a full libretto in the original language as well as in English. Switch off the phone. Tell folks not to disturb you for the next three hours. Use headphones or earphones if theres a lot of noise pollution" around. Open up the libretto. Start listening closely. Enjoy the jokes (there is a lot of humor in opera, in places youd least expect it to be, ALL OF WHICH is lost on those who claim loyalty to the original language" concept. Grasp the nuances. Empathize with the characters. Then do it all over again the following night. If the opera youre studying is one of the great sixteen, youll be ready for your live experience. Theres nothing like it in the whole world.

Ricardo is the author of the Getting Opera - for real downloadable audio course that makes the listener an opera expert in less than three hours. He is also the author of many fiction and non-fiction books, a painter, and an historian. He lives in New York and is a regular at a whole bunch of neighborhood hangouts. His other interests include (but are not limited to) anthropology, comparative linguistics, and the future of public transportation.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)
» left by Angus
from Canada 3 years 313 days ago.
I am a singer. I love to sing in English when my audience speaks English. The idea that English is unsuitable for singing or that English translations ruin foreign language operas is ridiculous. Singing in the vernacular is the only way to ensure effective communication. Singing in a language the audience does not understand ensures that only snobs attend, and also stops the general public from attending. The amazing thing is that Europeans already know this, and perform operas in their own language. England and America are the places that have the prejudice against their own tongue. Perhaps one day this will finally change. Thanks for your article.
» left by Joe Slacker
 2 years 118 days ago.
I agree with you 100% I'm an orchestral musician and I had the pleasure of playing for a local semi-pro opera company when I was in college. I took the job because I needed the money but wasn't particularly looking forward to actually doing it. To my surprise, I loved it! I think the reason I was suddenly able to appreciate opera when I hadn't in the past was because the company performed in English and I was finally able to follow the plot and dialogue without reading a translation. It was truly a revelation to me.
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