Sometimes it’s better NOT to understand!
Last weekend, as a surprise, my wife bought me tickets for the new Rufus Wainwright opera, which was being premiered in Manchester. Between you and I, I am not very keen on all that screeching and running around in an over-dramatic way. But still, the thought was there, and with a positive attitude we set off for the theatre.
I really do enjoy the theatre, musicals and all types of genre, but again I will share another secret with you. That is, I once shared an apartment in London with three girls. One of them was an opera singer. Listening to her practice her scales every morning drove us all crazy. Still, I tried to put that unhappy experience to the back of my mind.
It was so interesting in the bar whilst we ordered our interval drinks, overhearing conversations. Even people in Manchester, when they are talking about opera and ballet, seem to adopt an affectation of what one might describe as a ‘posh’ accent.
The opera ‘Prima Donna’ was to be sung in French. My French is not brilliant, but opera tends to go very slowly. They often repeat lines three times, often screeching higher or even lower when they are dying, which is a frequent occurrence, especially at the end, as was the case with Prima Donna.
So why am I sharing this story with you? It is because it was the first time in my long career in languages where I thought translation was a bad thing. To my initial surprise and pleasure, there were large screens all around the theatre. As the singers performed, their words were translated on screen into English.
The opening scene is where the French maid arrives in the boudoir of the Prima Donna. She asked the mistress “Do you want coffee madam?” In fact she asks this three times. The voice was beautiful but it was spoilt by the screen flashing up, “Do you want coffee? Do you want coffee? Do you want coffee?” I irritated my wife when I turned to her and said, “For ****s sake, answer the poor girl”. As they say, you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
Apologies to all those opera buffs, but has anyone else out there any ideas when it would be better not to translate?
I really do enjoy the theatre, musicals and all types of genre, but again I will share another secret with you. That is, I once shared an apartment in London with three girls. One of them was an opera singer. Listening to her practice her scales every morning drove us all crazy. Still, I tried to put that unhappy experience to the back of my mind.
It was so interesting in the bar whilst we ordered our interval drinks, overhearing conversations. Even people in Manchester, when they are talking about opera and ballet, seem to adopt an affectation of what one might describe as a ‘posh’ accent.
The opera ‘Prima Donna’ was to be sung in French. My French is not brilliant, but opera tends to go very slowly. They often repeat lines three times, often screeching higher or even lower when they are dying, which is a frequent occurrence, especially at the end, as was the case with Prima Donna.
So why am I sharing this story with you? It is because it was the first time in my long career in languages where I thought translation was a bad thing. To my initial surprise and pleasure, there were large screens all around the theatre. As the singers performed, their words were translated on screen into English.
The opening scene is where the French maid arrives in the boudoir of the Prima Donna. She asked the mistress “Do you want coffee madam?” In fact she asks this three times. The voice was beautiful but it was spoilt by the screen flashing up, “Do you want coffee? Do you want coffee? Do you want coffee?” I irritated my wife when I turned to her and said, “For ****s sake, answer the poor girl”. As they say, you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
Apologies to all those opera buffs, but has anyone else out there any ideas when it would be better not to translate?
