Simon Rees: The Art of Translating Librettos

Opera librettos have been translated into English since the early eighteenth century, when patrons at the Royal Opera would be sold bilingual librettos with the text in Italian and English. In the early nineteenth century some operas were performed in English translations and this has continued to the present day. Translating opera librettos from Italian, French, German and other languages into English that fits the metre, rhythm and rhyme scheme of the original is a technical as well as an artistic challenge, often mocked for its strained rhymes and awkward rhythms. Here, Simon Rees (dramaturg of Welsh National Opera) discusses the history of libretto translation, and gives some examples of how it is practised today.