Janacek In English: Acceptable (or Preferable)?

[JFLL]

I don't agree at all. Why is it being snobby if you happen to prefer an opera sung in the original language? I would argue that you don't necessarily need to understand what is going on. It is the totality of the sound that works for me. Wagner in English is an anathema.

It's easy, though, to see why it's sometimes thought to be snobbish for someone to say that (s)he prefers performances in the original language, since it implies that they know a language well enough to follow an opera in the original – and knowing a foreign language has often been regarded as a terribly elitist thing in this country.

[aeolium]

It's easy, though, to see why it's sometimes thought to be snobbish for someone to say that (s)he prefers performances in the original language, since it implies that they know a language well enough to follow an opera in the original – and knowing a foreign language has often been regarded as a terribly elitist thing in this country.

Maybe, but it still doesn't take account of the fact that surtitles which are widely available these days enable people who don't know the language to enjoy opera in the original, and that having opera sung in English is no panacea as it is often quite difficult to make out the words of what is being sung (unlike in operetta or musicals).

[makropulos]

I agree completely about the "totality" of the sound. Why would you not want to hear what the composer intended you to hear? There aren't that many operas in Czech in the standard repertoire. The sound of the music plus the original language is what makes it a special experience.

That's an interesting point about the totality of the sound but it's maybe a bit risky to generalise. What do you do about, for instance, Verdi's Don Carlos or Sicilian Vespers, or Martinu's Julietta to "hear what the composer intended"?

I can't entirely agree about the sound of the music and the sound of the language being what makes opera a special experience. One example of what I mean: the dullest performance I've ever heard of a Janacek opera was on an off-day at the Brno Opera. It was anything but special, I'm afraid. Hearing the same opera at ENO (in English) was a very special experience indeed - albeit without the wonderful sonority of sung Czech. And, again with reference to Janacek, my first experience of his operas - one so special that it has stayed with me for more than 40 years - was hearing "Das schlaue Füchslein" as a teenager visiting Düsseldorf. So I tend to think it all depends - my first "Ring" was at ENO (Goodall, then Mackerras on tour) and on both occasions (in London and Manchester) it blew my mind.

[Zauberfloete]

I'm usually an advocate of opera sung in its original language but I heard "Jenufa" some years ago in English and it worked very well for me (I only know four words in Czech, none of which appear in the original, as far as I'm aware!). Surtitles can be a godsend if you don't understand the original language; I've seen "Eugene Onegin" three times, all in Russian and with surtitles; again, I had no complaints. Last night, I was at a performance of "Le Nozze de Figaro" at the Volksoper in Vienna, where it was given as "Die Hochzeit des Figaro" and sung in German - with German surtitles! I found this very confusing, as I have the Italian words firmly ingrained in my mind. At the Staatsoper, every seat has access to an individual small screen which has translations in German, English and Japanese, whichever you choose. "Billy Budd" was given there a few years ago (with Simon Keenlyside) in English and plenty of people were looking at the German translation. I've never heard a Czech opera there but I'd definitely be going for the English translation if I did. Is Czech a very difficult language in which to sing?

[tantris]

I too am a stickler for opera in the original language when possible. That said, one of my earliest and most thrilling operatic experiences was a Scottish Opera production of Jenufa in English, with the superb Josephine Barstow. There was no doubt that the fact it was in English was a huge contributor to the whole experience. I was convinced completely of the absolute power of opera to move, and be utterly relevant, by those performances. (I went to as many as I could afford!)

[Roslynmuse]

I can't be dogmatic about this because, like so many others, I've had unexpected pleasures in both original languages and translation - and the reverse. There are some operas I simply can't imagine in English though - Pelléas, the two Ravel operas, Poulenc's Mamelles - and I hated the ENO Parsifal because the English sounded so portentous. I've coached quite a bit of Janacek in English, so the translations of Katya, Makropulos and Jenufa are more familiar to me than the Czech; ditto the David Lloyd-Jones Onegin. I do like the sound of French being sung so that's another factor in determining a preference (years ago, though, I saw Chabrier's Roi malgré lui - not only in English but with a completely different storyline! - and thoroughly enjoyed it!).

Someone mentioned Verdi sounding like G & S when sung in English; I've often wondered what The Gondoliers would be like sung in Italian. I believe Pirates and Mikado have both been recorded in German.

[richardfinegold]

That is surely where the skill of the translator comes in. A good English language version will follow as best it can the rhythms, pitch and stress patterns of the original text.

Bryn, a few weeks ago, in another thread, you were very dismissive of Reiner's recording of Alexander Nevsky because it was sung in English.

[Bryn]

Bryn, a few weeks ago, in another thread, you were very dismissive of Reiner's recording of Alexander Nevsky because it was sung in English.

More the fact that the use of an English version of the text was not mentioned on the disc's packaging, though I did also find the sound of the translation off-putting too. In particular The Field of the Dead (Мертвое поле) just sounded wrong to me. Great orchestral playing though.

The only Janacek opera I first heard sung in English was Osud (Fate), and being an E.N.O. production I knew it would not be in Czech. When I later got the Mackerras recordings (both that in Czech and the one in English) I found the words fitted the music well in each version, but that, as I asserted previously, is the translator's art. I don't feel that art was shown to its best advantage in the Reiner conducted recording of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky cantata.

[Veronika]

[...] Is Czech a very difficult language in which to sing?

Ooh, I just had to register to comment on this (what with being Czech and all...) Czech is difficult to speak, let alone sing. Not enough vowels and the consonants kind of stuck together, you see. I actually know of two Czech sentences that make sense and do not have any vowels... (They haven't been set to music, as far as I know, though.) I am full of admiration for all singers, Czech and not Czech, who do sing in the language.

I wonder what the English folks here make of Mendelssohn's Elias sung in English. Having sung it in German, I tremendously enjoyed it and was surprised that some English speakers regarded the work as sentimental. That was until I heard it in English: it seemed to me that the translation positively led the performance towards sentimentality and the singers just tipped it over the fence. Now, not being a native English speaker myself, I do not know if it is just my German-influenced experience that makes me regard the original as dramatic (albeit a bit pompous at times, but enjoyably pompous) and the translation as saccharine. It may well be. How does Elijah sound to you?

[jean]

You're not the Veronika I'm currently singing a piece of Janacek in English with, are you?

[Veronika]

You're not the Veronika I'm currently singing a piece of Janacek in English with, are you?

Nope, sorry. :)