Singing translation vs literal translation: what opera singers need to know

Singers meet translation in two forms. One is a literal text you study at your desk. The other is a singing text an audience hears in the theater. They solve different problems, and mixing them up leads to bad choices in the practice room. This page is part of the libretti section.

Two purposes, two kinds of translation

Gene Hsu of the Chartered Institute of Linguists draws the line between lyrics and text. Lyrics are singable, while a song text may not be⁴. The translation approach will depend on the reason for producing the target text⁴.

When the purpose is to preserve the meaning without considering singability, the text must be translated faithfully, 100%⁴. That is the literal translation you study. When the purpose is singing, the meaning of the target lyrics will not be the same as that of the source lyrics⁴. One proposed scale holds that singable target lyrics retain 91% or more of the original meaning of the source lyrics⁴.

What a singing translator does

Amanda Holden, an opera translator, says translators are chameleon-like writers who must match the original’s inflexion, sense, rhyme, clarity and singability². An opera translator must hear what is on the page². One must be ready to rewrite: even one syllable can make all the difference⁶.

Singable lyrics should be possible to sing, suitable for singing and easy to sing⁴. Songwriters can adjust the order of the words in the target lyrics to adapt the syllables to the music⁴. Peter Low suggests translators should pay attention to vowels in order to produce songs that rhyme when sung⁴. Singing translations are written to be sung and heard, not read or said⁶.

Holden argues that the words are written as much for the actor-singers as for the audience, who will never be able to make out all the words in ensembles anyway⁶. No one needs to understand each and every word, whatever language they are in⁶. If earlier sung translations failed, it might have been because the words were old-fashioned and sounded clunky⁶.

Opera in English, or the original with surtitles

English National Opera sticks to the vernacular policy established by its founder, Lilian Baylis². Other companies have moved toward using original language with surtitles, which Holden calls an easier option². Opera in English is unlikely to be phased out². For a historical example, Verdi commissioned English translations of Otello and Falstaff for their London premieres⁶. Mozart wrote The Magic Flute in German for a popular audience in Vienna²; see the Magic Flute guide.

How surtitles work

Surtitles, also called supertitles, are translated or transcribed lyrics or dialogue projected above a stage or displayed on a screen¹. They came into widespread use in the 1990s to translate the meaning of the lyrics into the audience’s language¹. They are different from subtitles, which are more often used in filmmaking and television production¹. Surtitles can be a distraction, focusing attention on the titles instead of the stage, so personal titling systems were developed¹. The Metropolitan Opera installed the patented Met Titles, becoming the first house in the United States to use this system¹. Titles in the theatre have proven a commercial success in areas such as opera¹.

What this means for the practice room

Singers who perform in the original language still translate. Role learning includes phonetic transcription, translation, declamation and characterization³. The goals include correct and clear diction, paraphrase and word-by-word translation³. Translating happens alongside the other preparation steps; see how to learn a role.

Use the right tool for each job:

• To know what a phrase means, use a literal translation: its purpose is to preserve the meaning⁴.
• To perform in English, use a singing translation and treat it as its own text, because its meaning will not be the same as the source’s⁴.

Where to find literal translations

The University of Hartford Libraries list IPA transcriptions and literal translations of opera arias and art song texts⁵. Its aria database gives translations as well as range, tessitura, setting and synopsis⁵. It also lists a book with texts and translations for over 150 famous arias, plus dramatic and musical context and interpretation advice⁵. Word-by-word translations of German, French and Italian songs and arias exist as reference books⁵.

For help reading the libretto itself, see how to read a libretto, and for texts you can reuse freely, public-domain libretti.