Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-21
THE MUSIC WORLD.
Bad Translation in Opera Is Much
Better Than None at All.
WORDS ARE ESSENTIAL MONDAYS.
Guide for People Who Think They Need
Descriptive Programmes.
SOME ITEMS FOR LOVERS OF THE ART

1t has been supposed that the American
public tolerated grand opera in German or
Italian chiefly because of the difficulty
commonly accounted an impossibility-of
mastering competent company of English
speaking artists. There are those, however,
who give more serious reasons for the pro-
priety of this foreign-tongued opera, as wit
ness the following item from the New York
Euc1,iRg Post:
Those who believe that the salvation of
opera in America lies in its being sung in
English Will find something to ponder over
in these remarks on Manon' in the 81. James
Gazette: Massenets pretty opera is now
played in French, greatly to its advantage;
for the poet the versifier, the word spinner
whatever he ought to be called (Castel
Blaze, practiced adapter OF foreign operas,
used to style himself parolier has not yet
appeared who can with absolute prOpriety
fit words in one language to dramatic music
composed to suit another. Mr.. Joseph Ben
netts English adaptation of 'Manon was as
good as it could be without sacrificing En-
glish prosody to the accents of French or
the accents of French music TO English
prOSody: but there are whole pages of
'Manon' where the dialogue is spoken or de-
claimed to an orchestral accompaniment in
which no moderate compromise between the
diVergencies of the two languages is posi-
bic. Mr.. Augustus Harris plan of playing
an opera, whenever possible, in its original
tongue deserves the success it in fact meets
with
OF course, the best thing is to have our
opera with an original English text and
music naturally breathing the idiom of our
own tongue. But the all-conquering Anglo
Saxon is not prolific in good operas: it is not
unnatural for us who are mere listeners to
desire some way of escape from between Sir
Arthur Scylla sullivan and Mr.. Silas Charyb-
dis Pratt. And neither Saint-Saens nor Mas
cagni seem TO be studying for an English
opera Just now.
We are left to choose between foreign
operas with English translations that do not
exactly fit the music and the same works in
their original tongue which does not at all
tit our ears. So long a the old Italian school
prevailed and opera existed for the purpose
of showing of tne artists vocal
agility without regard to dramatic
consStency-when the voice was handled
Just like any other musical instrument
then neither composer nor listener cared a
j OF for the words, which might just as well
be- and generally were, nonSensical plati-
tudcs when comprehensive at all. Then
the metrical suitability of book to score was
all-important.
But to-day, when new ideas dominate
are vital and Coordinate elements in the
means of conveying the dramatic idea
when the human voice is used to say some
thing-it has become essential that the text
shall be Ineligible to the audience. 1t
would be just as proper TO perform operas in
Cimmerian darkness as in an unknown
tongue.
1t is particularly strange to find so ardent
3 Wagnerite as Mr.. Finck indorsing an argu-
ment subversive of the masters fundamen-
tai principles.