The Washington herald., 1907-10-27
BY HUGH EVERARD.


BY all means let us have opera in Eng
lish, but let the English be of the best,
Inferior translations from the German.
French, and Italian are put upon as by
our publishers without apology, and ac-
cepted by an unthinking public. too
thankful, perhaps, for the long-deferred
luxury to be critical. and yet far from
satisfied with what ii gets from these
translated Hbrettos.
As long as the question Of opera In
English remains a moot one, it might be
well to look into at least this one Of the
causes making against 1.-THE inadequate
translations
one Of the leading American publish
ers gets out an edition Of Wagner
operas and music dramas at a price
much below that Of the unwieldy, though
vastly superior, edition Of Schotts
''Mainz." Students and teachers and mu.
sical laity in general use this edition on
account Of its lower cost, and in spite OF
an occasional error in the text Of the
music and a very stupid translation Of
the libretto.
Take, for instance, "Lohengrin." the
most popular Of the Wagner operas The
German words. read first. without glanc-
ing at the translation, give you the i'm
preston of heartiness. sincerity. and di-
rectness Of speech and action all the way
through this romance Of tenth century
German folk. The chorus, the king, Lo-
hengrln. Elsa, Telramund, Ortrud-all
stand out clear and strong, saying what
they mean and meaning what they say
/ in good, vigorous speech that IS often
picturesque. but never fimsy; sometimes
I grand. but never grandiose, and always
/ expressive-keenly, subtly expressive
I Now and then you find yourself gazing
( a some phrase that looks like a live
/ heart-throb. futering there in the print
! I'd line
/ Now read the music that was made by
I the same master Of expression as the
words. j seems TO have been made not
/ SO much for the words as by the words
or at the least with the words. This
oneness Of words and music in Wagner
I even the mUsicaIIy unframed can be
+ taught TO appreciate. with a little pains
+ in Illustrating. and the opera-goer OF
/ average intelligence finds his ear losing
/ its dullness. and his critical discernment
waking up, and altogether a sharpening
/ process going on in his brain which he
huds rather agreeable. His self-respect
/ increases. and his enjoyment Of things
/ be hears beside.
/ such a listener, hearing Lohengrin In
I the German, although he may be ignorant
/ Of the language, yet, knowing the story,
finds that the music and the action OF
the singers give him the play really
He comes away feeling that be has seen
a romance enacted by genuine flesh and
/ blood
Then surely this satisfaction should be
many times multiplied when he hears
the opera in his own tongue.
Is this the case? Certainly not if the
translation is that which has been given
all over the country for the past two
years by most satisfactory company as
to the singers, and not TOO bad as 10
/ scenery and staging He VIII feel dis
unctly disappointed, and viii go home
wondering If. then. it is really true that
1 English is not so good as other tongues
/ for opera. It occurs TO him TO look over
the libretto and try 10 find what the
matter is.
AS he reads, he becomes conscious Of a
/ strange UnlikenesS Of the characters tC
those he SAW and heard n the German
also an uncommon degree Of likeness
makers whose dismal rhymes belonged
10 the day Of languishing ladies anC
bombastc heroes. He meets such phrase.
as these: Heavens dark decree I MARI
with dread "The dark unfathomeS
gloom Of night THE mourner's tear
This dread hour With tranquil gaz,
/ serene How like an angel of light he
hue" A helm Of light upon his brow
My deliv'rer dear" and he observes
that the word boon is very much over
worked The chorus Graves "A boon. tn,
king grants a boon, Elsa, Ortrud, Lohen
rim crave, deign, beg "a boon. here, there
and everywhere as the drama proceeds
In fact, whenever this translator rum
her unWieldy craft upon a shOal, boon
comes in on "a hoodtide of stereotype,
slush 10 float her of again.
As this man sits coming his libTettO
his chUm comes IN. The latter known Ger
man. He reads of a free translation an,
the other man recognizes the character
at once as the same he saw and hear,
when he heard the opera in German. Th
two sit down 70 tlF experiment Of turn
ing out version that shall give Wagner
libretto faithfully Between them the
= manage to pick out on the piano III
vocal scores as they go along. fttin
, their English TO II, making no attemp
. at rhyme, but always preserving reasO
and often securing perfect rhythm Will
keeping word-accent and music-accen
b true and square.
{ \ few evenings spent at the task brin
, them to the rational conclusion that
literal translation. licked into shape b
even nOnprOfesSiOnal skill and pains.
fsr superior in both sense and "singabIe
= ness" 20 such a translation as that whic
they have been Obliged To listen TO in IN
, opera house. Their homemade versio
is not poetry. as to form. but Il Is as (
feeling. being faithful 10 the Original. an
it proves an adequate medium for III
dramatis personae 10 come out in. tru
to the life. Each character (and III
Cltpt US Also, Wlllcl, IKE All the Wagne
choruses. is as individual as any sol
D parO stands upon its own feet, under thi
. honest treatment, whereas in the pull
lished translation they all seem to stal
about on stills, or 10 flop over lik
mol.usks
For instance Elsa, the sweet Germa
maid of tenth-century simplicity. seem
in this stupid translation an anomalou
! being, compounded OF the early Vic
, torian type, droop-shouldered, hoOp-skirt
ed. wasp-waisted, and the Amelia Sedle
style Of heroine. with now and then
e flavor of Felicia Hemans, Dr. Watts "a
, the Catechism) and Frances Ridley Hay