The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: On the Functional Approach to Translating Libretti for Modernised Opera Productions

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the issue of translating operatic libretti in the form of surtitles. This is a very specific type of translation, and it becomes even more challenging when operatic productions for which surtitles are created are modernised. In such cases the application of skopos theory proves to be the most useful and effective, even though some of its premises may be regarded as controversial. The data for the present study come from the most reputable opera houses, for example the Metropolitan Opera House or Royal Opera House, as they are known for providing their audiences with high-quality libretti translations.