The Arthurian Opera by Isaac Albniz and Francis Money-Coutts

(18521923): Libretto Translation Theories Applied to Merlin

Juan Miguel Zarandona
Arthuriana, Volume 23, Number 2, Summer 2013, pp. 3-19 (Article)
Published by Scriptorium Press
DOI: 10.1353/art.2013.0015
For additional information about this article
Access provided by UNICAMP Universidade Estadual de Campinas (7 May 2014 20:03 GMT)
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/art/summary/v023/23.2.zarandona.html
The Arthurian Opera by Isaac Albniz
and Francis Money-Coutts (18521923):
Libretto Translation Theories
Applied to Merlin
juan miguel zarandona
Isaac Albniz (18601909), a well-known composer of contemporary
Spanish music, created the opera Merlin between 18981902. Intended
to be part of a Celtic trilogy rivalling the Germanic trilogies by Richard
Wagner, Albniz was only able to nish the rst part. This article studies
the different Spanish translations of the original English text and the
shortcomingsor improvementsthat they underwent as the lyrics
were being set to music. (JMZ)
M
odern opera, as a new dramatic genre or a reinvented performing
art, was rst established and experimented with in late 16th-century
Renaissance Florence. There a group of learned menknown as La Camerata
used to meet at Count Bardis palace with the aim of reviving the ancient
dramatic art of the Greeks, whose individual actor-singers and chorus sang
words well-suited to the elevated deeds of heroes and gods to the music of the
ute or the lyre. The Florentine Cameratas enthusiasm led them to imitate
and renovate the ancient models. The successful result was a new form that
fused acting, poetry, music, singing, and dancing, one which has been a
unique protagonist of Western high culture ever since.
But opera was such a complex artistic product that its composition
frequently required the collaboration of one or more artists: the musician
and the poet or librettist. Consequently, the libretto can be claimed to
constitute a special kind of literary genre and, although frequently neglected
by scholars, a very difcult one to study due to its unavoidable destinyor
constraintnot only to be performed but also to be sung and accompanied
by music. From the point of view of translation and Translation Studies,
music does not require being rendered in other languages, but libretti do.
Through the centuries, they have been translated according to many different
approaches, in different translation modes (written translation, dubbing,
surtitling or supratitling, subtitling, etc.) and with different intentions. Such
arthuriana 23.2 (2013)
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 3 5/31/13 4:24 PM
4
arthuriana
translations offer a fascinating and, thus far, almost virgin territory in research
within the eld of Descriptive Translation Studies.
1
An opera such as Merlin
by Isaac Albnizand its reception historycan offer a perfect case study
to demonstrate the many possibilities of this research niche.
MERLIN: the difficult story
of a british-spanish arthurian opera
2
Opera found inspiration in Arthurian subject matter very early on, as proven
by King Arthur, the British Worthy (1691), by John Dryden (16311700) and
Henry Purcell (16591695). However, the greatest era for Arthurian opera
was the 19th century and, to a lesser extent, the early 20th century. Precisely
in this era we nd the landmark poet-musician Richard Wagner. In three of
his operasLohengrin (1845), Tristan und Isolde (1859, rst presented 1865),
Parsifal (nally produced 1882)for which he wrote both the music and
libretti, Wagner used the Arthurian legend as the vehicle for his beliefs about
society, art, religion, love, and passion.
On the other hand, in the same period we have Albniz and Money-Coutts
grandiose project of an Arthurian trilogy, which was never completed: The
fate of Albnizs trilogy is typical of many Arthurian musical projects, which
often begin with a grand design but never come to be realized.
3
Isaac Albniz (18601909) was born in a small village, Camprodn, in
Northern Catalonia, close to the Pyrenees, but the family moved to Barcelona
when he was just a year old. 29 years later, on 13 June 1889, he rst performed
in London at Princes Hall, Piccadilly. Due to his great success as a musician
in the British Isles, he settled down in London with his family the following
year. The Albnizes stayed there until late 1893, when they nally took up
permanent residence in Paris.
Prior to his success on the London stage, Albniz was already a respected
artist in many European and American circles. His first public piano
performance was at the Teatre Romea of Barcelona when he was only four
years old. In 1876 he was accepted by the Conservatoire Royal of Brussels
thanks to a royal stipend from King Alfonso XII; there he studied with
master Louis Brassin. While still in Brussels, he won rst prize in a piano
performance in 1879. Following this, he made a well-publicized tour of
Europe. His piano concerts caused a sensation during the 1888 Barcelona
International Exhibition. Many predicted that he was to become a major
talent in the history of music. He took these predictions seriously as he left
Spain very soon after and moved to England and France, where he would
remain for the rest of his life in search of broader horizons. He also wanted
to be known as a composer of operanot just pianoand to make a name
for himself throughout Europe. In other words, at the height of his fame in
Spain, he ventured beyond his country to develop his art. He knew that there
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 4 5/31/13 4:24 PM
5
arthurian opera
was no future for opera in his own country, and he did not want to become
another national zarzuela composer; this Spanish operetta was the only lyrical
theater genre that had the favour of the Spanish public, and its existence was
considered responsible for preventing the growth of a strong national opera.
In 1889 Bernard Shaw attended one of Albnizs piano concerts of

music
by Wagner. Albniz, as a pianist, made a deep impression on him with his
performance of selections from Das Rheingold and Die Walkre, and Shaw
wrote some favorable comments on it. In 1890 Albniz signed a contract
with the powerful London theater manager Henry Lowenfeld, who arranged
a good number of successful concerts of traditional Spanish music together
with the classical Germanic repertoire for him. His operetta, The Magic Opal,
premiered at the Lyric Theater in 1893 and was quite successful.
However, his life and musical career changed when a wealthy banker and
nobleman in search of literary fame attended one of his performances in 1893,
admired his music, and decided that Albniz, as composer, was the artist he
needed. The man was Francis Burdett Money-Coutts (18521923). Both men,
who became close friends, signed a new contract sealing their collaboration
in 1893. Coutts offered the Spaniard a large income in exchange for setting
his poetry to music and enhancing his fame.
Albnizs close friends and family never liked the pact. Sadly, part of the
agreement was that Albniz would stop composing his trademark Spanish
works. Albniz himself lacked conviction. The result was that he partially
adjusted his muse to his benefactors wishes and that, when he departed from
them, the Englishman never complained or stopped helping the artist. In fact,
his unselsh patronage allowed Albniz to devote his nal years to writing
his celebrated work for piano, Iberia.
The rst fruit of their friendly collaboration was the opera Henry Clifford,
which premiered at the Liceu Theater in Barcelona in 1895. The subject
matter was the medieval War of the Roses. It was not very successful, which
helped Albniz persuade his benefactor to write the libretto of their new
opera, Pepita Jimnez, set in rural Andalusia. It was based on a popular
Spanish 19th-century novel by the same title. It also premiered at the Liceu
in Barcelona and was more successful. But Money-Coutts was unwilling to
forsake his dream: an opera trilogy that would be the British answer to Der
Ring des Nibelungen. It would be based on the 15th-century romance Le Morte
Darthur, by Sir Thomas Malory. A very prolic poet, Money-Couttslike
Tennyson and many other Victorian poetsshared a fascination for Malory
and all things Arthurian. Isaac Albniz, a devote of Wagner, probably also
willingly fell under the powerful enchantment of the Arthurian legend. He
began composing his opera, Merlin, in 1898 but would not nish it until
1902. For various reasons, he never even began the second and third parts.
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 5 5/31/13 4:24 PM
6
arthuriana
wagner,
4
money-coutts,
5
and albniz
6
As I suggested earlier, Wagner and his operas were the yardsticks used to
measure Merlin and the other Arthurian compositions planned by Francis
Money-Coutts. However, this agreement between musician and poet-patron
has frequently been regarded as a vexed issue:
The Arthurian episode is treated in the secondary literature as an incredible
aberration in Albnizs career, a totally misguided effort that was foisted on
him by the eccentric Maecenas, in whose hands he had unwisely placed his
nancial well-being. However, one could see the project as consistent with
Albnizs devotion to Wagnerism, a love affair that went back perhaps as far
as his days as a student of Louis Brassin in Brussels in the 1870s.
7
In other words, the interest in producing a Wagnerian work was not as articial
in Albniz as many have frequently considered, nor was it inculcated in the
Spanish artist solely by his enthusiastic wealthy patron. The truth is that the
numerous links between Albniz and Wagner make it possible to regard the
former as a conrmed lifetime Wagnerian.
Albniz was not alone in Spain, where operatic composers felt the allure of
Wagner and the Arthurian legend as keenly as their contemporaries elsewhere
in Europe,
8
and he contributed considerably to this particular repertoire: for
example, some Catalan fellow countrymen preceded him. Amadeu Vives
had composed an opera entitled Arthus in 1895, and Felip Pedrell, also his
mentor, composed a Wagnerian trilogy, Els Pirineus, in 1891.
9
His native
Barcelona, during the so-called modernist period (or modernisme), in the
n-de-sicle, enjoyed an enduring fascination for Wagner and his music, also
known as the Wagnerian culta fact that led to the establishment of the
Associaci Wagneriana (Wagnerian Society) in 1901. Albniz was a founding
member of that society, which became a refuge for lovers of Wagner heavily
committed to lecturing about the German composer; this society produced
original literature, translating and giving concerts and performances of his
works. Many of Albnizs diary entries recorded the deep impression that the
Ring tetralogy had made on his spirit, especially Siegfriedan opera that he
attended as many times as he could throughout his life. Detailed annotations
made by him in his personal copies of the full scores of the Ring reveal a
profound knowledge. Indeed, his private library contained most of Wagners
opera scores. Furthermore, at the end of the 19th century, he directed and
conducted the performance of the Tristan und Isolde at the Liceu Opera
House in Barcelona. As a result of this performance, Wagner dominated the
repertoire of that theater for many years.
As a composer, Albnizs commitment to Wagnerian principles in Merlin
is apparent in his use of particular leitmotifs: the avoidance of simultaneous
singing; the revolutionary treatment of the voices, with the emphasis on clarity
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 6 5/31/13 4:24 PM
7
arthurian opera
of declamation and renunciation to oritura; and experimental orchestration,
dynamic contrasts, gracious rhythm, chromatic harmony, and Arthurian
subject matter.
10
But not everything in the score of Merlin has a Wagnerian avour. Albniz
could not help being an Iberian composer and his true identity as a Spaniard
has a way of peeking out from behind the faade of the work. In the middle
of Act III there are two enchanting Spanish-style (Flamenco) dances. This
is less surprising when one notes other departures from the Arthurian
legends with respect to Malory that Albniz and Money-Coutts placed in
their work. Morgana becomes a much greater protagonist than Nivian, the
evil enchantress. Nivian, the seductress of Merlin, is a Hispanic-Saracen
dancing girl under the command of Morgana. Additionally, there is a band
of gnomes in charge of keeping a cave full of gold. This gold, taken from
Wagners Rheingold, excites the tragic lust of the magician and brings about
his nal demise.
Another much praised novelty of Albniz in Merlin, independent of
Wagner, was the introduction of the medieval Gregorian chant by means
of a 4th-century Latin metric hymn attributed to Saint Ambrose of Milan
(340397), which was used in the Christmas liturgy. The action of the Merlin
opera starts on Christmas Day.
11
All this is unique in the history of opera.
Despite these theatrical novelties and Albnizs musical craftsmanship,
something failed: the two friendsAlbniz and Money-Couttshad agreed
to undertake the glorious task of producing a Wagnerian-style trilogy that
would establish a national opera, which both Spain and England lacked.
12
But
neither musician nor poet were Wagner: the German composer was a true
individual and his talent unique. Wagner knew how to fuse diverse elements
and to focus on those passages which contained the most psychological
appeal.
13
Money-Coutts libretto was written in an articial archaic language
of ancient and obsolete words that made the musician struggle. His talents
as a dramatic poetrigid versication, reiterative style, etc.in no way
resembled Wagners. Disagreements between composer and librettist were
frequent; for example, the two often disagreed about Money-Coutts excessive
Victorian prudishness, which Albniz did not share. They encountered the
old problem that many opera composers had faced:
14
disparity of words and
musictwo elements not necessarily in harmonyfor which Wagner had
found a solution.
15
The result was that the enterprise became such a colossal intellectual effort
for Albnizwho used to compose very quicklythat it took him ve years
to compose Merlin (18981902); he barely started Lancelot and never tried
Guinevere. His last years of poor health and early death doomed the trilogy.
Albniz died when he was only 49 years old. Wagner lived many more years
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 7 5/31/13 4:24 PM
8
arthuriana
and produced his best operas late in life. Had Albniz lived longer, what great
operas could he have produced?
albniz and money-coutts MERLIN reception in spanish
However difcult the composition of Merlin had been, Albniz initiated a
useless struggle to have it performed in a theater, but it was never produced
during the artists lifetime. From the very beginning of its creation, he let
different audiences enjoy sections of the opera before its completion. In 1898,
for example, a concert version of the Prelude to the rst act could be heard
in Barcelona; this was repeated in Nancy a year later in 1899 and in Brussels
in 1905 at the Grand Harmonie concert hall. That same year, a read-through
took place in Brussels at the home of the Tassel family: there was no orchestra,
and Albniz himself accompanied the singers on the piano. For this private
occasion, the libretto was translated into French. Only years later was the
opera produced or recorded in Spain where it enjoyed different modes of
translation into Spanish.
If Albniz struggled to create his Merlin, the operas life on stage was
no less tortuous. Nearly half a century passed before the score was heard
again. On 18 December 1950, a group of amateur singers nally staged the
opera in a theater after many years of neglect and oblivion: the Teatre Tvoli
of Barcelona, a downtown Catalan Modernist building still in use today,
mounted the production almost fty years after its composition. It was a
much abbreviated and heavily edited version of opera, which enjoyed only
one performance. Curiously, the group was named Club de Ftbol Junior
(Junior Football Club), which happened to have a performing arts section
and had the annual custom of producing an opera. The libretto was translated
by the singers themselves and sung in Spanish, i.e., a singing translation.
Unfortunately, this rendition of the original is likely lost. The Biblioteca
de Catalunya (Catalonia Library) in Barcelona only keeps a pamphlet with
details of the performance, an introduction to the opera, and a summary of
the plotbut not the full libretto.
16
This staging received positive criticism
in the local press, but it did not attract the attention of any professional
company, and the opera was again forgotten. The date of 1950 is also very
interesting, as opera sung or recorded in translation became very unusual
after 1950. This translation was a last example of a translation praxis about to
disappear almost completely. However, in England this practice continued.
The two large, permanent opera companies in London are the Royal Opera
House, which naturally sings operas in their original languages, and English
National Opera, based at the London Coliseum. The latter, established in
1889, presents all its operas in English translation.
On 20 June 1998, a stage work already a century old nally emerged
from near-obscurity into the light of day. On this particular day the Madrid
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 8 5/31/13 4:24 PM
9
arthurian opera
Auditorio Nacional gave a concert performance of the original Albniz Merlin
in English. This premiere astounded performers, audiences, and critics alike.
It was something completely different from the typical Albniz Spanish style.
Albniz is world famous for his piano compositions, for titles such as Suite
Espaola (1880s), Recuerdos de Viaje (1880s), Cantos de Espaa (1890s), and
Iberia (1908), his major work inspired by Spanish folk music, mainly from
Andalusia. Based on the performance of the Merlin, the history of Spanish
opera and music around 1900 had to be rewritten. This forgotten work was
proof that Spanish composers had been more open to international trends
than was thought. The soul of the project was Spanish conductor Jos de
Eusebio, who had been intrigued for several years by the myth of the missing
Merlin. He had to spend many years tracking unknown publishers proofs, old
incomplete scores, and other materials in order to reconstruct the lost opera.
For its eventual performance, he was also able to enlist Plcido Domingo in
the role of King Arthur.
Two years later, the opera was recorded in its original languageEnglish
in Madrid and made available to a wider audience. De Eusebio and Domingo
still participated in this new project and declared very emphatically that its
destiny was to enter the international opera repertoire. De Eusebio asked
himself if Merlin was indeed a Spanish opera: the composer was Spanish and
lived in France during its composition; the librettist was English; the subject
matter was a British national myth; but since there is a Gregorian Chant as
well as German leitmotifs, it was rejected in Spain for many years. Merlin
probably does not belong to anyone: it is fully international.
17
The booklet
issued with the 2000 CD recording includes the original libretto and two
translations of it, in French and Spanish.
Finally, over a century after its composition, on 28 May 2003, the Teatro
Real of Madrid premiered the full work in its original form. There were ten
successful presentations, the last on 12 June 2003. For weeks in advance, it
was impossible to nd tickets. Jos de Eusebio was again musical director: his
dream of many years was nally fullled, and his sacrices found their reward.
All elements of the production were of the highest quality, commensurate
with such a unique cultural event. The opera was sung in English. However,
it is nowadays common for great opera houses to be provided with the
latest technological resources, specially designed for live presentations,
which provide translated versions, called surtitles or supertitles, for operas
composed in unknown foreign languages. Translations of a libretto, or excerpts
from a libretto, are projected above the stage during a performance. The
purpose of supertitles is analogous to that of subtitles in a foreign-language
lm: to inform the viewer, who is unable to follow the text, of what is being
sung (and said) on stage. The Canadian Opera Company, of Toronto, became
the rst to introduce surtitles in 1983. Supertitle was a term coined by San
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 9 5/31/13 4:24 PM
10
arthuriana
Francisco Opera. Indeed, throughout the United States it has become the
word most often used, rather than surtitles.
The afcionados attending the Madrid premiere performances of Merlin
enjoyed this advantage and could read a Spanish translation of the words
being sung on stage. Furthermore, their detailed printed librettos included
the original English text by Money-Coutts and with a Spanish translation
by Liliana Piastra.
This historical performance was recorded live on 9 June 2003 at the same
Teatro Real and published in DVD format the following year, again to be
enjoyed by a much wider audience. The opera, sung in English and now a full
audiovisual recorded product, was provided with subtitles in English, Spanish,
French, and German, as is the custom in such commercial endeavours. Merlin
has thus far not been produced by any other theater.
translations and constrained translations
of an opera: a case study
Hurtado
18
proposes a full classication of the different modes of translation.
Taking advantage of this typology, the translation modes associated with
Albnizs Merlin are the following:
Written translation The 2000 Spanish libretto translated by Liliana
Piastra
19
(Opera) Dubbing The 1950 performance in translated Spanish,
rather than in the original English
Translation of songs (to be sung) The 1950 performance in Spanish
Subtitling The 2003-2004 DVD live recording of the
opera
20
Musical supertitling The 2003 premiere of the opera
We have one instance of regular written translation and four of constrained
translations (dubbing, translation of songs to be sung, subtitling, and
surtitling), each with its specic limitations.
Hurtado also claims that there are hybrid modes.
21
The different modes
of translation associated with opera prove this very easily. An opera is not a
lm, where dubbing is a common practice. When one dubs an opera, one
is also dubbing a song to be sung. Words must t to music and rhythm.
Furthermore, a lmed opera will never become a real lm: it is a hybrid
between a lm and a theatrical performance. The conclusion is very clear:
Merlin may have been performed and translated very rarely. However, it does
not prevent it from offering many different and challenging combinations
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 10 5/31/13 4:24 PM
11
arthurian opera
of translation modes. More popular operas or greater corpora thereof will
undoubtedly offer innite research opportunities. And the general truth is
that opera translation demands far more research.
Example 1: The briefest comparison between the original libretto and its
Spanish translation helps us realize that it is a fully informative functional
translation and a very literal word-for-word one with no other pretensions.
The rhythm, rhyme, and stanza-breaks of the original are lost, and the
translated verses are totally irregular in length. Wagner would abhor such a
translated libretto, which lacks any unity or inner music-poetry harmony.
ORIGINAL LIBRETTO BY COUTTS
TRANSLATION BY PIASTRA (2000)
Act One:
Outside the east end of St Pauls Church in
London. The church lit up and chanting heard
within.
Christmas Day, before dawn. Near the wall of the
church a block of marble, with a jewelled sword,
to which a scroll is attached, standing in it.
Monks:
Veni, Redemptor gentium,
Ostende partum Virginis;
Miretur onme saeculum
Talis decet partus Deum.
Merlin:
Hail, mystic morn,
Whereon was born the king
To whom these churchmen sing
Their holy song!
Hail, mystic morn!
Oh! Crown my labour long!
Ere day be done
Oh! Crown Pendragons son!
And all the land let ring
With Arthur for her king
England with Arthur crown, and crown
The world with Englands fair renown!
22
Acto Primero
Exterior de la parte este de la iglesia de San Pablo,
en Londres. En la iglesia hay luz y se oye cantar
en su interior.
Da de Navidad, antes del alba. Cerca del muro
de la iglesia hay un bloque de mrmol que lleva
inscrita una leyenda en piedras preciosas, con una
espada clavada en lo alto.
Monjes:
Veni, Redemptor gentium,
Ostende partum Virginis;
Miretur onme saeculum
Talis decet partus Deum.
Merln:
Te saludo, da mgico,
natalicio de nuestro Rey,
al que estos clrigos eleven
sus cnticos sagrados!
Te saludo da mgico!
Oh! Corona mi gran esfuerzo
antes que acabe el da!
Oh! Corona al hijo de Pendragn!
Que toda la tierra resuene
y que Arturo reine en ella!
Corona a Inglaterra con Arturo
y al mundo con la justa fama de Inglaterra!
23
There is also a great difference in number between the 2003 Teatro Real
supertitles and the DVD subtitles. The former number 295 and the latter 624.
Many factors may be behind this marked difference between the supertitles
and subtitles for the same performance. Mateo has already claimed that sub-
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 11 5/31/13 4:24 PM
12
arthuriana
titling and supertitling are two phenomena slightly apart. Much more
empirical emphasis is needed, but these data seem to place them quite apart
in spite of the appearances.
24
2003 TEATRO REAL SUPERTITLES
2004 DVD RECORDING SUBTITLES
1: Veni, Redemptor gentium
Ostende partum Virginis.
2: Miretur omne saeculum
Talis deceto partus Deum
3: Te saludo, da mgico
en el que estos clrigos eleven
sus cnticos sagrados!
4: Corona mi gran esfuerzo
antes de que anochezca!
5: Que la tierra resuene
y que Arthur reine en ella
6: Corona a Inglaterra con Arthur
y al mundo con la justa fama de
Inglaterra!
5: 00:08:38,95500:08:45,258
Veni, Redemptor gentium,
6: 00:08:45,36100:08:53,666
ostende partum Virginis,
7: 00:08:53,77000:09:01,734
miretur omne saeculum talis decet partus Deum.
8: 00:10:32,96900:10:38,601
Te saludo, mstico da,
9: 00:10:38,70800:10:44,374
aniversario de nuestro soberano,
10: 00:10:44,48000:10:50,715
al que estos sacerdotes dedican sus sagrados cnticos.
11: 00:10:50,82000:10:55,780
Te saludo, mstico da.
12: 00:11:08,43800:11:11,635
Oh, corona mis hartos desvelos.
13: 00:11:11,74100:11:18,112
Antes del nal del da, oh, corona al hijo de Pendragn.
14: 00:11:24,95400:11:29,357
Que toda la tierra retumbe,
15: 00:11:29,45900:11:33,953
pues Arturo reina en ella.
16: 00:11:34,06300:11:39,433
Corona a Inglaterra con Arturo
17: 00:11:40,63600:11:48,600
y al mundo, con la fama justamente ganada de Inglaterra.
Firstly, supertitles must be projected live on a screen on top of the stage in
every single performance, which may be the reason why compression has to
be much more dramatic. They are more vulnerable, and things may easily go
wrong, so extra precaution must be taken. This risk is avoided in a subtitled
DVD, even if it is a recording of the same sung opera. Secondly, opera goers
are probably more reluctant to wasteor are not used to wastingtime
watching supertitles than DVD watchers, who can play and replay pieces
many times. Live performances are not made for reading, especially when the
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 12 5/31/13 4:24 PM
13
arthurian opera
audience probably knows the subject matter perfectly well. Consequently, a
few supertitles may be read, many denitely will not. Supertitles seem to be
far more constrained than subtitles. Perhaps these two explanations account
for this marked difference.
Example 2:The comparison of this new example conrms the hypothesis
advanced in the previous one, but many more can be discussed. Bravo
25

explains that there are several types of subtitling: conventionalcinema,
videotape, DVDand non-conventionalfor the deaf, intralingual, teletext,
etc. Consequently, the questions to be asked are as follows: are there different
kinds of supertitles? Do the practices of different opera houses differ so much
as to constitute different types of this translation mode? Or is it too early for
such a recent mode to be diversied? Opera is much older than cinema, but
supertitles are not older than subtitles. Again, much more empirical research
is needed. Supertitles are far from being fully consolidated. The critical debate
over the validity of supertitles will undoubtedly continue, but it is clear that
the publics enthusiastic acceptance of them, and the heightened response to
opera to which they have given rise, will assure their use indenitely among
opera companies.
ORIGINAL LIBRETTO BY
MONEY-COUTTS
2000 TRANSLATION BY PIASTRA
Nivian (rebellious)
Fierce is your kingdom and frore!
Pleasureless isle of the sea!
Dances I weave you no more,
Save you will let us go free!
Fierce is your kingdom and frore!
Pleasureless isle of the sea!
26

Nivian (con rebelda)
Qu helado y ero es tu reino!
Isla del mar sin deleite!
Ya jams danzar para ti
salvo que t nos dejes partir!
Qu helado y ero es tu reino!
Isla del mar sin deleite!
27

Furthermore, audience preferenceon the one handbetween cinematic
dubbing and subtitling, in a country such as Spain, favours dubbing to the
detriment of subtitling; but between singing translation and supertitleson
the other handis quite different. Opera dubbing has almost disappeared
and opera supertitling is on the increase.
Example 3: Daz Cintas
28
provides a list of possible advantages and
disadvantages of subtitling over dubbing. Within the former, there is the
negative practice of making the subtitle translator invisible. His name is
neither mentioned nor acknowledged in the credits. The makers of supertitles
and subtitles for Merlin are not available.
Daz Cintas
29
considers the translation of subtitles to be the most
vulnerable translation mode. Transcending the well-known constraints
of time and space, viewers are offered the original and the translation
simultaneously, so they can and do frequently become severe judges. This is
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 13 5/31/13 4:24 PM
14
arthuriana
peculiar to subtitlesand to supertitlesbut to what degree? Again, there
is the same need for empirical research.
2003 TEATRO REAL SUPERTITLES 2004 DVD RECORDING SUBTITLES
18: Qu helado y ero es tu reino!
Isla del mar sin deleite!
19: Ya jams danzar para ti!
20: Libres nos dejars partir!
21: Qu ero es tu reino,
isla del mar sin deleite!
Ay de ti, si rompes mi sortilegio!
43: 00:16:11,640 00:16:14,108
Cun feroz y glacial es tu reino.
44: 00:16:14,210 00:16:17,771
lsla en el mar privada de placer.
45: 00:16:22,952 00:16:31,291
Nunca jams bailar para ti,
46: 00:16:31,394 00:16:36,127
salvo que t nos permitas partir.
47: 00:16:41,837 00:16:44,635
Cun feroz y glacial es tu reino,
48: 00:16:44,740 00:16:47,231
isla en el mar privada de placer.
Finally, Daz Cintas
30
acknowledges the need for more empirical descriptive
analysis as far as subtitling is concerned. In comparison, supertitling is more
in need of that analysis. He also offers other researchers a translation-applied
model of analysis suited to audiovisual translation in general and subtitling
in particular. This four-step model (preliminary facts, macrostructure,
microstructure and socio-cultural context) can thus be regarded perfectly as
a useful tool for future research in supertitling practices.
ORIGINAL LIBRETTO BY
MONEY-COUTTS
2000 TRANSLATION BY PIASTRA
Arthur (quelling the tumult with
difculty)
Peace, peace,
Lawless hate in my realm must cease!God forbid
we should vengeance take!
(to the captives)
Pardon I grant you for Jesuss sake,
Pardon I grant you, as we beseech
God to pardon us, all and each!
Morgan, my sister, henceforth leave treason!
Honour my mercy in right and reason.
Pellinore ght in the foremost fray,
Fight for King Arthur henceforth today!
(The captives kneel at Arthurs feet and
kiss his hands).
31

Arturo (calmando el tumulto con
dicultad)
Paz!, paz!,
el odio incontrolado en mi reino ha de cesar!
No quiera Dios que tomemos venganza!
(a los prisioneros)
Os concede el perdn por amor de Jess;
os concede el perdn, as como rogamos
que Dios perdone a todos y cada uno de nosotros!
Morgana, hermana ma, abandona desde ahora
la traicin!
Honra mi gracia, s justa y cabal.
Pellinore, lucha al frente de las huestes,
lucha por el Rey Arturo de ahora en adelante!
(Los prisioneros se arrodillan a los pies de Arturo
y le besan las manos).
32
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 14 5/31/13 4:24 PM
15
arthurian opera
2003 TEATRO REAL SUPERTITLES 2004 DVD RECORDING SUBTITLES
151: Que haya paz!
152: El odio incontrolado
en mi reino ha de cesar!
153: Dios prohbe la venganza!
Os concede el perdn por la gracia de Dios.
154: Os conceso el perdn,
as como rogamos que el Seor
perdone a cada uno de nosotros.
155: Hermana ma, abandona
desde ahora la traicin!
156: Honra mi gracia,
s justa y cabal.
157: Pellinore, debes luchar al frente
de las huestes.
158: Lucha por el rey Arturo
de ahora en adelante!
326: 01:02:57,533 01:02:59,501
Haya paz.
327: 01:03:08,377 01:03:10,436
El odio descontrolado
328: 01:03:10,546 01:03:17,076
en mi reino ha de cesar.
329: 01:03:51,620 01:03:56,489
No quiera Dios
330: 01:03:56,592 01:04:02,087
que tomemos venganza.
331: 01:04:03,699 01:04:07,430
Os otorgo el perdn
332: 01:04:07,536 01:04:12,371
en el nombre de Jess,
333: 01:04:13,175 01:04:16,906
os otorgo el perdn,
334: 01:04:17,012 01:04:22,473
as como rogamos que Dios
335: 01:04:22,585 01:04:30,515
nos perdone a todos
y cada uno de nosotros.
336: 01:04:42,505 01:04:49,377
Morgana, hermana ma,
337: 01:04:53,149 01:04:58,951
abandona en lo sucesivo la traicin.
338: 01:05:02,057 01:05:04,617
Haz honor a mi clemencia,
339: 01:05:11,667 01:05:17,697
s justa y cabal.
340: 01:05:19,775 01:05:27,375
Pellinore, capitanea las huestes,
341: 01:05:32,354 01:05:35,983
lucha por el rey Arturo
342: 01:05:36,091 01:05:43,520
en lo sucesivo.
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 15 5/31/13 4:24 PM
16
arthuriana
conclusion
As a brief conclusion to this paper, I present the following three challenging
offerings: 1) Research on surtitling/supratitling and opera translation in all
its modes is just being initiated. Empirical Descriptive Translation Studies
research is necessary; 2) This could be a fascinating eld of study for
Translation Studies scholars, for its cultural, historical, social and linguistic
implications; and 3) The evidence found in Merlin is a very limited sampling.
The corpus could be extended to cover works from all the Albniz operas to
all the national repertoires of Western lyrical theater.
universidad de valladolid, spain
Juan Miguel Zarandona teaches in the Department of Translation Studies of the
University of Valladolid at Soria, Spain. He is a member of the American and
Hispanic Branches of the International Arthurian Society and head of the research
group CLYTIAR (Cultura, Literatura y Traduccin Ibero-Artrica), based at the
University of Valladolid (www.clytiar.org). He has authored and edited a range of
books and research papers on Arthurian themes.
notes
This article was rst presented as a paper at the XXIII
rd
Triennial Congress of
the International Arthurian Society (University of Bristol, 2530th July, 2011).
1 Gideon Toury, Descriptive Translation Studies and Beyond (Amsterdam and
Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995).
2

For more information see Justo Torres Mulas, Merlin, por n!, in Isaac Albniz,
Merln, opera en tres actos (Madrid: Teatro Real, Fundacin del Teatro Lrico, 2003),
pp. 8299; Jacinto Torres Mulas, Isaac Albnizs elusive Grail, in Albniz, Merlin,
Booklet, ed. Sue Baxter (London: Mecca MusicPILES, Editorial de Msica,
2000), pp. 1519; Jacinto Torres Mulas, La opera Merlin de Albniz [online], in
Centro Virtual Cervantes: Isaac Albniz, pp. 17, accessed 19 July 2011, http://cvc.
cervantes.es /actcult/albeniz/obra/merlin/merlin.htm; Jos de Eusebio, Albnizs
Excalibur, in Albniz, Merlin, Booklet, ed. Sue Baxter (London: Mecca Music
PILES, Editorial de Msica, 2000), pp. 1114; Jos de Eusebio, Albniz llega por
n a Camelot, in Isaac Albniz, Merln, opera en tres actos (Madrid: Teatro Real,
Fundacin del Teatro Lrico, 2003), pp. 5471; Jos de Eusebio, La Exclibur de
Albniz [online], in Centro Virtual Cervantes: Isaac Albniz, pp. 17, accessed
19 July 2011, http://cvc.cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz/obra/excalibur.htm; Marta
Falces Sierra, Con acento universal [online], in Centro Virtual Cervantes: Isaac
Albniz, pp. 14, accessed 19 July 2011, http://cvc.cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz/vida/
acento.htm; Fernando Herrero, Albniz en Camelot, in Isaac Albniz: Merln.
opera en tres actos (Madrid: Teatro Real, Fundacin del Teatro Lrico, 2003), pp.
130145; Mara Gil Gonzlez, Mara, Historia de una grabacin [online], in
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 16 5/31/13 4:24 PM
17
arthurian opera
Centro Virtual Cervantes: Isaac Albniz, pp. 13, accessed 19 July 2011, http://cvc.
cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz/obra/merlin/historia.htm; Andrs Ruiz Tarazona,
Albniz universal, in Isaac Albniz, Merln, opera en tres actos (Madrid: Teatro
Real, Fundacin del Teatro Lrico, 2003), pp. 100119; Andrs Ruiz Tarazona, La
creacin operstica de Isaac Albniz [online], in Centro Virtual Cervantes: Isaac
Albniz, pp. 111, accessed 19 July 2011, http://cvc.cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz/
obra /creacin.htm.
3

Barry J. Ward, Music, The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, ed. Norris J. Lacy (New
York and London: Garland, 1996), p. 336.
4 Frederick L. Toner, Wagner, Richard (18131883), in Norris J. Lacy (ed) The New
Arthurian Encyclopedia, ed. Norris J. Lacy (New York and London: Garland, 1996),
pp. 502505; and Archivo Richard Wagner Hemeroteca Wagneriana [on-line],
accessed 19 July 2011, http://archivowagner.info/index.shtml.
5

Christopher Smith, Coutts, Francis (Francis Burdett Money-Coutts Nevill, Fifth
Baron Latymer: 18521923), in The New Arthurian Encyclopedia, ed. Norris J.
Lacy (New York and London: Garland, 1996), pp. 102103; Walter Aaron Clark,
Money-Coutts, in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol. 3, eds. Stanley Sadie
and Christina Bashford (London: Macmillan, 1997), pp. 432433; and Francis
Burdett Money-Coutts, King Arthur: A Trilogy of Lyrical Dramas Founded on the
Mort dArthur of Sir Thomas Malory (London: John Lane, 1897).
6 Among recent bibliography on Albniz see Frances Barulich, (1997) Albniz,
in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, vol. 1, eds. Stanley Sadie and Christina
Bashford (London: Macmillan, 1997), pp. 5152; Centro Virtual Cervantes: Isaac
Albniz (20012007) [online], 21 July 2011, http://cvc.cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz;
Walter Aaron Clark, Isaac Albniz: A Guide to Research (New York: Garland,
1998); Walter Aaron Clark, Isaac Albniz. Portrait of a Romantic (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1999); Walter Aaron Clark, Isaac Albniz: Retrato de un Romntico,
trans. Paul Silles (Madrid: Turner, 2002); Walter Aaron Clark, Retrato de un
romntico [online], in Centro Virtual Cervantes: Isaac Albniz, pp. 15, accessed
24 July 2011, http://cvc. cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz/vida/retrato.htm; Ricard
Comas, Isaac Albniz i Pascual (18601909) [online], accessed 24 July 2011, http//
www.gaudiallgaudi.com/ EM005albeniz.htm; Yale Fineman, The Life and Music
of Isaac Albniz [online], accessed 24 July 2011, http://www.lib.umd.edu/PAL/
YALE/albeniz1.html; Justo Romero, (Isaac Albniz, preface Rosina Moya Albniz
(Barcelona: Pennsula, 2002); and Jacinto Torres Mulas, Vida de Isaac Albniz.
Introduccin [online], in Centro Virtual Cervantes. Isaac Albniz, pp. 13. accessed
24 July 2011, http://cvc.cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz/vida /introduccin.htm.
7 Walter Aaron Clark, King Arthur and the Wagner Cult in Spain: Isaac Albnizs
Opera Merlin, in King Arthur in Music, Arthurian Studies LII, ed. Richard Barber
(Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2002), p 54.
8 Excerpts from Tannhuser were performed in Madrid and Barcelona as early as
the 1860s. See Walter Aaron Clark, King Arthur and the Wagner Cult in Spain:
Isaac Albnizs Opera Merlin, p. 55.
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 17 5/31/13 4:24 PM
18
arthuriana
9

Predell wrote an essay entitled Por nuestra msica [For Our Music] (18921893) as
a guide to his compositional method and a manifesto presenting his adaptation
of Wagners philosophy to the Spanish nationalist impulse in music. See Walter
Aaron Clark, King Arthur and the Wagner Cult in Spain: Isaac Albnizs Opera
Merlin, p. 55.
10 Walter Aaron Clark, King Arthur and the Wagner Cult in Spain: Isaac Albnizs
Opera Merlin, p. 56.
11 See Luis Lozano, El canto gregoriano en la opera Merln, de Isaac Albniz
[online], in Centro Virtual Cervantes. Isaac Albniz, pp. 16, accessed 19 July 2011,
http://cvc.cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz /obra/merlin/canto.htm; and Juan Miguel
Zarandona, Merln (1901): una pera artrica espaola de Isaac Albniz, in
Cuadernos Artricos, no. 1: Cuaderno de Camelot. Cultura, literatura y traduccin
Artrica (Soria: Diputacin de Soria, 2002), p. 221.
12

Walter Aaron Clark, El imperfecto wagneriano (18981904), in Isaac Albniz.
Retrato de un romntico, trans. Paul Silles (Madrid: Turner, 2002), p. 206.
13 Derek Watson, Wagner: Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal, in King Arthur in Music,
Arthurian Studies LII, ed. Richard Wagner (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2002), p.
29.
14 The aforementioned opera, King Arthur (1691), by Dryden and Purcell constitutes
the typical example of two artists who strove to strike a balance between their two
disciplines. However, as it has recently studied, their integration presents many
weaknesses. See Enrique Cmara Arenas, A Drama Mixed with Opera: King
Arthur de John Dryden y Henry Purcell, in Junto al grial. miscelnea Artrica,
cuadernos Artricos, n 4: cuaderno de Tintagel, ed. Juan Miguel Zarandona (Soria:
Diputacin de Soria, 2007), pp. 121.
15 Walter Aaron Clark, King Arthur and the Wagner Cult in Spain: Isaac Albnizs
Opera Merlin, p. 59; Ramn Bau, El concepto de arte global en Wagner, p. 4;
and Houston Steward Chamberlain, El drama wagneriano, p. 13.
16 Isaac Albniz, Merln (Barcelona: Club de Ftbol Junior, 1950).
17 Jos de Eusebio, Blandiendo Exclibur [online], in Centro virtual Cervantes. Isaac
Albniz, p. 4, accessed 19 July 2011, http://cvc.cervantes.es/actcult/albeniz/obra/
merlin/ blandiendo.htm.
18 Amparo Hurtado Albir, Traduccin y traductologa. Introduccin a la traductologa
(Madrid: Ctedra, 2001), pp. 6984.
19 Isaac Albniz and Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merlin: Opera in Three Acts,
World Premiere CD Recording, (London: Decca Music, 2000).
20 Isaac Albniz and Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, (2004) Merlin: Opera in Three
Acts, World Premiere DVD Recording [recorded live on 9
th
June 2003 at the Teatro
Real, Madrid] (Silveroaks Farm, East Sussex, England: BBC-Opus Arte, 2004).
21 Amparo Hurtado Albir, Traduccin y traductologa. Introduccin a la traductologa,
pp. 7273.
22 Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merlin: Libretto, in Albniz: Merlin Booklet, ed.
Sue Baxter (London: Decca MusicPILES, Editora de Msica, 2000), p. 50; and
Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merln. Libretto, trans. Liliana Piastra, in Isaac
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 18 5/31/13 4:24 PM
19
arthurian opera
Albniz: Merlin, pera en tres actos (Madrid: Teatro Real, Fundacin del Teatro
Lrico, 2003), pp. 24.
23 Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merln: Libreto, in Albniz: Merlin Booklet, ed.
Sue Baxter, (London: Decca MusicPILES, Editora de Msica, 2000), p. 51; and
Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merln: Libreto, trans. Liliana Piastra, in Isaac
lbniz: Merlin, pera en tres actos (Madrid: Teatro Real, Fundacin del Teatro
Lrico, 2003), p. 24.
24

Marta Mateo (2007) Reception, text and context in the study of opera surtitles, in
Doubts and Directions in Translation Studies, eds. Yves Gambier et al. (Amsterdam
and Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 2007), p. 170.
25 Jos Mara Bravo, Conventional Subtitling, Screen Texts and Film Titles, in A
New Spectrum of Translation Studies (Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid, 2004),
pp. 209230.
26

Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merlin: Libreto, p. 54 and Francis Burdett
Money-Coutts, Merln: Libreto, p. 24.
27

Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merlin: Libreto, p. 55 and Francis Burdett
Money-Coutts, Merln: Libreto, pp. 2526.
28 Jorge Daz Cintas, Teora y prctica de la subtitulacin ingls-espaol, preface
Roberto Mayoral (Barcelona: Ariel, 2003), p. 103.
29 Jorge Daz Cintas, Teora y prctica de la subtitulacin ingls-espaol, pp. 4347.
30 Jorge Daz Cintas, Teora y prctica de la subtitulacin ingls-espaol, pp. 317318.
31

Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merlin: Libreto, p. 90: and Francis Burdett
Money-Coutts, Merln: Libreto, p. 40.
32 Francis Burdett Money-Coutts, Merlin: Libreto, p. 91; and Francis Burdett
Money-Coutts, Merln: Libreto, p. 40.
02_ZarandonaArthuriana23.2.indd 19 5/31/13 4:24 PM