As Good as the Original: On translating operas into English

(Re-run: program initially aired on April 15, 2011)
The art of opera translation is subtle yet crucial. Get it right, and the audience feels like they’re experiencing the work with as much richness as the original; get it wrong, and there’s no music to be heard. Mairi McLaughlin, Assistant Professor of French and Linguistics at UC Berkeley and Donald Pippin, director and founder of San Francisco’s Pocket Opera, join VoiceBox host Chloe Veltman for a discussion about what makes English translations of operas written in languages like Italian and French work – and what doesn’t. (Playlist)