Stacy's Theatre Profiles - Theatre-Musical

Thank you to everyone who shared your thoughts on translations into other languages! Here’s what you had to say:

Anéa recommends: Karen Hoffman for Phantom of the Opera in Danish

The Danish translations of Phantom are fantastic! The translator Karen Hoffman has in many cases kept the same vowels as in English and kept many words that are equal in English and Danish. But she’s still been able to make the translations poetic. One example:

Sample lyrics: Phantom of the Opera

English lyrics In all your fantasies, you always knew That man and mystery – were both in you And in this labyrinth where night is blind The Phantom of the Opera is there inside your/my mind
	Danish lyrics Du vidste altid i din drømmeleg At mand og mørk magi – var et hos dig I denne labyrint er natten blind Jeg/du sanser Operafantomet her, dypt i mitt/ditt sind
		Literal translation You always knew in your dreamy games That man and profond magic were both in you In this labyrinth, the night is blind I/you sense the Opera Phantom here, deep in my/your mind

Note how the “at man og mørk magi” and “that man and mystery” are pronounced almost identically. The more I listen to the lyrics, the more amazed I am. I could list a hundred similar examples from the Danish translation, but I think the example above is significant enough. 🙂

Janne’s comments on Which Witch

“Eternally” from the musical “Which Witch” is based upon an old poem. It was very faithfully translated into Norwegian in 1994, when a Norwegian version of WW was performed in Oslo (concerts only). The translations were either brilliant, as “Eternally” and quite a few others, or rather bad. Still, the memories of the concert are very dear to me, and some of the lyrics are my favourites. Note how similar many of the words are! And amazingly enough, all the sentences mean exactly the same.

English lyrics I sew your shadow with my hair I bind your shadow unto me By day or night thou shall remain Before the triple godess three I bind your shadow unto me, Maiden, Mother, Hecate Dawn and noon and nightblack sea Free you are, but bound to me And you are mine eternally
	Norwegian lyrics Jeg syr din skygge med mitt hår Jeg binder skyggen din til min Ved dag og natt skal du forbli Framfor de tre gudinners fot Jeg syr din skygge inntil min, jomfru, mor, Hekate Morgen, dag og natt forblir – Vi sammen, du er fri Og du er min til evig tid
		Literal translation I sew your shadow with my hair I bind your shadow to mine By day and night you shall remain Before the foot of the three godesses I sew your shadow unto me, Maiden, Mother, Hecate Morning, day and night we remain Together, you are free Still, you are mine eternally

Les Misérables – back to French

Karen writes: The Translation of “On My Own” from Les Miserables is awesome! Although it doesn’t use the same images, it gives new ones (like a shadow) and is just as beautiful as the original!

English lyrics I love him But every day I’m learning All my life I’ve only been pretending Without me his world will go on turning A world that’s full of happiness That I have never known!
	French lyrics Oui, je l’aime Mais je suis seule au monde Toute ma vie J’ai attendu une ombre Mon histoire est une coquille vide Un rêve plein de douceur Dont je n’ai jamais eu ma part
		Literal translation Yes, I love him But I’m alone in the world All my life I’ve waited for a shadow My life is an empty shell A dream full of tenderness In which I never had a part

Elisabeth’s Comments

As a trained translator, I’m very sensitive to this subject. A bad lyric can put me off even though I might like the music (in which case I would rather listen to the music in a language I don’t understand to avoid being distracted), as much as a great lyric can heighten the quality of a piece tremendously. I have seen a musical called “Finix” about nazi tendencies at a high school, and I enjoyed it a lot because of the very good libretto, although the music didn’t do anything for me.

Les Misérables

Though the English translation of the original French has been praised, the German version by Heinz Rudolf Kunze (who also translated “Miss Saigon”, “Rent” and “Joseph”) are generally thought of as “failed” at a high level. I know myself of two thesis (!!!) that covered this subject and came to the same conclusion. Kunze took a lot of freedom in creating the translation, but unfortunately often changed the meaning so much that the character would be seen by the audience in a different light than by listening to the English words (I think one has to mention that his version is based on the English translation!)

English lyrics Look down, look down Don’t look them in the eye Look down, look down, You’re here until you die!
	German lyrics Schaut her! Schaut her! Schaut keinem ins Gesicht Schaut her! Schaut her! Dies überlebst du nicht
		Literal translation Look here! Look here! Don’t look anybody in the face! Look here! Look here! You won’t survive this!

First of all the German version addresses the audience directly to look at the prisoners and see what their fate is, while the English version refers to the guards they are not supposed to look in the face. Also the last sentence doesn’t seem to fit.

Second example

English lyrics I am the master of hundreds of workers They all look to me Can I abandon them? How would they live If I am not free?
	German lyrics Ich bin der Herr über viele Familien Sie schau’n zu mir auf. Wie sollt’ es weitergeh’n Wenn ich mich stellte Und gäb alles auf
		Literal translation I am the master of many families They look up to me How is this supposed to continue If I turn myself in And gave up everything

It seems that Valjean is more egotistical in the German version, because his biggest concern is “giving up” the power he has.

Sweeney Todd

Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics are probably the hardest to translate – they are always very wordy, witty and to the point, and often the intricate score doesn’t give the translator a lot of leeway with the words. Most of the German versions of Sondheim musicals are by Michael Kunze, Germany’s translator number one. I have seen a few on stage, but unfortunately there aren’t a lot of German Sondheim musicals available in the store. The only example I do have is from Sweeney Todd, which is NOT by Kunze, but by Wilfried Steiner, and it is just brillant!

Just look what he made of the scene, when pie shop owner Mrs.Lovett tells Sweeney Todd of her „neat solution“ to the problem of what to do with the man Sweeney just killed: he would make an excellent filling for a pie – and anyway, it could be the start of a great business….she is philosophizing which “clients” would be best for the purpose.

Excerpt from “A Little Priest”

English lyrics TODD: Awful lot of fat. MRS. LOVETT: Only where it sat. TODD: Haven’t you got poet Or something like that? MRS. LOVETT: No, you see the trouble with poet Is, how do you know it’s Deceased? Try the priest……. MRS. LOVETT: Lawyer’s rather nice. TODD: If it’s for a price. MRS. LOVETT: Order something else, though, to follow, Since no one should swallow it twice. TODD: Anything that’s lean. MRS. LOVETT: Well, then, if you’re British and loyal, You might enjoy Royal Marine. TODD: Anyway, it’s clean.
	German lyrics TODD: Wirkt ein wenig fad. MRS.LOVETT: Kommt vom Zölibat. TODD: Ich hätt gern was Scharfes, vielleicht Literat? MRS.LOVETT: Nein fast allen fehlt das Format, und die Schärfe allein macht nicht satt Nehmt Prälat……. MRS.LOVETT: Hier wär ein Notar TODD: Zahlbar nur in Bar MRS.LOVETT: Der ist ideal, weil er kahl war, man findet im Mahl gar kein Haar TODD: Etwas das nicht fett. MRS.LOVETT: Beinah patriotisch erschiene Mir dann ein Marine-Kadett. TODD: Ist mir zu kokett.
		Literal translation (It is very hard because most of the words have a double meaning) TODD: Tastes a little boring. MRS.LOVETT: That’s because of the celibacy. TODD: I’d like to try something savory, maybe a writer? MRS.LOVETT: No, they lack in style, and the piquancy alone does not fill the stomach Take prelate……. MRS.LOVETT: Here we have a notary! TODD: For him we only take cash! MRS.LOVETT: He is ideal, because he is bald, and no hair is found in the meal (fig. for „fly in the ointment“) TODD: Something that’s not fat. MRS.LOVETT: Almost patriotic it would seem to take a marine cadet. TODD: That’s too racy!

You can see that the translator has not tried to stay close to the original lyric, but to render the wit of the rather macabre situation.

Lora on Notre Dame de Paris

French and Italian are similar languages. That’s why the Italian translation of Notre Dame de Paris was so successful. Here is a verse of the original French lyrics:

French lyrics C’est une histoire qui a pour lieu Paris la belle en l’an de Dieu Mil-quatre-cent-quatre-vingt-deux Histoire d’amour et de désir Nous les artistes anonymes De la sculpture ou de la rime Tenterons de vous la transcrire Pour les siècles à venir
	Literal translation This is a story that takes place In fair Paris in the year of our Lord 1482 Story of love and desire We the artists without a name Of sculpture and of rhyme Will try to rewrite it For the centuries to come

Italian lyrics E una storia che ha per luogo Parigi nell’ anno del Signore Mille quattre cento otanta due Storia d’ amore e di passione E noi gli artisti senza nome Della scultura e della rima La faremo rivivere Da oggi all’avvenire
	Literal translation This is a story that takes place In Paris in the year of our Lord 1482 A story of love and passion And we the artists without a name Of sculpture and of rhyme We’ll make it (the story) live For those(ages) who are to come

Pretty close, don’t you think?

StageRose had this to say:

First of all, I love this idea! I am HUGE fan of languages and I am fascinated by translations. My suggestion, though it technically isn’t a show as of yet, but if they did mount it in France it would be…er…The Lion King. I can’t listen to the French versions of those songs without have shivers. Example:

Circle of Life

English lyrics From the day we arrive on the planet And blinking, step into the sun There’s more to see than can ever be seen More to do than can ever be done There’s far too much to take in here More to find than can ever be found But the sun rolling high Through the sapphire sky Keeps great and small on the endless round
	French lyrics Au matin de ta vie sur la planète, Ebloui par le dieu Soleil, A l’infini, tu t’éveilles aux merveilles De la Terre qui t’attend et t’appelle. Tu auras tant de choses à voir Pour franchir la frontière du savoir, Recueillir l’héritage Qui vient du fond des âges, Dans l’harmonie d’une chaîne d’amour!
		Literal translation From the morning of your life on the planet Dazzled by the god, Sun For eternity you awake to wonders Of the earth that awaits you and calls you You will have so many things to see To cross the frontier of knowledge To regather the heritage That comes from the depths of the ages In harmony of a chain of love!

Not only does it give all the same information of the original, but it does it in beautiful imagery and sounds great when sung.

An example of bad translation is the Notre Dame de Paris lyrics. Not all of them, mind you, but a lot of them are laughably awkward. Example:

Tu vas me détruire

French lyrics Cet océan de passion Qui déferle dans mes veines Qui cause ma déraison Ma déroute, ma déveine Doucement j’y plongerai Sans qu’une main me retienne Lentement je m’y noierai Sans qu’un remords ne me vienne Tu vas me détruire Tu vas me détruire Et je vais te maudire jusqu’à la fin de ma vie
	Literal translation This ocean of passion That courses in my veins That causes my insanity My route, my bad luck Softly I will dive in Without a hand to hold me back Slowly I will drown Without having remorse You will destroy me You will destroy me And I will curse you Until the end of my life
		English lyrics I feel a wave of passion Move through my heart with such pain I have no time to reason So I just let passion reign I let go so easily On a night as warm as sin Midnight swimmer, midnight sea I will not come back again Your love will kill me Your love will kill me And you will bear my curse As long as my life will be

The main problem with this translation is it sounds so awkward when sung. The sentiment is mostly there, but the words don’t fit. And I guarantee if you listen to this particular song, you will have the words ‘your love will kill me, your love will kill me’ circling through your brain for the rest of the day.

A few thoughts from Edddy:

Hey, I tend to end up on your page every once in a while and I stumbled over your thoughts on translations. The best German translations I’ve come across were Michael Kunze’s Sunset Boulevard and Wolfgang Adenberg’s Titanic, both of which actually seem superior to the original in some places. Rock bottom would have to be Anja Hauptmann trying to find words for Jesus Christ Superstar, but Heinz Rudolf Kunze’s version of Rent is very close. Melitta Edith (aka Susanne Dengler) wrote bad lyrics for Jekyll & Hyde, but not really worse than the original lyrics. Oh, and the short extracts I read from the German lyrics for Falsettos (I’m happy that I don’t remember the translator’s name) suggest that this might actually be the nadir.

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