Chapter published in:
Opera in Translation: Unity and diversityEdited by Adriana Şerban and Kelly Kar Yue Chan
[Benjamins Translation Library 153] 2020
► pp. 219–242
The intertwined nature of music, language and culture in Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
Gyöngyvér Bozsik | Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Hungary
Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle is characterized by a unique approach to the
relationship between language and music: the latter endeavours to follow the natural flow of the Hungarian language,
making the interpretation of its multi-layered meaning easier for the Hungarian audience but nearly incomprehensible
for speakers of other languages. The nature of storytelling also follows ancient Hungarian traditions, rendering the
translator’s task even more challenging.The paper investigates a number of contextual and musical aspects of opera translation through a
case study of five English translations of Bartók’s classic. It discusses the multiple layers where music, language
and culture are intertwined in this specific genre, and calls attention to often neglected musical and linguistic
aspects of opera translation.
Keywords: opera, translation, Bartók,
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
, singability, linguistic and cultural embeddedness
Published online: 29 October 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.153.11boz
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.153.11boz
References
References
Primary sources
Bartók, Béla, and Béla Balázs
Bartók, Péter
2008 Bluebeard’s Castle. English translation. http://www.bartokrecords.com/bluebeards-castle/, last accessed 30 June 2016.
Herman, Mark and Ronnie Apter
Secondary sources
Apter, Ronnie, and Mark Herman
Balassa, István, and Gyula Ortutay
1979 Hungarian Ethnography and Folklore, http://mek.oszk.hu/02700/02790/html/, last accessed 23 March 2020.
Balogh, István et al.
1982 Magyar Néprajzi Lexikon. [Lexicon of Hungarian Ethnography] Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, http://mek.niif.hu/02100/02115/html/, last accessed 21 March 2020.
Bassnett, Susan
Fábri, Andrea
Honti, Rita
Irodalmi Internet Napló
A kékszakállú herceg vára [Duke Bluebeard’s Castle], http://inaplo.hu/gy/cim/Bartok_Bela-A_kekszakallu_herceg_vara/Akekszakalluhercegvara.html, last accessed 2 April 2020.
Józsa, Éva
Kárpáti, János
1993 Symmetries of Music. An Introduction to Semantics of Music. Kecskemét: Kodály Institute, http://www.mi.sanu.ac.rs/vismath/lends/ch1.htm, last accessed 23 March 2020.
Low, Peter
Lukin, László, and Gábor Ugrin
Penrod, Lynn
Pintér, Csilla
Ur, Máté
2010 Vérszegény vérengzés [Anaemic Ferocity]. http://www.revizoronline.com/article.php?id=2689, last accessed 21 March 2020.