Constraints on Opera Surtitling: Hindrance or Help?

Abstract

The article addresses the problem of constraints typical of opera surtitling, an audiovisual translation modality that seems rather neglected as far as the academic discourse is concerned. Although the term constraint may appear to have mainly negative connotations, it seems that the idea of a constraint may often prove helpful, since it may facilitate the process of translation by restricting the scope of possibilities and hence justify the chosen techniques. The article is meant to propose a classification of potential constraints on the surtitling process, including the constraint of a live performance, music, audience design or relevance, and the resulting implications for the whole process. It is argued that the awareness of the constraints operating in the process of drafting surtitles helps to understand the rationale behind this particular translation activity and consequently helps to draft good quality surtitles which serve their original purpose.

Accessible scenic arts and Virtual Reality: A pilot study with aged people about user preferences when reading subtitles in immersive environments

“…In terms of research, some the of earliest studies provided a descriptive analysis of the surtitling process mainly based on personal experiences (Bonwit 1998;Burton 2001Burton , 2009Burton & Holden 2005;Dewolfe 2001;Low 2002). Also, from a libretto translation perspective considering the translation of lyrics in the opera genre (Desblache 2007(Desblache , 2017a(Desblache , 2017bGorlée 2005;Kaindl 1997;Low 2017), from a theatrical translation perspective distinguishing between the translation of the dramatic text and the translation for the stage performance (Carlson 2006;Espasa 2000;Ezpeleta 2007;Snell-Hornby 2007), and from a technical and practice perspective considering how the audience receives the surtitled product (Bartoll 2004(Bartoll , 2008Griesel 2005Griesel , 2009Mateo 2001Mateo , 2002Mateo , 2007aMateo , 2007bRedzioch-Korkuz 2018;Vervecken 2012;Virkkunen 2004). An extended and detailed bibliography about the different modalities of opera translation within the AVT field is provided by Matamala & Orero (2008).…”