tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604507801018001426.post1634364091064831586..comments2023-02-20T09:30:00.605+02:00Comments on One Night in Theatre: On Musical Translations, Their Quality and the Original TextsLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04075708067551174017noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604507801018001426.post-7519379557265172752012-03-04T13:47:12.136+02:002012-03-04T13:47:12.136+02:00Elwingda: Thank you for your interesting comment! ...Elwingda: Thank you for your interesting comment! I agree about the tourism matter, though luckily the themes are at least inside the Western culture so general that most people know what's going on in most musicals. In Finland it's mostly Finns who go to theatre and we don't have such musical tourism as in London, so here the creators can concentrate on Finns as their target audience.<br /><br />Jokes are probably the most difficult ones to translate, and there usually isn't a way to translate them word-for-word accurately, so you must indeed translate the <i>idea</i> of the joke - or any aspect of the original text. I don't think a translation can ever be *perfect* in the sense of matching the original text completely accurately, but it can, for example, kind of make up the lack of some aspect by adding or highlighting some other aspect. It's always about compromises, what to keep and what to leave out or change or add when you can't have it all.<br /><br />I do think that for example the German translations of Frank Wildhorn's musicals are both stylistically and content-wise better than the clichéd and quite lame English texts, and personally I also like Michael Kunze's German translation of Sunset Boulevard better than the original English text, but of course it's often a matter of taste, too.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04075708067551174017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604507801018001426.post-43256066338153578402012-02-26T23:12:45.137+02:002012-02-26T23:12:45.137+02:00A very interesting blog post. Thank you for this :...A very interesting blog post. Thank you for this :) <br /><br />I absolutely agree with you on the point about not completely understanding a musical or play in English due to cultural connotations and culture-specific humour. However, I'll also have to point out that considering the amount of money tourists generate by seeing shows in the West End and Broadway, in order for a musical to be successful and run for several years, it is essential that it's not too culture-specific. A great score may do the trick because people can relate to the musical even if they don't understand very much of the dialogue (probably one of the reasons why musicals often run for longer than plays) but still.<br /><br />I think it's very difficult to say whether a translation is 'better' than the original or vice versa. I personally hold the pessimistic view that a perfect translation does not exist because I find something is always lost. If it's not on the meaning then it is in the pronunciation or the sound of words. <br /><br />What I tend to find interesting is the extent to which musicals for example take in account differences in cultural background to make the audience in the target language identify with the musical in the same way that the original audience would have. Take for example the Finnish production of 'Legally Blonde the musical'. The "Gay or European" line in that had been changed to "Gay or Swedish" which, as a translation is obviously rather inaccurate but evoked a roaring reaction from the Finnish audience because it was spot on on the cultural aspect. <br /><br />For me the best translations are those that complete the original text by bringing out meanings which may not have been as explicit in the original but on a closer look, they are there. They make you understand the whole show a little bit better :)Elwingdahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04489282946238037060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604507801018001426.post-25393629544176373662012-02-18T23:51:46.340+02:002012-02-18T23:51:46.340+02:00The book itself is mostly a bit outdated (still li...The book itself is mostly a bit outdated (still living the time of "story -> song interrupting the story -> story" musicals), but Juice's part was fun. He wrote that Sondheim's lyrics were so full of meanings that he would have needed a new role for a bass to sing footnotes from the edge of the stage. :P I'd love to see and hear Sweeney Todd, it's so nicely twisted.<br /><br />I hope for a new Les Mis translation, too, and it appears we're not the only ones. I read bits of the Finnish text in ÅST until I had to stop because of my facepalm-eyeroll-giggle reactions, and later I watched the concert DVD with Finnish subtitles that were the same translation used on stage.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04075708067551174017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604507801018001426.post-41002914274073495872012-02-18T23:32:41.768+02:002012-02-18T23:32:41.768+02:00Ooh, I think I should try to find that book from s...Ooh, I think I should try to find that book from somewhere... <br />Also, they should put up a production of Sweeney Todd somewhere in Finland - if for nothing else, for the translation, I'm rather curious about it! :D<br /><br />Indeed! And also agreeing with you about Jukka Virtanen. It sometimes seems that he writes two painfully clichéd or just plain painful lines by every good line in his translations... :P If there ever is a new Finnish production of Les Mis, let them do a new translation.Siiri Liitiähttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04693988891671030845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604507801018001426.post-88912959816950408702012-02-18T23:06:25.726+02:002012-02-18T23:06:25.726+02:00Thanks for your comment! :)
I haven't heard R...Thanks for your comment! :)<br /><br />I haven't heard RENT, but I agree about A Little Night Music. Well, Juice was and is a legend, and for a good reason. I once read an article in which Juice comments on translating Sweeney Todd, and he had quite good points about the whole business. I think the book was "Käännetyt illuusiot: näytelmäkääntäminen suomalaisessa teatterissa". Another good Sondheim translation was Company, of which I recently heard bits in a musical concert, but I don't know who has done the translation. And My Fair Lady's lyrics by Reino Helismaa are apparently very good.<br /><br />Tanz der Vampire's good translation is also nice in that sense that it shows that a good translation doesn't require a legendary lyricist like Juice or Jukka Virtanen (whose translations, to be honest, aren't very good), but a normal though educated person can create something excellent, too.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04075708067551174017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6604507801018001426.post-60414610940910403882012-02-18T21:00:45.519+02:002012-02-18T21:00:45.519+02:00First of all, thanks so much for mentioning my blo...First of all, thanks so much for mentioning my blog! Can't wait for your non-replica rant! :D<br /><br />This is all very true, couldn't agree more. <br /><br />Too often Finnish translations range from awful to horrible... Tanz der Vampire, A Little Night Music and RENT (well, the 2011 Lahti version, I don't know if there are other translations) are the only really good ones that come to mind!<br />And yeah, musical DVDs without subtitles during the songs are painfully annoying! I don't demand the translations to have rhymes there or anything, but something could be nice...Siiri Liitiähttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04693988891671030845noreply@blogger.com