Translating an Operatic Libretto: The Status and Role of an Interpreter. Cognitive Linguistics in the Interpretation and Translation of Stage Directions – a Case Study

Abstract

The paper addresses the question of the translation of an operatic libretto and examines the status and role of a libretto’s interpreter in the creative process of opera production. The author also mentions the role of a dramaturge in the opera theatre and indicates certain similarities between the functions of the dramaturge and that of the interpreter. The paper refers to cognitive linguistics as a useful method in the examination of a translated text. The author, inspired by works of the Polish linguist and interpreter Elżbieta Tabakowska, draws on the key term present in cognitive linguistics (imagery) and its aspects, such as prominence (trajector/ landmark), elaboration (granularity/ resolution), and focusing (foreground/ background), applying them to a short analysis of the stage directions from the libretto of Giacomo Puccini’s one-act opera Suor Angelica.