Editing Opera (section)

==Language and translation issues==
Since the days of Handel and Mozart, many composers have favored Italian as the language for the libretto of their operas. From the Bel Canto era to Verdi, composers would sometimes supervise versions of their operas in both Italian and French. Because of this, operas such as ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]'' or ''[[Don Carlos]]'' are today deemed canonical in both their French and Italian versions.<ref>de Acha, Rafael. [http://seenandheard-international.com/2013/09/don-carlos-in-french/ "Don Carlo or Don Carlos? In Italian or in French?"] (Seen and Heard International, 24 September 2013). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021060937/http://seenandheard-international.com/2013/09/don-carlos-in-french/ |date=21 October 2017 }}.</ref>

Until the mid-1950s, it was acceptable to produce operas in translations even if these had not been authorized by the composer or the original librettists. For example, opera houses in Italy routinely staged Wagner in Italian.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/whose-language-is-opera-the-audiences-or-the-composers/news-story/b8b5ea7dfc230f1eda72a2eb329d1daa |url-access=subscription |title=Whose language is opera: the audience's or the composer's? |author=Lyndon Terracini |date=11 April 2011 |work=[[The Australian]] |access-date=13 April 2018 |author-link=Lyndon Terracini |archive-date=31 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171231023641/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/whose-language-is-opera-the-audiences-or-the-composers/news-story/b8b5ea7dfc230f1eda72a2eb329d1daa |url-status=live }}</ref> After World War II, opera scholarship improved, artists refocused on the original versions, and translations fell out of favor. Knowledge of European languages, especially Italian, French, and German, is today an important part of the training for professional singers. "The biggest chunk of operatic training is in linguistics and musicianship", explains mezzo-soprano [[Dolora Zajick]]. "[I have to understand] not only what I'm singing, but what everyone else is singing. I sing Italian, Czech, Russian, French, German, English."<ref>[https://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/03/19/291410969/dolora-zajick-singing-is-connected-to-the-body "For Opera Powerhouse Dolora Zajick, 'Singing Is Connected To The Body{{'"}}] (Fresh Air, NPR, 19 March 2014). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426184336/http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2014/03/19/291410969/dolora-zajick-singing-is-connected-to-the-body |date=26 April 2015 }}.</ref>

In the 1980s, supertitles (sometimes called [[surtitles]]) began to appear. Although supertitles were first almost universally condemned as a distraction,<ref>[[Anthony Tommasini|Tommasini, Anthony]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06tomm.html "So That's What the Fat Lady Sang"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318070654/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06tomm.html |date=18 March 2017 }} (''The New York Times'', 6 July 2008)</ref> today many opera houses provide either supertitles, generally projected above the theatre's [[proscenium]] arch, or individual seat screens where spectators can choose from more than one language. TV broadcasts typically include subtitles even if intended for an audience who knows the language well (for example, a [[RAI]] broadcast of an Italian opera). These subtitles target not only the hard of hearing but the audience generally, since a sung discourse is much harder to understand than a spoken one—even in the ears of native speakers. Subtitles in one or more languages have become standard in opera broadcasts, simulcasts, and DVD editions.

Today, operas are only rarely performed in translation. Exceptions include the [[English National Opera]], the [[Opera Theatre of Saint Louis]], [[Opera Theater of Pittsburgh]], and Opera South East,<ref>[http://www.operasoutheast.org.uk/all-past-productions.html "Opera South East's past productions back to 1980... OSE has always sung its operatic productions in English, fully staged and with orchestra (the acclaimed Sussex Concert Orchestra)."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318160249/http://www.operasoutheast.org.uk/all-past-productions.html |date=18 March 2017 }} (Opera South East website's history of ProAm past productions)</ref> which favor English translations.<ref>[[Anthony Tommasini|Tommasini, Anthony]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/25/arts/music-opera-in-translation-refuses-to-give-up-the-ghost.html "Opera in Translation Refuses to Give Up the Ghost"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707134255/http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/25/arts/music-opera-in-translation-refuses-to-give-up-the-ghost.html |date=7 July 2017 }} (''The New York Times'', 25 May 2001)</ref> Another exception are opera productions intended for a young audience, such as Humperdinck's ''[[Hansel and Gretel (opera)|Hansel and Gretel]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/humperdinck-hansel-and-gretel-mw0001866247 |title=Humperdinck's ''Hansel & Gretel'': A Review |first=Stephen |last=Eddins |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=3 June 2014 |archive-date=17 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417013000/http://www.allmusic.com/album/humperdinck-hansel-and-gretel-mw0001866247 |url-status=live }}</ref> and some productions of Mozart's ''[[The Magic Flute]]''.<ref>[[Anthony Tommasini|Tommasini, Anthony]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/04/arts/music/04magi.html "A Mini-''Magic Flute''? Mozart Would Approve"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606202004/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/04/arts/music/04magi.html |date=6 June 2014 }} (''[[The New York Times]]'', 4 July 2005)</ref>