Boris Ten, A Translator for Opera Performances (Exemplified by His Rendering into Ukrainian the Libretto for Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera)

Author

Strikha Maksym

a Doctor of Physics and Mathematics, a professor at the Physical Electronics Department of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University

Boris Ten, A Translator for Opera Performances (Exemplified by His Rendering into Ukrainian the Libretto for Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera)

Abstract

The article considers the works of the outstanding Ukrainian translator Mykola Khomychevskyi (known by his pen name Borys Ten (1897–1983)) in the field of equirhythmic reproduction of librettos of classical and modern operas for performance from the stage. Carried out is a detailed analysis of Ten’s translation of Antonio Somma’s libretto for Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Un ballo in maschera (A Masquerade Ball) performed in 1947 and staged in 1956 at the Kyiv Opera and Ballet Theatre by the prominent Ukrainian conductor Veniamin Tolba. It is shown that performing the opera rendered in this translation for many decades has ensured the audience’s constant interest in this spectacle as a bright musical drama, which provides an organic synthesis of music and words.

Keywords

opera, musical drama, libretto, translation, language of performance.

References

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