The Ring of the Nibelung: Amazon.ca: Richard Wagner, Andrew Porter: Books

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5 Reviews

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4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars This is a lot better than subtitles, July 31 2010

By

bernie "webviator" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Ring of the Nibelung (Paperback)

I have the Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle) and enjoy watching it periodically. However the after covering the book a couple of times I can enjoy the film without always stopping to read subtitles. I understand some German but am still translating instead of thinking. Now however I am beginning to enjoy the reading its self. The parallel language columns make it easier to follow. The book has a superb 20-page introduction into the plusses and minuses of translation and still matching the music. After the introduction, it gets right down to business.

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4.0 out of 5 stars I probably wouldn't use while listening along., Nov 9 2001

By

FoFW - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ring of the Nibelung (Paperback)

I bought this translation after I bought Wolfgang Sawallisch's excellent live Ring on EMI-- which, obviously, did not include a libretto. I did not realize until I read the introduction that Andrew Porter's translation was for an English version of The Ring staged some years back. I would only want to hear The Ring in the original German, but I must say Porter does a fabulous job in capturing both the sense and the rhythms of Wagner's language. He is forced to give up some of the alliterative quality in order to be more literal, but what makes this book so intriguing is that one can follow along with the music and practically hear the English text in each note, syllable by syllable. That's because Porter did the impossible by pretty much matching the meaning of each word (and each part of a word) with the intended note, setting it apart from those clumsy German translations of Mozart's Da Ponte operas, and so forth. However, I did feel like I was missing out on some of Wagner's meaning, and so I sought out a more literal (and less poetic) translation. I found that in Barry Millington's text-- in hardcover, and therefore more expensive, but with excellent notes and a few essays (as well as photos of older productions). So, unless one wants to know how Wagner might sound in English (and the Chandos cycle on CD does just that), I suggest finding another translation for listening purposes.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A translation for singing, April 9 2000

By

Derrick Everett - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ring of the Nibelung (Paperback)

Andrew Porter's English translation of the 'Ring' was written to be sung. It has been used in performances of the 'Ring' cycle at English National Opera and elsewhere. When reading this translation, and perhaps using it to follow a recording or broadcast of any of these operas in the original German, you should keep in mind that it is not a *literal* translation. Porter has taken some liberties with the meaning of the original text, in order to match the rhythms of his English as closely as possible to those of Wagner's archaic German. The translator has also attempted to capture some of the alliteration that is characteristic of Wagner's *stabreim*.

It is clear that Andrew Porter understands the text of the 'Ring' well enough that he was able to make this "poetic" translation without distorting the meaning of the original text. For a literal, accurate translation, the only one currently available is by Stewart Spencer (Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung: The full German text with a new translation and commentaries, Thames and Hudson, 1993). You might also be able to find in a library or for sale used, the William Mann translation (Centurion Press Ltd, 1964).

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great libretto for the ring operas
If you collect audio "Ring" CDs, throw out all the libretti that may have come with your CDs and buy porter's book! Read more

Published on April 8 2000

2.0 out of 5 stars Bad Translation
Stay away from this translation - it's the pits! The vocabulary is very contemporary and there is no lyricism. The more poetic passages come off as...florid, overheated. Read more

Published on Feb 3 2000 by Jodie