Cover not available

In:Opera in Translation: Unity and diversity
Edited by Adriana Şerban and Kelly Kar Yue Chan
[Benjamins Translation Library 153] 2020
► pp. 175–194

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload Book PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload Book EPUB
authorization required

“Ordne die Reih’n”

The translation of the Mozart-Da Ponte operas in the Third Reich

 | University of Vienna, Austria
Published online: 29 October 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.153.09kai
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the translation politics in the field of opera in the Third Reich with a special focus on the three Mozart-Da Ponte operas. Mozart was considered as a central part of the German culture. His collaboration with the Jewish librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte and the fact that the most popular German translation at the time came from the Jewish conductor Hermann Levi forced the Nazi authorities to create a new translation. In the first section of the article I will analyse the various front lines in this translation war, drawing on Bourdieu’s field theory. The second part of this paper investigates the strategies adopted by a committee which Goebbels established in order to create a new translation of the Mozart operas. The last section of the article is then dedicated to Georg Schünemann, the translator who was nominated by the committee, and his translatorial habitus.
Article outline
  • Overture
  • Act 1: The diversity of Mozart translations before 1930
  • Act 2: Each against all: Translation as war
  • Act 3: Enforced conformity of the translation
  • Finale: Wicked Nazi or harmless legacy of the Third Reich?
  • Notes
  • References
References (78)
References
Primary sources
Bretzner, Christoph Friedrich. 1794. Weibertreue oder Die Maedchen sind von Flandern. Ein komisches Singspiel in zwey Akten, mit Musik von Mozart. Leipzig: Friedrich Gotthold Jacobäer.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Devrient, Eduard. 1860. So machen’s Alle: komische Oper in zwei Aufzügen. Karlsruhe: Macklot.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fuhrmann, Heinz. 1940. “ˈFigaros Hochzeitˈ neuübersetzt” [‘Nozze die Figaro’ in a New Translation]. Westdeutscher Beobachter Feb. 14 1940: n.p.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heifer, Kurt. 1939. “Zur Mozart-Uebersetzung. Schünemanns ‘Don Giovanni’-Bearbeitung” [About the Translation of Mozart: The Adaptation of ‘Don Giovanni’ by Schünemann]. Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung Dec. 8. 1939: n.p.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Knigge, Friedrich Freiherr von. 1791. Gesänge aus dem Singspiele Figaro’s Heyrath in vier Aufzügen aus dem Italienischen übersetzt. Hamburg: Michaelsen.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Laux, Karl. 1940. “‘Cosi fan tutte’ in neuer Bearbeitung. In der Dresdner Staatsoper” [ˈCosi fan tutte in a New Adaptation at the Dresden State Opera]. Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung January. 3. 1940: n.p.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levi, Hermann. 1896. Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Italienischer Originaltext und deutsche Übersetzung. München: A. Bruckmann’s Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1898. Così fan tutte. So machen’s Alle. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1899. Die Hochzeit des Figaro. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus. 2013. Così fan tutte. Full Score. Trans. by Georg Schünemann. New York: Dover Publications.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schröder, Friedrich Ludwig. 1791. Dom Juan oder Der Steinerne Gast. Eine Oper in vier Aufzügen von W. A. Mozart. In einem neuem, vermehrtem, und, nach der Schroeterischen Bearbeitung des Textes, verbessertem Clavierauszuge von C. G. Neefe. Bonn: Simrock.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schünemann, Georg. 1939. Die Hochzeit des Figaro. Leipzig: C. F. Peters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1940a. Don Giovanni. Leipzig: C. F. Peters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1940b. Così fan tutte. Leipzig: C. F. Peters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Treitschke, Georg Friedrich. 1805. Maedchentreue. Eine Oper in zwey Aufzügen für die k.k. Hoftheater. Vienna: Degen.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vulpius, Christian August. 1794. Die Hochzeit des Figaro. Leipzig: s.n.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Secondary sources
Abert, Hermann. 2007. W. A. Mozart. Trans. by Stewart Spencer, ed. by Cliff Eisen. Bury St. Edmunds: St. Edmundsbury Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Anheisser, Siegfried. 1926. “Mozart-Uebersetzungen” [Translations of Mozart]. Kölnische Zeitung, Beilage 645, 31 August.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1929. “Der Einklang von Ton und Wort. Ein Beitrag zur Frage der Opernübersetzung” [The Harmony of Sound and Word. A Contribution to the Question of Opera Translation]. Jahrbuch des Westdeutschen Rundfunks: 114–118.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1930. “Vorwort” [Preface]. In Il Re Pastore (Der Hirt als König), V–IX. Köln: Verlag des Westdeutschen Rundfunks.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1931. “Die Frage der Figaro-Übersetzung” [The Question of the Translation of Figaro]. Die Musik 24: 30–35.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1934. “Der deutschen Bühne den deutschen Mozart” [The German Mozart for the German Stage] Sonderdruck aus dem Völkischen Beobachter vom 2. November 1934: 3–8.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1935. “Vorwort” [Preface]. In Don Giovanni oder Der bestrafte Wüstling. Berlin: Deutscher Musikverlag der NS-Kulturgemeinde.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1938. Für den deutschen Mozart. Das Ringen um gültige deutsche Sprachform der italienischen Opern Mozarts. Ein Vermächtnis für das deutsche Volk. [The Struggle for the valid German Form of Mozart’s Italian Operas. A Legacy for the German People]. Emsdetten: Heinrich & J. Lechte.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Anon. 1936. “Wie lange noch Mozart à la Levi?” [For how much longer Mozart á la Levi?]. Die Musik 4: 279.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1937. “Gleichgeschalteter Mozart” [Conformity of Mozart] Völkischer Beobachter 13 February: 6.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1941. “Huldigung für Mozart. Dr. Goebbels sprach zur Mozart-Festwoche in Wien.” [Homage to Mozart. Dr Goebbels spoke on the occasion of the Mozart Festival in Vienna] Völkischer Beobachter 6 December: 4.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bitter, Christof. 1961. Wandlungen in den Inszenierungsformen des ‘Don Giovanni’ von 1787 bis 1928. Zur Problematik des musikalischen Theaters in Deutschland [Changes in the Productions of ‘Don Giovanni’ from 1787 to 1928]. Regensburg: Gustav Bosse.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blech, Volker. 2013. “Komische Oper spielt Mozarts Così in Nazi-Übersetzung” [The Komische Oper plays Mozart’s Cosí in a Nazi Translation]. Berliner Morgenpost 7 November 2013, [URL], last accessed 23 March 2020.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1982. Leçon sur la leçon [Lesson on the Lesson]. Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1984. Raisons pratiques. Sur la théorie de l’action [Practical Reason. On the Theory of Action]. Paris: Éditions du Seuil.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brandstetter, Gabriele. 1982. “‘So machen’s alle’: Die frühen Übersetzungen von Da Pontes und Mozarts ‘Cosi fan tutte’ für deutsche Bühnen” [‘Women are all like that’: The Early Translations of Da Ponte’s and Mozart’s ‘Cosi fan tutte’ for the German Stage]. Die Musikforschung 35 (1): 27–44.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Brug, Manuel. 2013. “Hier muss Mozart zum Restaurator” [Here Mozart Must Be Brought to the Restorer]. Die Welt 5 November, [URL], last accessed 23 March 2020.
Brust, Fritz. 1936. “Volksoper im Theater des Westens: ‘Figaros Hochzeit’.” Allgemeine Musikzeitung 13 March: 170.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Creuzburg, Heinrich. 1963. “Opernübersetzung als dramaturgisches Problem” [Opera Translation as Dramatical Problem]. In Theater im Gespräch. Ein Forum der Dramaturgie, 584–595. Munich and Vienna: Albert Langen Georg Müller Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dieckmann, Friedrich. 1993. Don Giovanni deutsch. Mozarts Don Giovanni in der deutschen Fassung von Neefe und Schmieder Frankfurt 1789 [Don Giovanni in German. Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’ in the German Version of Neefe and Schmieder Frankfurt 1789]. Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Elftmann, Heike. 2001. Georg Schünemann (1884–1945). Musiker, Pädagoge, Wissenschaftler und Organisator. Eine Situationsbeschreibung des Berliner Musiklebens [Musician, Pedagogue, Scholar and Organizer. An Inventory of the Musical Life in Berlin]. Sinzig: Studio.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fetthauer, Sophie. 2004. Musikverlage im „Dritten Reich“ und im Exil [Music Publishing in the Third Reich and in Exile]. Hamburg: von Bockel Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Freisauff, Rudolf v. 1887. Mozart’s Don Juan 1787–1887. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte dieser Oper [Mozart’s Don Juan 1787–1887. A Contribution to the History of this Opera]. Salzburg: Herm. Kerber.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gerigk, Herbert. 1936. “Das Musikleben der Gegenwart” [The Contemporary Musical Life]. Die Musik 28: 150–151.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Giannini, Juri. 2015. “Intertestualità e memoria culturale nelle traduzioni in lingua tedesca delle opere di Mozart/da Ponte” [Intertextuality and Cultural Memory in the German Translations of the Operas of Mozart/da Ponte]. Savoirs en Prisme 4, [URL], last accessed 23 March 2020.
Goebbels, Joseph. 2001. Die Tagebücher. März 1936-Februar 1937 [The Diaries. March 1938-February 1937], ed. by Elke Fröhlich. Munich: Saur.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grandaur, Franz. 1871. Mozarts Don Juan. Munich: Ackermann.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gschwend, Maria. 2006. Figaros Flehn und Flattern: Mozart in den Fängen seiner Übersetzer [Figaro’s Pleading and Flapping: Mozart in the Claws of his Translators]. Straelen: Straelener Manuskripte Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Haas, Frithjof. 1995. Zwischen Brahms und Wagner. Der Dirigent Hermann Levi [Between Brahms and Wagner: The Conductor Hermann Levi]. Zürich and Mainz: Atlantis Musikbuch Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Heer, Hannes. 2012. “‘Wir wollen doch die Juden aussen lassen.’ Antisemitische Besetzungspolitik bei den Bayreuther Festspielen 1876 bis 1945” [We Want to Exclude the Jews: Anti-Semitic Politics of Casting at the Festival in Bayreuth]. In Verstummte Stimmen. Die Bayreuther Festspiele und die ‘Juden’. 1876–1945, ed. by Hannes Heer, Jürgen Kesting, and Paul Schmidt, 218–317. Berlin: Metropol Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jung, Wilhelm. 1935. “Leipzig.” Die Musik 28: 70.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kaindl, Klaus. 2006. “Die Mozart/da Ponte-Opern im Spiegel ihrer Übersetzungen [The Operas von Mozart/da Ponte in the Mirror of Their Translations]. In Mozart. Experiment Aufklärung im Wien des ausgehenden 18. Jahrhunderts, ed. by Herbert Lachmayer, 737–742. Osterfildern: Hatje Cantz.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Keilberth, Thomas. 2007. Joseph Keilberth. Ein Dirigentenleben im XX. Jahrhundert [Joseph Keilberth. A Conductor’s Life in the 20th Century]. Vienna: Appollon.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Killer, Hermann. 1936. “Berlin.” Die Musik 28: 538.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Levi, Erik. 2006. “Mozart wird deutsch und da Ponte ‘arisiert’” [Mozart Becomes German and da Ponte Gets Arianized]. In Lorenzo da Ponte. Aufbruch in die neue Welt, ed. by Werner Hanak, 161–176. Osterfildern: Hatje Cantz.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2010. Mozart and the Nazis. How the Third Reich Abused a Cultural Icon. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Litterscheid, Richard. 1936. “Deutscher Mozart!” [German Mozart!]. Die Musik 4: 279–281.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Loeser, Martin. 2007. “‘…einem unvergleichlichen Meister des großdeutschen Raumes’. Mozartgedenken im Kriegsjahr 1941” [‘…an incomparable master of the Pan-German Confederation’: Commemoration of Mozart in the War Year 1941]. In Mozart im Blick. Inszenierungen, Bilder, Diskurse, ed. by Annette Kreutziger-Herr, 67–77. Vienna: Böhlau.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Melograni, Piero. 2007. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A Biography. Chicago: Chicago University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Molkenbur, Norbert. 2001. C. F. Peters 1800–2000. Ausgewählte Stationen einer Verlagsgeschichte [C. F. Peters 1800–2000. Selected Stations of a Publishing History]. Leipzig: Sachsenbuch.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oehl, Kurt-Wilhlem. 1952. Beiträge zur Geschichte der deutschen Mozart-Übersetzungen [Contributions to a History of the German Mozart Translations]. Unpublished dissertation, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Possart, Ernst. 1896. Ueber die Neueinstudierung und Neuscenierung des Mozartschen ‘Don Giovanni’ auf dem Kgl. Residenztheater zu München [About the Rehearsal and the New Production of Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’ at the Residenztheater in Munich]. Munich: A. Bruckmann’s Verlag.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1901. Erstrebtes und Erlebtes: Erinnerungen aus meiner Bühnentätigkeit [Quests and Adventures: Memories my Work for the Stage]. Berlin: Mittler.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Prieberg, Fred K. 1982. Musik im NS-Staat [Music under Nationalsocialism]. Frankfurt: Fischer Taschenbuch.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ramlow, Rudolf. 1936. “Die Rettung Mozarts vor jüdischen und schlechten Übersetzern seiner Oper” [The Rescue of Mozart from Jewish and Bad Translators]. Bausteine zur dem deutschen Nationaltheater October: 297–300.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Repertoire Archive of the Vienna State Opera. 2015, [URL], last accessed 20 November 2015.
Rochlitz, Friedrich. 1801. Don Juan. Oper in zwei Akten. Nach dem Italienischen des Abb. Da Ponte frei bearbeitet [Don Juan. Opera in Two Acts. Following the Italian of Abb. Da Ponte in a Free Adaptation]. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sch., H. 1940. “Das Problem der Opernübersetzung” [The Problem of Opera Translation]. National-Zeitung 17 January 1941.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schiedermair, Ludwig. 1935. “Mozart und die Gegenwart” [Mozart and Present Times]. Kölnische Zeitung 4 October, unpaginated.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schünemann, Georg. 1908. Zur Geschichte des Dirigierens [About the History of Conducting]. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1913. Zur Geschichte des Dirigierens [About the History of Conducting]. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1923. Das Lied der deutschen Kolonisten [The Song of the German Colonists]. Munich: Drei Masken.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1939. “Vorwort” [Preface]. In Die Hochzeit des Figaro. Leipzig: C. F. Peters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1940a. “Vorwort” [Preface]. In Don Giovanni. Leipzig: C. F. Peters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1940b. “Vorwort” [Preface]. In Così fan tutte. Leipzig: C. F. Peters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 1941. “Mozart in deutscher Übersetzung” [Mozart in German Translation]. In Jahrbuch der Musikbibliothek Peters für 1940, ed. by Eugen Schmitz, 62–69. Leipzig: C. F. Peters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Seeger, Horst, Honolka, Kurt, and Bitter, Christof. 1967. “Forderungen an den Übersetzer. Bemühungen um einen deutschen ‚Don Giovanni’” [Demands on the Translator. Efforts to Create a German ‘Don Giovanni’]. Opernwelt 10: 22–26.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Simon, Kurt. 1936. “Halle a.S.” Die Musik 28: 297.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Spinola, Julia. 2013. “So macht’s bald keiner mehr” [Soon Nobody Will Do That]. Die Zeit 7 November, [URL], last accessed 23 March 2020.
Sturge, Kate. 2004. “The Alien Within”: Translation into German during the Nazi Regime. Munich: Iudicium.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wagner, Cosima. 1980. Das zweite Leben. Briefe und Aufzeichnungen 1883–1930 [The Second Life. Letters and Notes], ed. by Dietrich Mack. Munich and Zürich: Piper.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue