This volume covers aspects of opera translation within the Western world and in Asia, as well as some of opera’s many travels between continents, countries, languages and cultures—and also between genres and media. The concept of ‘adaptation’ is a thread running through the sixteen contributions, which encompass a variety of composers, operas, periods and national traditions. Sung translation, libretto translation, surtitling, subtitling are discussed from a range of theoretical and methodological perspectives. Exploration of aspects such as the relationship between language and music, multimodality, intertextuality, cultural and linguistic transfer, multilingualism, humour, identity and stereotype, political ideology, the translator’s voice and the role of the audience is driven by a shared motivation: a love of opera and of the beauty it has never ceased to provide through the centuries, and admiration for the people who write, compose, perform, direct, translate, or otherwise contribute to making the joy of opera a part of our lives.

This book is a study of the major events and publications in the world of translation in China and the West from its beginning in the legendary period to 2004, with special references to works published in Chinese and English. It covers a total of 72 countries/places and 1,000 works. All the events and activities in the field have been grouped into 22 areas or categories for easy referencing. This book is a valuable reference tool for all scholars working in the field of translation.

Five contributors from the fields of English and humanities research present five essays exploring the formation of English identity, representation, and subjectivity through the processes and products of vernacular translations. Works discussed span from the 14th to the 20th centuries, including Biblical translations from the 14th century, Ovid's Metamorphoses, scientific texts of Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle and Francesco Algarotti, and works by Trollope and W.H. Auden. c. Book News Inc.