Intertestualità e memoria culturale nelle traduzioni in lingua tedesca delle opere di Mozart/Da Ponte

Abstract

The performance of operas in translation was a common practice since the beginning of the genre and till the middle of the 20^th century, although some institutions still now privilege this interpretative approach instead of performing operas in the ‘original’ language of their composition. Considering this historical background and the long tradition of transmission of opera through/in translations – particularly considering some german translations of Mozart/Da Ponte operas – this article presents and analyses different typologies of intertextual relations in opera translation practices and interprets them in the context of production system of opera and through the cultural study approach of ‘memory’: many intertextual relations between translations are explainable in the context of theatrical production, where the work of translation should occur in a rush way and often as a team-work; others are instead required because of expectations of the audience. Intertextual relations between texts in translation can also be determined by ideological intents of the translators, when for example intertextuality is tightly linked to the desire of establish a translation as part of an existent tradition or as part of ‘cultural memory’. Throught the analysis of translations of operas this article emphasizes the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach focusing on the categories of ‘cultural memory’ (Jan and Aleida Assmann) and ‘intertextuality’ (Gérard Genette).