All Mozart, All the Time (Kudos to Sandy McClatchy)

Congratulations go to J. D. McClatchy [shown here, left, with James Merrill in 1988] on the publication of Seven Mozart Librettos (Norton), his verse translations of The Magic Flute and The Abduction from the Seraglio from the German and The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi Fan Tutte, Don Giovanni and two other operas from the Italian. A heroic task, and a tall order, to render these librettos into an English that sings. Consider this rendering of an aria in The Abduction from the Seraglio:

On to battle! On to strife!

Only a coward is afraid.

Will I tremble or run away?

No, I'll bravely risk my life.

Duty must be obeyed.

Only a coward is afraid.

On to battle! On to strife!

Notice how simple the words are, how lacking in pretension, and how suave and unforced the rhyming. And take my word for it: it is faithful to the original. Or consider the duet of Pamina and Papageno in The Magic Flute that culminates in this lovely declaration of vows:

The noblest aim of human life

Is to be joined as man and wife.

Man and wife, and wife and man,

Both are parts of heaven's plan.

To translate any one of these librettos into a readable prose text would be an accomplishment. To translate all seven into rhyming verse and prose recitative, fearlessly tackling  two languages, is a major literary and musical event, and it's not as though McClatchy (a distinguished poet in addition to being the editor of The Yale Review) had nothing else on his plate when working on this book. He has produced, in Seven Mozart Librettos, an indispensable companion volume for any opera aficionado. I can think of no better way of preparing oneself for a production of Figaro or The Magic Flute than to read McClatchy's text of the libretto together with his always helpful introductory notes. — DL