International Workshop | Laughs in Translation: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Translating Humour in Vocal Music

This workshop is part of the FWF-funded project “Translating and rewriting Italian opera in German (1600-1750)” and will explore the topic of translating comedy and humour in vocal music in various forms such as opera, musicals, songs, popular music, television series, and stand-up comedy. The workshop is intended to provide a space for interdisciplinary encounter and exchange: Researchers from the fields of musicology, translation studies, literature, and linguistics will present and discuss various aspects of translating comedy in music, covering a time span from the 17th into the 21st century.

Programm

Download program and abstracts

Friday, 26 April 2024 | Room A0201

14–14.30 Introduction by Livio Marcaletti & Iseult Grandjean

14.30–15.30 OPERATIC LAUGHTER
- Marco Agnetta: The Barber of Seville: The Buffo Operas by Paisiello and Rossini in German Translation
- Julia Ackermann: What’s Comic in Opéra Comique? Transfer of an Operatic Genre in 18th Century Vienna

15.30–16 Coffee Break

16–17 TRANSLATION AND WAR
- Juri Giannini: Translating Falstaff for the German Stage
- Alaz Pesen: Song Translation as Humour: Trevor Noah’s Comic Versions of the German National Anthem

17–18 OF CATS AND GIRLS: AUDIOVISUAL TRANSLATION IN TV & FILM
- Yen-Mai Tran-Gervat: Subtitled Humour in the Songs of The Young Girls of Rochefort
- Carmela Simmarano: It’s Always About the (Smelly) Cat: Comparative Analysis of Singable Adaptation Strategies in Three Sitcoms’ (Cat) Songs


Saturday, 27 April 2024 | Room A0201

9–10 Keynote by Klaus Kaindl: “For my Laughter, Do Excuse Me!” A Multimodal Framework for the Translation of Verbo-Musical Humour

10–11 FUNNY BOYS: SINGER-SONGWRITER IN TRANSLATION
- Anna Rędzioch-Korkuz: Multimodal Translation of Humour: A Case of A Boy Named Sue
- Jean-Charles Meunier: A Brand New “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”: Orality and Multimodality in the Translation of Bob Dylan’s Humour

11–11.30 Coffee Break

11.30–12.30 FUNNY, NOT FUNNY, THEN FUNNY AGAIN: HUMOUR AND CONTEXT
- Karina Zybina: The Wonderful Adventures of The Cairo Goose: Translating Mozart’s Opera Fragment
- Giovanni Raffa: Musical Parody in Audiovisual Translation

12.30–13 Conclusion by Livio Marcaletti & Iseult Grandjean