Opera Language

Ok, so here's the low down. I have never written a opera. I have decided to write one. I have a few good ideas, but the one I keep coming to is a local area legend. The advice I need is what language do you think it should it be in. This legend is a very old Native American legend, and it could be kinda cool in their language...BUT, if I were to do it in that language, it would probably never be performed, as the language is all but dead. If I were to do it in english, I think it would sound kind of funny. Thought it might be kinda funny to do a native american legend in german.

Using a dead language is not a deal-breaker. Philip Glass wrote two operas in dead languages: Satyagraha, in Sanskrit, and Akhenaten, in ancient Egyptian.

Why would you, a non-speaker, want to use a native language? I personally feel there's a bit of a legitimacy problem there, as any gaijin doing exotic music would be.

You don't have to restrict yourself to one language either. You could write in your language and simply use certain phrases in the original language, or have certain things in two languages at once, have different characters speaking in different languages, or think about the usage of visual elements (displayed texts for example) as a link between the languages. (The latter thing is of course something that isn't traditionally done by the composer, but we don't live in the 19th century anymore where the roles are so strictly separated.)

I generally agree with those who said that in most cases it's the safest when you use your own language. But if the whole point is to make an opera about a Native American legend, that -is- a very valid reason to deviate from this principle. The important thing is just to approach the matter carefully and know what you're doing with the languages you treat. As mentioned, using a dead language doesn't mean per se that it can't be played. And honestly, how many people who listen to an Italian opera understand it fluently? And not even all composers who wrote Italian operas were native Italian speakers (nor are the singers who sing them). Most people don't complain about listening to an Italian Mozart opera, sung by non-Italians, as a non-Italian. The point is merely that Mozart had a reason to write them in Italian and that he approached the matter carefully and knew Italian well enough to understand what the texts meant.

When it comes to knowing the language, it is not quite a dead language. In all the world probably 1000 people speak it, BUT I do know a few who do speak it. They have also said they would help me with that part. I myself do know a few phrases.

I myself have heard the legend told in the language, and it very much added to the legend. But anyways, it seems to me that it just something I will really have to think about and work out the details first.