Mireille Ribière
Translator
2009
The Phantom of the Opera (Penguin Classics)
buy here ⚜⚜⚜⚜
Different covers and Translations
Translations and Errors
The Phantom of the Opera (Penguin Classics)
buy here ⚜⚜⚜⚜
Different covers and Translations
Translations and Errors
Chapter Titles
PROLOGUE:
In which the author o f this singular account tells the reader how he came to ascertain that the Phantom o f the Opera really existed
I. The Ghost!
II. The New Marguerite
III. In which, for the first time, Messrs Debienne and Poligny disclose in confidence to the new directors o f the Opera House, Messrs Armand Moncharmin and Firmin Richard,
the true reason for their departure from the National Academy o f Music
IV. Box Five
V. Continuation o f 'Box Five'
VI. The Magic Fiddle
VII. A Visit to Box Five
VIII. In which Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin have the audacity to allow Faust to be performed in a 'cursed' theatre and the terrible events that ensued
IX. The Mysterious Brougham
X. The Masked Ball
XI.Forget the Voice and the Name
XII. Above the Traps
XIII. Apollo' s Lyre
XIV. The Master of the Traps Strikes
XV. The Curious Incident o f the Safety-pin
XVI. 'Christine! Christine!'
XVII. Mme Giry's Astonishing Revelations as to Her Knowledge o f the Phantom o f the Opera
XVIII. Continuation o f 'The Curious Incident o f the Safety-pin'
XIX. The Inspector, the Viscount and the Persian
XX. The Viscount and the Persian
XXI. Below the Stage
XXII. The Interesting and Instructive Trials and Tribulations o f a Persian Below Stage at the Opera
XXIII. In the Torture Chamber
XXIV. The Torture Begins
XXV. 'Barrels! Barrels! Any Old Barrels! Any Old Barrels to Sell?'
XXVI. The Scorpion or the Grasshopper?
XXVII. The End o f the Phantom's Love Story
EPILOGUE
PROLOGUE:
In which the author o f this singular account tells the reader how he came to ascertain that the Phantom o f the Opera really existed
I. The Ghost!
II. The New Marguerite
III. In which, for the first time, Messrs Debienne and Poligny disclose in confidence to the new directors o f the Opera House, Messrs Armand Moncharmin and Firmin Richard,
the true reason for their departure from the National Academy o f Music
IV. Box Five
V. Continuation o f 'Box Five'
VI. The Magic Fiddle
VII. A Visit to Box Five
VIII. In which Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin have the audacity to allow Faust to be performed in a 'cursed' theatre and the terrible events that ensued
IX. The Mysterious Brougham
X. The Masked Ball
XI.Forget the Voice and the Name
XII. Above the Traps
XIII. Apollo' s Lyre
XIV. The Master of the Traps Strikes
XV. The Curious Incident o f the Safety-pin
XVI. 'Christine! Christine!'
XVII. Mme Giry's Astonishing Revelations as to Her Knowledge o f the Phantom o f the Opera
XVIII. Continuation o f 'The Curious Incident o f the Safety-pin'
XIX. The Inspector, the Viscount and the Persian
XX. The Viscount and the Persian
XXI. Below the Stage
XXII. The Interesting and Instructive Trials and Tribulations o f a Persian Below Stage at the Opera
XXIII. In the Torture Chamber
XXIV. The Torture Begins
XXV. 'Barrels! Barrels! Any Old Barrels! Any Old Barrels to Sell?'
XXVI. The Scorpion or the Grasshopper?
XXVII. The End o f the Phantom's Love Story
EPILOGUE
Differences
Which Translation do you have?
A good way to tell is the opening paragraph of the book
A good way to tell is the opening paragraph of the book
Gaston Leroux
|
Ribière
|
Le fantôme de l’Opéra a existé. Ce ne fut point, comme on l’a cru longtemps, une inspiration d’artistes, une superstition de directeurs, la création falote des cervelles excitées de ces demoiselles du corps de ballet, de leurs mères, des ouvreuses, des employés du vestiaire et de la concierge.
Oui, il a existé, en chair et en os, bien qu’il se donnât toutes les apparences d’un vrai fantôme, c’est-à-dire d’une ombre. |
"The Phantom of the Opera did exist. He was not, as was long believed, born out of the fertile imagination of the artists, the credulity of the directors, or the ludicrous fancy and overexcited brains of the young ladies of the corps de ballet,1 their mothers, the ushers, the cloakroom attendants and the concierge. Yes, he did exist in flesh and blood, although he assumed in every respect the appearance of a ghost - that is, of a shadow."
|
The “fantôme de l’Opéra” did really exist. He was not, as was long believed, an invention of the performer’s imaginations, a superstition of the managing directors, or a creation from the easily excited and impressionable minds of the young ladies of the Corps de Ballet, or of their mothers, the box keepers, ushers, the cloakroom attendants, or the concierge.
Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he did take on the persona of a real ghost; that is to say, a of kind spectral shadow spirit. |
Noteworthy Changes
Has annotations. Still has some major issues and she takes some liberties with her translation. She also tends to leans on de Mattos more then I would like. Like going so far as using de Mattos's translation word for word even when it's not accurate to the French...She makes a rather odd point to tell the reader, despite Leroux stating the Phantom of the Opera was real, she staunchly disagrees. I found it unnecessary to tell the reader she doesn't believe the story to be real. I also feel it effected some of the mood of the translation as well as resulted in some lazy historical work which causes wrong information being relayed to the reader. She took a bit too many liberties in our opinion, some mistakes still present, some sentence omitted where the dated French became difficult to translate. She translates the french word "toile de Jouy" to calico, which isn't exactly right. Why even change what it's called when you have annotations? I have so many questions... That being said it's a pleasant read, but if you are looking for complete accuracy without opinions this is not the translation for you.
|
Gaston Leroux
|
Ribière
|
« Quand je me réveillai, j’étais seule, sur une chaise longue, dans une petite chambre toute simple, garnie d’un lit banal en acajou, aux murs tendus de toile de Jouy,»
|
'When I woke up, I was alone, lying on a chaise longue in a simple bedroom hung with calico and furnished with a plain mahogany bed; a lamp was burning on the marble top of an old Louis-Philippe chest of drawers."
|
"When I awoke, I was alone, laying on a chaise lounge in a small simple room furnished with an ordinary mahogany bed. The walls were all hung with Toile de Jouy,
|
Gaston Leroux
« Ce soir-là, nous n’échangeâmes plus une parole… Il avait saisi une harpe et il commença de me chanter, lui, voix d’homme, voix d’ange, la romance de Desdémone. Le souvenir que j’en avais de l’avoir chantée moi-même me rendait honteuse. Mon ami, il y a une vertu dans la musique qui fait que rien n’existe plus du monde extérieur en dehors de ces sons qui vous viennent frapper le coeur. Mon extravagante aventure fut oubliée. Seule revivait la voix et je la suivais enivrée dans son voyage harmonieux ; je faisais partie du troupeau d’Orphée ! Elle me promena dans la douleur, et dans la joie, dans le martyre, dans le désespoir, dans l’allégresse, dans la mort et dans les triomphants hyménées… j’écoutais… Elle chantait… Elle me chanta des morceaux inconnus… et me fit entendre une musique nouvelle qui me causa une étrange impression de douceur, de langueur, de repos… une musique qui, après avoir soulevé mon âme, l’apaisa peu à peu, et la conduisit jusqu’au seuil du rêve. Je m’endormis. . . . . . « Quand je me réveillai, j’étais seule, sur une chaise longue, dans une petite chambre |
Ribière
I listened . and stayed! That night, we did not exchange another word. Taking up a harp, he - the man with the voice of an angel - started singing Desdemona's "Willow Song".7 I had sung it myself and felt ashamed at my memory of it. Music, Raoul, has the power to make one forget everything save those sounds that touch your heart. I forgot my extraordinary situation. The Voice was back. Enthralled, I followed his harmonious lead; I became one of Orpheus' flock!8 He took me through sorrow and delight, through martyrdom, despair and bliss, from death to triumphant love. I listened. He sang. He sang pieces unknown to me, new music that induced in me strange feelings of tenderness, languor and peace . music which, having stirred my soul, soothed it little by little, bringing it to the threshold of dreams. I fell asleep. . . . . . . . . . 'When I woke up, I was alone, lying on a chaise longue in a simple bedroom |
PT Translation
... And I listen to him ... and I stayed! . “That evening, we did not exchange a word... He had taken up a harp. ‘It’... the man’s voice, the voice of an angel began to sing to me, ‘The Romance of Desdemona’ The memory I had, of singing it myself, made me ashamed. My friend, music has a quality that makes one forget the outside world, apart from those sounds that impress upon the heart. My wild adventure was all but forgotten. Only the voice and I existed. Intoxicated, I followed where ever its harmony led me. It was as though suddenly, I became part of Orpheus’s flock! It’s triumphant hymns, walked me through sorrow then on to ecstasy, down the path of martyrdom and through the pain of despair, to the highs of elation, and then finally to death... I listened ... and the voice than sang to me, an unfamiliar pieces ... and I heard music like nothing I had ever heard before. It caused in me an unusual feeling, a sweet euphoria washed over me, a kind of languishing. The soft music lifted my soul, soothed it as it wrapped it in sound, and I was brought to the threshold of dreams. That is when I fell asleep.” “When I awoke, I was alone, laying on a chaise lounge in a small simple room |
Ribière Compared to de Mattos
Some might say this is small, which on the grand scheme of things it is, but this is just one example in a long list this sort of thing. On top of it with this sort of blatent rip off from de Mattos, one has to question why this was even done in the first place.
Some might say this is small, which on the grand scheme of things it is, but this is just one example in a long list this sort of thing. On top of it with this sort of blatent rip off from de Mattos, one has to question why this was even done in the first place.
|
|
NOTES: Interesting and Instructive Tribulations of a Persian in the Underground of the Opera: (notice the difference through out all the translations)
Gaston Leroux
– Mon devoir, immense niais ! – (textuel). – C’est ma volonté… ma volonté de la laisser partir, |
de Mattos
“My duty, you great booby!...It is my wish... my wish to let her go |
PT Translation
‘My duty, immense ninny! - (verbatim). - It is my desire... my wish to let her go, |
Wolf
"'My duty, you stupid ninny. It's what I want. I want to let her go-- |
Lowell Bair
“My duty, you immense simpleton [sic]. is my will, my will to let her leave, |
Lofficier
"My duty, you great oaf? (sic!) It is my wish-my wish to let her go. |
Ribière
'You are mistaken, you great clod! I don't have to do it, but I am only too happy to let her go! |
de Mattos
|
Gaston Leroux
|
Direct Translation
|
Ribière
|
.
. . He hit upon astonishing inventions. Of these, the most curious, horrible and dangerous was the so-called torture-chamber. |
Sans compter que l’on ne pouvait jamais, dans les palais qu’il avait « truqués », savoir exactement où l’on se trouvait. Il avait des inventions étonnantes. Certainement, la plus curieuse, la plus horrible et la plus dangereuse de toutes était la chambre des supplices. (no so-called)
|
Not to mention that one could never, in the palaces he had "rigged", know exactly where one was. He had amazing inventions. Certainly, the most curious, the most horrible and the most dangerous of all was the chamber of executions.
|
To add to the confusion, one lost all one's bearings once inside the buildings he had transformed. He created amazing devices, the most curious, cruel and dangerous of which was the so-called torture chamber.
|
de Mattos
I’m sick and tired of having a forest and a torture-chamber in my house and of living like a mountebank, in a house with a false bottom!...I’m tired of it!
|
Gaston Leroux
Mais j’en suis bien fatigué !… bien fatigué !… J’en ai assez, vois-tu, d’avoir une forêt dans ma maison, et une chambre des supplices !… Et d’être logé comme un charlatan au fond d’une boîte à double fond !…
|
Direct Translation
But I'm very tired of it!... very tired!... I've had enough, you see, of having a forest in my house, and a torture chamber!... And of being housed like a charlatan at the bottom of a box with a false bottom!…
|
Ribière
But I am very tired of it! Tired of having a forest and a torture chamber in my home! Sick of living like a mountebank, in a house full of tricks! Yes, I am sick and tired of it all!
|