Strategie polskich tłumaczy włoskich librett w XVIII wieku
Strategies in Translating Italian Librettos in 18th Century Poland

Summary/Abstract: Polish dramatic writers of the 18th century very often referred to the European repertoire. The majority of Polish dramas in fact were translations or adaptations of foreign texts. Among Italian sources opera and oratorio librettos were the most important. The paper is an attempt to review Polish translations of Italian librettos in the 18th century, to reconstruct the translators’ motivation and to discover their translation strategies. In the first half of the 18th century a huge part of translated dramas were created by the Jesuits in order to be presented on school stage. Apart from this kind of texts at that time there were also Polish translations whose aim was to accompany performances in Italian language as texts „for reading”. Only in the late 18th century translation were used in performances with original music. Specific circumstances and finality of translations would have a decisive impact on translation strategies which could affect the story, the ideology but also the form of dramas and usually resulted in change of genre. These modifications prove that the translation of theater texts is especially submitted to a pressure of target system cultural context because the target text has to establish a direct contact with the public. Examining the history of translations and the evolution of translator’s approach helps to reconstruct an important share of the history of Polish dramaturgy and to indicate its sources.

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