lily_handmaiden | Entries tagged with wicked

I've been storing these up for... longer than I'd like to admit, and now that I'm caught up on homework and caught up on grading, it seems like the perfect time to do yet another MASSIVE ICON POST. The theme: Wicked.

7 Original Broadway Cast (Kristin Chenoweth as Galinda)
57 Original Stuttgart Cast (Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba, Lucy Scherer as G[a]linda, Mark Seibert as Fiyero)
--48 with English text, 9 with German text

1. 2. 3. 4.

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Current Mood: determined

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Well, this is it. The end of my Wicked translation project. Maybe nobody found it terribly interesting but me, but it was challenging and much more productive than most of my dorky projects are in that it helped me pass the German exam I needed for my Master's.

Once I had procrastinated on these entries up to the middle of January, I decided I wanted to time this final one to coincide with Lucy Scherer's last day as Glinda. That was today. She and Willemijn are really two of the best at these roles, in any language. I can't say enough about how much I've come to admire them over the course of this project. Herzlichen Dank, ihr zwei-- heute am meisten die süsse Lucy-- und noch einmal viel Glück! As I mentioned before, Willemijn's staying with the show for a while in its new location, but today was Lucy's last day in the role, period, unless she decides to do it again at some point. Even with a part this good, after over two years in the same role, I'd want to do something new, too.

The good news is that in February and March, Lucy will once again be playing Sarah in Tanz der Vampire. This was her first big role some four years ago, though from what I gather she didn't stay in it too long then. Now that she's famed on the German stage, I trust that there will be more illegal youtube clips of her as Sarah. Do not fail me, internets! Go forth and bring me back a Lucy Scherer "Stärker als wir sind!"

Let's wrap this up with the "Finale."

( Dear Ozians. My friends. We have been through fearsome times... )

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Wie ich bin

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It's late, but I was determined to get this posted today. I translated most of this song at a play rehearsal for either "The Tempest" or the Scottish Play over the summer. Whitney and I were sitting offstage while she read and I translated, and I remember saying "Aww" a couple of times, telling her what the translation was, and her also going, "aww."

This is German "For Good." You can't say that something is changed "for good" in German. Once again, a song falls victim to the lack of "goodness" phrases. But "Wie ich bin" still manages to get the message across and is a really sweet song. It's another one where the revelatory act of translating really made the song new for me as I went.

I'm going to dedicate this translation to Whitney, Bethany, and

celtic_songster . There are two or three others who the lyrics also apply to, for me, but circumstances recently have caused me to look back, and I cannot imagine what my life would be, what I would be doing now, how I would have gotten through college, without you guys. Love.

( What will happen now rests only with you, for both of us... )

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: "Du warst da, darum hab ich mich verandert..."

Moving right along, my next translation of German Wicked is of "March of the Witch Hunters." I... don't really have a story about translating this one; it was pretty easy. It's actually only a few lines different from the original. Don't forget to check out "No Good Deed" in the entry below!

( I'll make her cold heartlessly! )

Current Mood: tired

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Before we get to the extra special translation of the day, I just want to point out that if you want to give money, or give more money, to Haiti, an fun way to do it is through this site. By donating through the Harry Potter Alliance to Partners in Health, you can become eligible to win some freaking awesome things, including a copy of Unseen Academicals personalized and signed by Terry Pratchett. Sir Pterry does not do the signing tours so much as once he did, for understandable reasons, so this is a big deal.

Folks, I am back in Illinois and I'm just about set to wrap up my German Wicked translation project. I've had all of these translations done, actually, since August, but I have to go back over them before I post them and make sure I didn't so anything dumb, and then I have to format them correctly, and then I have to make my notes on them, so it ends up taking me an hour minimum to do one of these posts, and sometimes other priorities win out, such as "homework," or "but I am le tired." However, I have a specific reason that I want to finish these posts by Friday, so. Homework can wait. My messed-up priorities, let me showz u them!

The next song up is the German version of "No Good Deed." Now, the clip I found to go with this song also features the entire preceding scene which, despite feminist concerns I would raise, has so universally become known as "the catfight scene" that there's not much I can do about it. And the sound quality on the clip was good, and it was a really good scene, so I thought, "Hey, why not?" (It ended up being harder than I thought, but I am no quitter.) So that's translated here as well. The translation is not smooth, but if I'd made it smooth, it would be what we call "the scene in English," since dialogue doesn't have to get changed for rhyme and meter. I will put the video here above the cut and the scene and the song under separate cuts so you can skip to whichever.

The thing about "Gutes tun," the German version of "No Good Deed" is that when I first looked up these songs online, this was the only one where the youtube comments would sometimes say, "I like this better than the English version." After I translated it, I wasn't initially sure why. I mean, it's a good translation, but so are they all, really. Then I realized that, no matter how much I fight the idea that German is an inherenty "ugly language," it is a language in which angry yelling sounds good. German is conducive to Elphaba's breakdown song. Enjoy.

(Lucy Scherer as Glinda, Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba. I've seen a lot of people say, "Willemijn is Book Elphaba." This clip is a good example of that.)

( Of course it's always nasty to be stricken dead by a house like that... but, Elphie, accidents happen sometimes! )

( In the most terrible need and the darkest time... )

Current Mood: relieved

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Yesterday I mentioned in my post that it was the day of Willemijn Verkaik's last performance as Elphaba in Stuttgart, and thus her last time performing Wicked with Lucy Scherer. Today I decided to surf around the youtube to see if any clips of this performance had been posted yet, as the illegal recording of this performance was pretty much inevitable. Thus far we have a short video of curtain call, audio of a "Frei und schwerelos/Defying Gravity" in which the leading ladies try not to cry, and audio of a special performance of "Heissgeliebt/Popular."

Now, five and a half years ago, Kristin Chenoweth went rogue in her last performance of of this song and gave Idina Menzel a little gift in the form of a surprise monologue following the line "very very popular like me." It seems Galinda wrote a book called How to Be Popular, complete with a top-ten list of tips for Elphie. Here's a link to the video-- hilarious and well worth watching, I promise.

For her last performance with Willemijn, Lucy also went rogue and prepared a surprise monologue to insert after her hair-tossing lessons. Here is the link, but since probably no one who reads this journal would understand it, I present a Very Special Episode of my German Wicked project. With some assistance from Bibifly on youtube (vielen Dank!), I have transcribed and translated this priceless bit of Galinda advice. It is, in accordance with all things Lucy Scherer as far as I have been able to tell, super super sweet. Note: "Wusch-wusch" is the German equivalent of "Toss-toss." As in, "This is how you toss your hair: toss-toss!"

In German:
"Für dich ist es jetzt Zeit für das ultimative Galindasche do-it-yourself Wusch-Wusch Buch: “Wusch-wusch” verstehen und leben für Elphie. Erstens: wo macht man ein Wusch-Wusch? Überall da natürlich wo die meisten Zuschauer sind. Mm-hm. Zweitens: warum macht man es? Es ist das beste Beautyzaubermittelchen aller Zeiten; schau mich an. Drittens: was bewirkt ein Wusch-Wusch? Alle sind sofort in dich verzaubert, genau so wie ich sofort in dich verzaubert war. Viertens: wie machst du ein perfektes Wusch-Wusch? Natürlich ganz in deiner jeweiligen Laune. Pass aber nur gut auf, dass du dir dabei nicht den Hals verrenkst. Fünftens: wer soll es sehen, dein Wusch-Wusch? Ganze Welt. Sechstens—das ist der letzte Punkt: wann machst du ein Wusch-Wusch? Hm? Na immer wenn du an mich denkst. Hast du das verstanden? Ich glaub nicht! Ich glaub wir es müssen nur ein bisschen üben!"

In English:
"For you it’s now time for the Ultimate Galindafied Do-It-Yourself Wusch-Wusch Book: Understanding and Living “Wusch-Wusch” For Elphie. First: where does one do a Wusch-Wusch? Naturally, anywhere where the most spectators are. Mm-hm. Second: why does one do it? It’s the best little beauty charm of all time; look at me. Third: What does a Wusch-Wusch achieve? Everyone is immediately enchanted with you, exactly like I was immediately enchanted with you. Fourth: how do you do a perfect Wusch-Wusch? Naturally, entirely according to your particular fancy. Just be careful that you don’t strain your neck doing it. Fifth: Who should see it, your Wusch-Wusch? The whole world. Sixth—this is the last point: when do you do a Wusch-Wusch? Hm? Whenever you think of me. Did you understand? I don’t think so! I think we’ll have to practice it a little bit!"

I'm not sure I got the last sentence right; it was a little hard to hear, especially for a non-native speaker. Also, "Zuschauer" means "audience members" as well as "spectators" in general. You got that, yes?

Anyway, say it with me now: Awwwwww! To get the full impact you kind of need to hear the audio, but still: Awwwwww.

Current Mood: sentimental
Current Music: Frei und schwerelos

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Today I present a double-translation-header, since the reprise of "I'm Not That Girl" is so short. This entry covers the German-English re-translations of said reprise and also of "As Long As You're Mine." The two songs bleed into one another in the musical anyway.

I just realized that today is Willemijn Verkaik and Lucy Scherer's last performance together as Elphaba and Glinda in Stuttgart. (What's the time difference? They've probably done it already. Sad!) Willemijn is moving with the show to Oberhausen. Lucy's last day with Wicked will be the 29th, and in May she will have the lead role in "Lulu- das Musical" at the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck. (I learned this from Lucy Scherer's official website, a.k.a. The Cutest Website EVER. Refresh the main page a few times-- she moves around!)

On this occasion, I have to say that these two ladies have been amazing in these roles, they have incredible talent, and I wish them continued success in everything they do. I'm going to keep following them both on the youtube, I'd love to see them do things in English someday (so that my friends can understand them), and I have a goal to see them perform live someday. Lucy und Willemijn, ich wünsche euch wirklich alles Glück der Welt!

( Give up, let go... )

( For a few hours, as long as I have you... )

Current Mood: contemplative

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So, here is the English translation of the German version of the song "Wonderful" from Wicked. It is a happy thing for this musical that German has so many words which translate more or less to "wonderful" in English. "Wundervoll" is the most literal, though this translation has also used "herrlich," and possibly "wunderbar" and/or "wunderschoen," I can't remember. Also, "wonderful" doesn't look like a word anymore.

( The people of Oz wanted to follow a leader... )

Current Mood: anxious
Current Music: Wundervoll, wundervoll...

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Good news! I passed my German exam, which means I am now officially proficient in German! And, moreover, that listening to musicals is a valid method of study! Wooo!

This is plenty of reason for celebration but, unfortunately, the next song up is not very celebratory. Here is my re-translation of the German version of "The Wicked Witch of the East." It's not a song that's on the soundtrack because, apparently, it was too spoileriffic and hard to cut because of the all the dialogue. But it's definitely a good song and I wish it was on the soundtrack, which means it counts. Translation-wise, it was a grammatical bitch, but I think I got it pretty much right.

( Alone and unloved, me and the girl in the mirror... )

I've been having some interesting dreams lately, and thought it would be fun to start writing them down before I forget them. Thus I introduce the "last night i had a dream" tag.

It seems that my best dreams tend to revolve around the theatre. From the dream I had in college where my friend Whitney was Crazy Bertha in Jane Eyre the Musical, to the dream I had the night before seeing Wicked where I turned down Taye Diggs because I wanted to be friends with Idina Menzel, to the dream I had just last week where I couldn't figure out why my friend college-age Lucy Scherer kept speaking to her German family only partly in German (I now realize she was limited by my vocabulary), theatre is the place to meet interesting people in my dreams.

( She thought I was totally way better at the part than Glinda Of The See-Through Skirt. )

Current Mood: geeky

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Guess what? I finally took my German proficiency exam today. Hopefully I passed? Well, either way, to celebrate my having attempted it at least, let's get into Act II of English-German-English Wicked. Up first, "Wie herrlich," the German version of "Thank Goodness."

This is another translation I’m super excited about. I’m completely impressed with the mechanics of it—the translation preserves both the internal and the external rhyme, and the little syllabic repetitions between lines that characterize the song! (“Thrill,” “doesn’t thrill,” “will,” “still” here becomes “weh,” “doppelt weh,” “versteh,” and “steh,” for example. And even though a word doesn’t repeat where “cross” does in English, there is strong assonance in all the right places.) And on top of that, the meaning is preserved to an impressive degree.

This was the song other than “I’m Not That Girl” which, as I was translating, struck me with how sad it was. I think a couple of Glinda’s lines make this one sadder in German, too. Though you potentially can—and the Ozians apparently do—still brush off everything she says as general abstraction, she seems to edge closer to an open declaration of pain than she does in the English version. What do you think?

( This is a day to celebrate, a celebration day! )

Current Mood: pleased

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At long last, the German version of "Defying Gravity." I've been looking forward to being able to post this one. I think it's an excellent example of a translation which puts its own twists on the lyrics, often in lovely ways, while keeping the spirit of the original song. But don't take my word for it...

(Okay, take my translation for it.)

( Something in me is different. Something in me awakes. )

I have read that in Germany this song is particularly powerful because of the resemblance of the Gale Force to Nazis, the strong presence of propaganda, the Wizard's portrayal as a dictator interested in genocide and roadworks, etc. I don't know if that's necessarily true or not, but looking at the way several things throughout are translated, I can definitely see where the connections have been deliberately highlighted, and it makes sense that it would be particularly powerful. So when the troops bust in, it actually gets a little scary. But Elphaba stands up for what's right and defies them all, and that makes her extra heroic and amazing in the German context.

Current Mood: pleased

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I'm alive! And excited to be past a horrible, stressful stretch of grading and paper-writing and into something resembling the clear. Or something I like to pretend is the clear to keep my own sanity.

Here is the German translation of "A Sentimental Man," which hopefully will be followed by more entries tomorrow. In German it is "A Soulful Man," because I know that when I think of the Wizard of Oz, I think soul.

So. This song. This eleven-line song. Almost defeated me. You will see why in the notes under the cut.

( In which the Wizard wants Elphaba to collapse from lack of oxygen. )

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Here is the next song from Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz. This one is the German version of "One Short Day."

Usually with German, there is a problem with fitting the translated words into the meter of a song because the German word will be longer than the English word. It's a language with lots of compound words and a fondness for lots of syllables. (For a good time, search for the German version of "Seasons of Love.") This is one of the rare exceptions where the opposite is the case. In the English version of this song, "Emerald City" covers five syllables. In German, "Smaragd" means "emerald," and "Stadt" is "city." Therefore, "Smaragdstadt." Three syllables. Which leaves the song in the awkward position of having to continually refer to the place as the "green Emerald City." You know, as opposed to all the other colors such a city might be. Enjoy.

( This is my town. It speaks to me! )

Current Mood: tired

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I was going to do another Merlin review today, but I'm much more in the mood for this: the re-translation of "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked. It's just one of those days.

This song was heartwrenching to translate. I kept stopping every couple of lines to go, "Oh, Elphaba." To me, it feels like the German version of the song is even sadder than the English version. This could be just because I'm desensitized to the English version by now, or because translating made me go through the German version of the song so slowly and the full impact of every line hit home as I was discovering its meaning. What are your thoughts?

( Him, it could be him. But it is not me... )

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Strictly speaking, the German translation of "Popular" is probably the worst of the bunch. I know this because of YouTube comments. Apparently no self-respecting German would actually use the term "Heissgeliebt," at least, if I am reading correctly, not for the past several decades. And that's just one issue out of many.

But to be fair, you've got to admit, this song must have been a bitch to translate. It's full of complex rhymes and wordplay and contemporary slang and colloquialism. I honestly believe that no one could have done better than this. It preserves, in a language which is not necessarily conducive to it, the fun, light tone of the song.

Tone is something as important to maintain through translation as the meanings of words, I'm discovering. Like, in the German version of "Out Tonight" from Rent, I have no idea what's going on half the time, but it still makes me want to dance. That's the most important thing to that song. And "Heissgeliebt" still makes me want to bounce around like a cutesy spazz. It rhymes words like "Ehrlichkeit," "Begehrlichkeit, and "Unentbehrlichkeit," words which, while not necessarily meaning what we're used to, sound fun and light and silly when put together. It sounds right. And "Popular" is a song that absolutely has to sound right.

That said, I get the impression that when compared to English/American Galinda, German Galinda is... kind of a slut. What's a less severe term than that? More promiscuous? Sexually enthusiastic? You'll see what I mean.

( In which Galinda vows to do her best to get Elphaba laid. )

Current Music: "La la, la la..."

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It's time for the German-English re-translation of "Dancing Through Life!" One of the only ones I don't have memorized in German, because it is so long! There will be lots of footnotes! Boq's name changes to "Moq" in the German version, because "Bock" means things like "ram," "billy goat," "boob," "vaulting horse," "stubbornness," and "bagpipe." How can one word mean all of these? I have no idea. But "Moq" means none of them.

( What is the most hipified joint nearby here, then? )

Current Mood: okay

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Strangely enough, it was the short songs in Wicked: Die Hexen von Oz that were hardest to decipher. This is the first one I had really big problems with and, indeed, it wasn't until recently that I finally found a dictionary that had "geheuer" as a word in and of itself, and not just the negative phrase, "nicht geheuer." (Automatic translators oh-so-helpfully gave me, "Nothing is more geheuer." Thanks.) Not long ago, the best I could do with this title was "Everything Is Dubious Anymore." The way it is now makes a lot more sense.

( Oh, Miss Elphaba—everything that comes to one’s ears nowadays. )

This journal is owed four belated Merlin reviews starting this weekend.

Current Mood: sleepy

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And now it's time for the English-German-English re-translation of "What Is This Feeling?"! I think that out of all of them I've done, this one was simply the most delightful. Back then a song about this length would take me about two and a half hours, but I was giggling pretty much the entire time. From the opening lines, as you'll see, it was clear: "Okay, it's seriously not going to get better than this."

( Belovedest of all my heart Little Momsie, sweetest Popsipuppy… )

Current Mood: awake
Current Music: "Grauen! Nacktes, abgrundtiefes Grauen!"

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I was going to post the last Project Twilight entry today, but I got busy, so I'm bringing you my next Wicked re-translation instead. This is the one I'm probably most proud of out of all of them because it was the first one I did that was really hard, and because I was delighted to discover at the end that it was, I think, one of the best English-to-German translations. Note that Madame Morrible's name becomes "Madame Akaber" in German, I guess so that it continues to rhyme with something unpleasant. Also, I'm trying a slightly more user-friendly footnoting system. Let's see if it works.

( Have I understood correctly? Have I underestimated myself all the time? )