Surtitles

Blank surtitle screen visible above the stage at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Surtitles, also known as supertitles, Captitles, SurCaps, OpTrans, are translated or transcribed lyrics/dialogue projected above a stage or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera, theatre[1] or other musical performances.[2] The word "surtitle" comes from the French language sur, meaning "over" or "on", and the English language word "title", formed in a similar way to the related and similarly-named subtitles. The word Surtitle is a trademark of the Canadian Opera Company.[3][4]

Surtitles were introduced in the 1990s to translate the meaning of the lyrics into the audience's language, or to transcribe lyrics that may be difficult to understand in the sung form in the opera-house auditoria.[5] The two possible types of presentation of surtitles are as projected text, or as the electronic libretto system. Titles in the theatre have proven a commercial success in areas such as opera, and are finding increased use for allowing hearing-impaired patrons to enjoy theatre productions more fully. Surtitles are used in live productions in the same way as subtitles are used in film and television productions.

  1. ^ Simantob, Eduardo (19 February 2020). "Non-German speakers can finally go to the theatre in Zurich". Swiss Info.
  2. ^ Smith, Patrick (Winter 1986). "Supertitles". Arts Review. 3 (2): 32.
  3. ^ "Surtitles™: An Introduction". Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Canadian Trademarks Details 0498073 – Canadian Trademarks Database – Intellectual property and copyright – Canadian Intellectual Property Office – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada".
  5. ^ Cooke, Mervyn (2005). The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 321. ISBN 0521780098.

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