Surtitles
Encyclopedia
Surtitles, also known as supertitles, are translated or transcribed lyrics
/dialogue
projected above a stage or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera
or other musical performances. 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 subtitle
. The word Surtitle is a trademark
of the Canadian Opera Company
.
Surtitles are used either 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. 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 movie and television
productions.
s. These machines can be used for events other than artistic performances, when the text is easier to show to the audience than it is to vocalize.
Surtitles are different from subtitle
s, which are more often used in filmmaking
and television production. Originally, translations would be broken up into small chunks and photographed onto slides that could be projected onto a screen above the stage, but most companies now use a combination of video projectors and computers.
Lotfi Mansouri
, then general director of the Canadian Opera Company
, introduced this innovation to opera in their January 1983 staging of Elektra
.
New York City Opera
was the first American opera company to use supertitles in 1983.
The surtitle is given an insertion point in the score (piano score) for the surtitle's entry and exit. An operator will push a button at the marked point when following the music.
system uses individual screens placed in front of each seat allowing patrons either to view a translation or to switch them off during the performance. New York
's Metropolitan Opera
installed the patent
ed Met Titles, becoming the first house in the United States
to use this system.
The Vienna State Opera
and Santa Fe Opera
use such a system. It allows the patron to choose among several different languages.
is a method for presenting, through captions, a transcript of the audio portion of a film in theatres. The system was co-developed by WGBH
and Rufus Butler Seder and initially targeted at people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
On the way into the theatre, viewers pick up a reflective plastic panel mounted on a flexible stalk. The panel sits in a seat cupholder or on the floor adjacent to the seat. A large LED display is mounted on a rear wall that displays caption characters in mirror image. Viewers move the panels into position (usually below the movie screen or stage) so they can read the reflected captions and watch the presentation. Others seated alongside do not watch, or usually even see, the captions.
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
/dialogue
Dialogue
Dialogue is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people....
projected above a stage or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
or other musical performances. The word "surtitle" comes from the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
"sur", meaning "over" or "on", and the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word "title", formed in a similar way to the related subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
. The word Surtitle is a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
of the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
.
Surtitles are used either 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. The two possible types of presentation of surtitles are as projected text, or as the electronic libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
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 movie and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
productions.
Projected titles or translations
Generally projected above the theatre's proscenium arch (but, alternately, on either side of the stage), surtitles are usually displayed using a supertitling machine. The text must be prepared beforehand as in subtitleSubtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
s. These machines can be used for events other than artistic performances, when the text is easier to show to the audience than it is to vocalize.
Surtitles are different from subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
s, which are more often used in filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
and television production. Originally, translations would be broken up into small chunks and photographed onto slides that could be projected onto a screen above the stage, but most companies now use a combination of video projectors and computers.
Lotfi Mansouri
Lotfi Mansouri
Lotfollah “Lotfi” Mansouri is an Iranian-born opera director and manager. He was an opera director from about 1960 onwards, and is most well known for being the General Director of the Canadian Opera Company and of the San Francisco Opera from 1988 through 2001...
, then general director of the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
, introduced this innovation to opera in their January 1983 staging of Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
.
New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
was the first American opera company to use supertitles in 1983.
The surtitle is given an insertion point in the score (piano score) for the surtitle's entry and exit. An operator will push a button at the marked point when following the music.
Personal titling systems
Surtitles can be a distraction, focusing attention on the titles instead of the stage. Therefore several systems have been developed to provide captions visible only to those individual viewers who wish to see them.Electronic libretto system
The electronic librettoElectronic libretto
The Electronic libretto system is used primarily in opera houses and is a device which presents translations of lyrics into an audience's language or transcribes lyrics that may be difficult to understand in the sung form....
system uses individual screens placed in front of each seat allowing patrons either to view a translation or to switch them off during the performance. New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
installed the patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed Met Titles, becoming the first house in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to use this system.
The Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
and Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
use such a system. It allows the patron to choose among several different languages.
Rear Window Captioning System
The Rear Window Captioning SystemRear Window Captioning System
The Rear Window captioning system is a method for presenting, through captions, a transcript of the audio portion of a film in theatres for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. The system was co-developed by WGBH and Rufus Butler Seder....
is a method for presenting, through captions, a transcript of the audio portion of a film in theatres. The system was co-developed by WGBH
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV, channel 2, is a non-commercial educational public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WGBH-TV is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service , and produces more than two-thirds of PBS's national prime time television programming...
and Rufus Butler Seder and initially targeted at people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
On the way into the theatre, viewers pick up a reflective plastic panel mounted on a flexible stalk. The panel sits in a seat cupholder or on the floor adjacent to the seat. A large LED display is mounted on a rear wall that displays caption characters in mirror image. Viewers move the panels into position (usually below the movie screen or stage) so they can read the reflected captions and watch the presentation. Others seated alongside do not watch, or usually even see, the captions.