Balladowość w przekładzie libretta opery romantycznej : partie narracyjne w "Il Trovatore" Salvatora Cammarano i w "Trubadurze" Jana Chęcińskiego

This description and analysis of Jan Chęciński’s Trubadur (an adaptation of Cammarano’s Il trovatore) focuses on the way in which the translation relies on the poetics of the Polish romantic ballad. As this genre with its conventions, themes and ideology achieved a broad respectability in the early 19th century the translator did not hesitate to use its resources to present the melodramatic plot and highlight the manner in which it had been embellished by the original librettist. The libretto of Trubadur weaves together two main storylines, which are analyzed in detail in the article. It is also argued that Chęciński’s translation with its manifold evocations of the ballads from 1822–1832 deliberately hovers between high seriousness and pastiche. Once its narrative complexities are noted and appreciated, Trubadur (no less than the Italian original) can be cleared from the frequent accusations of artlessness or even clumsiness.