Eric Kish wrote:

>Of course, opera composers have only themselves to blame for some
>ludicrous lines.  Even without Anna Russell to point it out, Siegfried's
>"Das ist kein Mann" (that is no man) upon beholding the sleeping
>Brunnhilde, is enough to cause the sides of one's mouth to twitch.

Are you so sure that Wagner didn't mean people to smile just a bit here?  =)

>And sometimes, indeed, a clear translation helps to cut through Wagner's
>convoluted alliterative verbosity (whew) so that we can get to the
>essential drama and psychological tensions that are the real payoff for
>us with the music.

Agreed.

Derek Lim