Talk:Lalla-Roukh

Cheek of the Lily??[edit]

I moved the rough translation of her name out the position normally used for standard translations of a work's title. It doesn't really belong there. I also changed the translation. Most other sources translate it as "tulip-cheeks" or "tulip face", e.g. [1], [2], [3], etc.. But could someone who has the source used to reference her name as meaning "Cheek of the Lily" please give the exact quote from this? It seems a very awkward and probably inaccurate translation. Voceditenore (talk) 10:31, 26 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Voceditenore, I enjoyed reading your new article and happened to look the opera up in Letellier's book, which is next to my desk. I thought the translation of the name interesting, so I added it. The changes you made are an improvement, and as usual you have researched it nicely. (Obviously I didn't give enough thought to how best to do this, but at least I added the citation. Isn't that better than omitting it?) This is what Letellier says: "The opera won an undisputed and deserved success. The originality of the libretto, the setting of the action, even the indecision of the characters, all seemed to stimulate the composer's imagination. Lalla Roukh (cheek of the lily in Indian), daughter of the sultan of the Indies, travels from Delhi to Kashmir to marry the son of the king of Little Boukharia. She is accompanied by her homme de confiance, a eunuch called Baskir, who is charged with looking after the princess, and acquits himself rather badly of his delicate commission. In order to alleviate the boredom of the journey, a type of Indian troubadour sings her tender romances, which she listens to with such pleasure that her heart is no longer free when she reaches the goal of her journey. Happily, as in Jean de Paris, the princess's travelling companion is none other than the prince of Boukharia who wanted to know what feelings he would inspire in his fiancée, and has succeeded in making her love him for himself." The source you cite says the name is from Persian, which doesn't sound unreasonable to me. I don't have any dictionaries of Persian or "Indian" (whatever that is) to double check his translation. (Maybe the name appears in more than one language.) Anyway, I wouldn't necessarily regard Letellier as the most reliable source for the translation of the name. --Robert.Allen (talk) 03:24, 27 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I definitely think adding the translation of her name is a good idea, just not where it was. It would be sort of like beginning Don Carlos with

Don Carlos ("Lord Charles") is a five-act grand opera composed by...

This link is to a Persian grammar, and this one to an early 19th century Hindustani/English dictionary. They are transliterated slightly differently but both are given the meaning "tulip-cheeked". Apart from his dubious translation, the Letellier passage is very interesting. Best, Voceditenore (talk) 08:33, 27 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Somehow, I'm finding it difficult to equate Don Carlos with Lalla-Roukh! :-) --Robert.Allen (talk) 09:38, 27 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

After much consideration I decided there might be a need for some explanation at Don Carlos. Welcome back! (Hope you enjoyed Italy, in spite of the Euro at risk of falling apart.) --Robert.Allen (talk) 19:53, 30 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]