Anyone know why Mozart's first opera which was supposed to be in German as Mozart had requested, was sung in *English* instead in the film? I never know why that was. I know nowadays we have English translations of his operas, and the film is spoken in English after all. Also, the film shows others of his operas in English. But why not add a little historical accuracy in that instance, especially when the plot asks specifically for a German opera to be performed?
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It’s called Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail. I suppose the whole film should be in German since it was set in Austria. Except all the Austrian characters are speaking English, so I took it that English = German in this film. Italian phrases are thrown in here and there to remind us that some characters, like Salieri, are from outside Austria. I seem to recall that the Figaro scenes were sung in Italian, and Der Holle Rache was in German, so at least some of the opera scenes are authentic.
This is explained in a trivia item on IMDb: "Throughout the entire film, all German (even those in the operas) is translated to English. All Italian is left as Italian. This was done to help viewers better immerse themselves in the time that was Classical Era Austria." (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086879/trivia?item=tr2567445)
Der Hölle Rache is actually sung in English in the film. Here are the lyrics:
Mine own daughter never more
Then be thou mine own daughter never more
Rejected be forever, forsaken be forever, so sundered be forever
All the bonds of kin and blood
Rejected, forsaken and so sundered
All the bonds of kin and blood
If not through this, Sarastro's life be taken
Hark, hark, hark! Gods of Vengeance
Hear thy mother's curse!
There's also another thread about this: https://moviechat.org/tt0086879/Amadeus/58c741256b51e905f66e71a5/The-Magic-Flute