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Ultimately, though, he is unable to bridge the gap between the two. As
General Alfredo says:
They have no tongues.
We have no ears.
As a result, despite Messner’s best efforts, communication breaks down and
tragedy ensues.
Roxane becomes a translator as well. Music is a language that speaks
to each of the hostages and rebels, regardless of their native tongue. As
Carmen puts it, when Roxane sings, she gives them all “a moment without
fear.” General Alfredo recognizes this power and initially yells at Roxane to
stop singing when he sees how transfixed his soldiers become:
You are like a weapon.
If I don’t warn them,
they’ll fall under your spell.
He tells Roxane he and she will never find common ground:
I am unable to hear you.
And you’re unable to see me.
For me reality is a rifle.
For you it is an opera.
As time passes, however, the general softens, even allowing his young soldier
César to take voice lessons with Roxane.
In the second-to-last scene, two couples sing two duets. Gen and Carmen
sing in Spanish, though it is a first language for neither of them—when they
speak to themselves Gen uses Japanese, Carmen Quechua. Hosokawa
and Roxane both sing in English, though it’s not a language Hosokawa
understands. Having learned a new language of physical intimacy, the
couples understand one another in a way they did not before. Desire is a
language unto itself. Carmen enjoins Gen:
Let yourself be a word
and let me be the mouth
that pronounces it.
Language is more than words; it impacts our understanding of the world.
Translation must become an act of knowing. In this story of captivity in which
many of the characters do not speak one another’s language, audiences
may find themselves considering how language affects their own perception
of the world and reflecting on the languages they speak.
The Art of Translation: Language in
Bel Canto
Quechua is an indigenous language spoken by thirteen percent of Peruvians and
between eight and ten million people throughout the Americas. English speakers
have Quechua to thank for a number of words that have entered our language via
Spanish. They include: condor, guano, jerky, lagniappe, llama, puma, and quinine.
Photo: Andrew Cioffi