Unless otherwise noted, these contain a German text and an English translation. This is not a complete list of translations into all languages, though I have tried to account for all English translations in a printed format. Subtitles of film and video have not been included.
Note that many of these translations accompany sound recordings; such translations will reflect the cuts taken in performance.
Anonymous trans. With sound recording by Georg Solti, conductor, and soloists Crespin, Minton, Donath, Jungwirth, et al. London OSAL 1345 (4 long-playing discs), 1969.
Castel, Nico, trans. In Nico Castel: Four Strauss Opera Libretti. Geneseo, NY: Leyerle, 2002.
Castel’s books are reference works for singers. An interlinear text presents the original German, a phonetic transcription, and a “literal,” word-by-word English translation.
Gádor, Ágnes, trans. Richard Strauss: A rózsalovag. In program book for Hungarian State Opera House. Budapest: Magyar Állami Operaház, n. d. (2010?).
In Hungarian, “based on the translation by Ágnes Gádor”.
Godefroid, Philippe, trans. In Avant-scène Opéra, L’: Strauss: Le chevalier à la rose. L’avant-scène Opéra no. 69 and 70.
German and French.
Gutman, John, trans. Der Rosenkavalier. With sound recording by Karl Böhm, conductor, and soloists Schech, Seefried, Streich, Böhme, et al. Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft DGMR 301 (4 long-playing discs), 19–.
A singing translation.
Holme, Christopher, trans. The Cavalier of the Rose. In Hugo von Hofmannsthal: Selected Plays and Libretti. New York: Pantheon, 1964.
English only; a translation of the “book edition.” Holme aims at capturing something of Hofmannsthal’s flavor, often with a specifically British diction.
Huré, Pierre-Antoine and Laurent Muhleisen, trans. In Hugo von Hofmannsthal: Électre; Le Chevalier à la rose; Ariane à Naxos.Flammarion; Paris, 2002.
German and French.
Kalisch, Alfred, trans. Der Rosenkavalier (The Rose-Bearer). Paris: Fürstner, 1912; Copyright reassigned: London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1943.
This first English translation is still the most widely available one. It is a singing translation, necessarily quite free. Kalisch goes the farthest of any English translator in trying to emulate Hofmannsthal’s mock-antique style.
Kalisch’s complete translation can be found in scores, but the German-English “libretto” version sold in opera houses has some major gaps. Much of Ochs’s Act I “aria” is omitted, along with the Marschallin-Octavian-Ochs trio. Many passages cut from stage performance are also omitted. There are some translating and typographical mistakes.
As can be seen below, some translations attributed to Kalisch are actually revisions of his work, whether so described or not.
―――. In Nicholas Johns, ed.: Der Rosenkavalier. New York: Riverrun, 1981.
This is part of the English National Opera guide. A singing translation, “extensively revised for performance by English National Opera.”
―――. In Metropolitan Opera: Richard Strauss: “ Der Rosenkavalier.” Metropolitan Opera Library. Boston: Little, Brown, 1982.
Revised to bring “idiomatic expressions . . . closer to their original meaning.”
―――, rev. James Steakley. In James Steakley, ed.: German Opera Libretti. The German Library, v. 52. New York: Continuum, 1995.
English only.
[Kalisch, Alfred, trans.] With sound recording by Georg Szell, conductor, and soloists Güden, Novotná, Reining, Prohaska, et al. Andante Records 3985 (4 compact discs), 2002.
This is a revised version of Kalisch, though neither translator nor reviser is credited.
Landolfi, Tommaso. trans. Le nozze di Sobeide; Il cavaliere della rosa. Piccola Biblioteca 678. Adelphi Edizioni, Milan, 2015
Italian only. Landolfi was both a translator and noted author.
Legge, Walter, trans. With sound recording by Herbert von Karajan, conductor, and soloists Schwarzkopf, Ludwig, Stich-Randall, Edelmann, et al. EMI Records 73243 5 67609 2 (3 compact discs), publ. 1957, copyright 2001.
Meltzer, Charles Henry, trans. Unpublished typescript. N. d. (ca. 1926).
English only. This unique copy, held in the Library of Congress in Washington, D. C., was apparently prepared at the request of a Chicago patron.
Parker, Bill, trans. [recte: Rex Levang, trans.] With sound recording by Carlos Kleiber, conductor, and soloists Watson, Fassbaender, Popp, Ridderbusch, et al. Opera d’Oro OPD 7046 (3 compact discs).
Though not so credited, this is the first version of my translation, with some mistakes. Cuts are taken; stage directions are largely omitted.
Schur, Maxim and Alice Starr, trans. With sound recording by Leonard Bernstein, conductor, and soloists Ludwig, Jones, Popp, Berry, et al. Columbia Records M 30652 (4 long-playing discs).
Serpa, Franco, trans. Il cavaliere della rosa. Piccola Biblioteca 284. Adelphi Edizioni, Milan, 1992.
German and Italian, with excellent notes.
Der Rosenkavalier - Guide to Research 