he might not be able to perform.

Danke für die schnelle Antwort, dude!

Ich kämpfe heute schon den ganzen Tag mit dem Thema, und schön langsam bin ich mir bei den einfachsten Dingen nicht mehr sicher. :-(

Da ist noch ein bißchen mehr im Argen:

Even days before the premiere, rumours had been going round that he had caught a cold and... (Du kannst den Satz nicht abtrennen, dann fehlt im Englischen die indirekte Rede). Und 'dress rehearsal' oder 'final rehearsal', aber nicht beides ;)

Ui, ja. :-( Danke Gibson für diesen Hinweis!! Wie peinlich. :-(

Allerdings: Die "final dress rehearsal" ist schon gängig. Es gibt manchmal mehrere Kostümproben - und die letzte vor der Aufführung ist dann die "final dress rehearsal". Wird auf vielen AE- und BE-Seiten mit Opernbezug immer so verwendet. Ich hab's von denen so "gelernt".

Ein Beispiel nur, weil ich grad vorhin zufällig auf dieser Seite war:
http://operatattler.typepad.com/opera/2008/11...


Jedenfalls danke nochmal für die Korrektur!

If he really didn't sing a note in the dress, I think we might say something like 'walked through,' or even literally 'mimed' the role. 'Acted' alone doesn't sound quite right to me. There may be some jargon word among singers or actors, but if so, I don't know it, sorry.

If he sang very lightly, just barely enough to give an impression of the notes, the jargon word among singers is 'marking.'

Actually I think some large productions may indeed have more than one dress rehearsal, not all of which are necessarily literally in full costume.

Thank you, hm--us!!

Your corrections are very helpful! If I only could write that whole thing in German ... it would be so much easier. :-)

And yes ... it WAS a big (and great) production. :-) How I envy your Americans for having the MET!

Okay, one more note then. (-:

I wouldn't say 'premiere' unless it was really a newly composed opera; otherwise it would just be 'before the first performance' or 'before opening night.'

The more notes the better. :-) I am grateful for every advice.

But wouldn't a newly composed opera not be a "world premiere"?
I am rather sure that the "opening night" at the MET is defined to be the first night of a new season only. They often broadcast "The Opening Night", the first performance to open the season.

Maybe I should just use "the first performance of the series" (they had five in total of this very same opera and I am talking only about the first of the five).

Well, a premiere would still be a new opera for the house, I think. And it could still be a US premiere even if it wasn't a world premiere.

You have to distinguish between normal usage and terms capitalized for marketing purposes. The first night of the season might also be called the season opening or the opening gala, and the Met can certainly call it Opening Night in capital letters if they want to. But there is also an opening night for every opera, as far as I know.

Still, 'first performance' is also fine, and there's no need to add 'of the series.' (The word in this context is actually 'run': during the run of an opera. 'Series' is used more for a particular package of season tickets: a Saturday matinee series, a Friday-night series.)

You are welcome to confirm any of these on the internet by using a search engine such as google.com or yahoo.com. You can search specifically on the Met website by adding site:met.org (if I recall correctly) or on the New York Times website by adding site:nytimes.com. There are also several opera forums (also called discussion boards) on the internet where you can pick up a lot of terminology.

Thank you for taking so much time, hm--us!

It is indeed very helpful to hear such "simple" explanations. I visit these "opera forums" quite often, but I tend to forget the terminology as I use to "translate by the moment of reading" and only keep the German content in my mind, but not the English expressions.
Also, they often use words and I get a rough "feeling" what they mean, but not the necessary background (e. g. difference between "series" and "run") to use the words correctly myself.

I really appreciate your help! Thank you!