Translation & Linguistic Services

Alongside his work as a professional countertenor, Richard offers specialist linguistic services from Italian to English for singers, directors and opera companies.

A starred First-Class graduate in Italian from the University of Cambridge, Richard provides bespoke, idiomatic translations of Italian operas into English, suitable for surtitles and/or printed libretti. His translations are created with performance firmly in mind: they are clear, theatrically effective, and sensitive to musical pacing, character and dramatic context.

Richard’s previous work includes surtitle translations for Le nozze di Figaro (TCMS, Cambridge, 2021), La Cenerentola (HGO), and L’italiana in Algeri (Longhope Opera), as well as a full libretto translation for a 2022 production of Serse, which he also co-directed and in which he sang the role of Arsamene.

GET IN TOUCH

  • As part of an opera translation package, companies receive a brand-new translation of all sung (and, where applicable, spoken) text. Each translation is tailored specifically to the production, with close attention paid to tone, register and vocabulary to ensure it aligns with the setting, staging and dramatic intent of the performance.

    Where helpful, Richard may attend rehearsals to gain a fuller understanding of the production’s concept. A turnaround time of approximately two to three weeks is typical, depending on the length and complexity of the work. To allow sufficient time for revisions, Richard usually requests that the score (with any cuts clearly marked) be provided at least one month before the final delivery date.

    Fees vary according to the length and linguistic density of the opera. As a general guide, Baroque and early Classical operas — which often include repeated text — typically cost around £500. Later, more through-composed works may incur a higher fee.

    If you are interested in booking Richard for a translation, please contact him here.

  • In addition to translation work, Richard offers a range of other linguistic services, including historical and stylistic analysis of Italian texts, pronunciation coaching, and language preparation for performances and recordings.

    During his studies, Richard specialised in phonetic science and Romance (particularly Italian) dialectology. He has a longstanding interest in the relationship between sung Italian — as found in the works of Monteverdi, Handel, Mozart and others — and the regional dialects spoken across the Italian states prior to unification. This perspective allows him to offer singers practical, historically informed insight into text, pronunciation and delivery.

    Richard is happy to work one-to-one with singers and instrumentalists, providing linguistic support for recitals, concerts, lecture recitals and programme notes. For further information, please get in touch.

  • Eleanor Medcalf (harpist and soprano), in preparation for a lecture recital on Rossini’s Otello:

    “Richard recorded some Italian text for me and this was an invaluable resource for my preparation. He combines his linguistic expertise with an understanding of what singers need (especially when it comes to maintaining the quality of vowels at sung lengths) and amazing clarity in his demonstration. He also provided a translation of an Italian operatic text for me, which I had been unable to make sense of using online translation tools because it was in an older form of the language. His ability to understand something complex and communicate it with clarity, beauty and with meaning at its heart is a quality that Richard delivers in spades both in his language work as well as in his performance.”

  • Longhope Opera, L’italiana in Algeri (2025)

    “I loved your surtitles! They were so current, but not in a cringey way — they just worked. They got so many laughs from the audience!”