This collection documents the careers of Ruth Kelley Martin (b. Ruth Berenice Kelley, Jersey City, NJ, April 14, 1914; d. New York, December 11, 2000) and Thomas Philipp Martin (b. Thomas Philipp Fleischer, Vienna, May 28, 1909; d. New York May 14, 1984), who are known for their translations of opera libretti. Together they translated over 40 Italian, German, and French operas into English, and Thomas translated four American operas into German. Although performances of their translations are rarer following the widespread adoption of supertitles in opera houses in the 1990s, for about half a century beginning in the 1940s their libretti were highly regarded and frequently performed.

Thomas trained as a conductor at the Vienna Conservatory and went on to study at the Vienna Volksoper. Ruth spent the summers of 1937 and 1938 studying abroad in Vienna, where she met Thomas. Following Germany’s annexation of Austria, Thomas moved to the United States in 1939. He took the surname Martin and married Ruth. Thomas began conducting with the St. Louis Opera, Chicago Opera, and Cincinnati Opera. He and Ruth also created an English-language translation of Die Zauberflöte for children at a summer camp where they worked in Vermont. After the summer camp performance, they shared the translation with conductor Bruno Walter, who worked with them to prepare it for a production at the Metropolitan Opera House, which premiered on December 11, 1941.

Following Die Zauberflöte’s success, the Martins translated Verdi’s La forza del destino, Strauss’s The Gypsy Baron, and Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail. Their biggest successes were the productions of Le nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, and The Daughter of the Regiment featuring their translations at the New York City Opera, which performed one of their translations almost every season for decades.

In addition to translating operas, Thomas continued to conduct. He was a conductor at the New York City Opera from 1944 to 1956, assistant chorus master at the Metropolitan Opera from 1958 to 1965, and conductor again at the New York City Opera from 1966 to 1981.

The Martins’ translations were and are performed all over the world, recorded, and broadcast on television. They received numerous awards and honors, including a Medal of Honour in 1981 from the Austrian government in recognition of their translations of Mozart’s operas. Ruth received a lifetime achievement award in 1998 from the National Opera Association.