Helen Tretbar facts for kids

Helen Dellenbaugh Tretbar (born May 16, 1835 – died April 3, 1902) was an American writer and translator. She was also a librettist, which means she wrote the words for musical works like operas. Helen was very good at languages, speaking French, German, and Italian. She even edited a music magazine called The Etude in the late 1880s.

Growing Up and School

Helen was born in Buffalo, New York. Her parents were Frederick and Magdalena Dellenbaugh. She went to school at the Female Academy in Buffalo. Today, this school is known as the Buffalo Seminary. Later, she married Charles F. Tretbar. Charles worked for a famous piano company, Steinway & Sons. He also published many books and translations, including some of Helen's work.

Her Work as a Writer and Translator

Helen Tretbar was a talented translator. She changed books and songs from one language to another.

Translating Books

In 1884, Helen translated a book called From the Tone World. It was a collection of essays by Louis Ehlert. She translated it from German into English. Her husband published this translation.

Working for a Music Magazine

In 1887, Helen started working for The Etude magazine. This magazine was about music. She eventually became the main editor. This means she was in charge of what went into the magazine.

Writing for Music

Helen also wrote original words for music. In 1889, a company published her work called Twenty-one New Song Vocalises. These were songs with music by Paolo La Villa. A magazine review said her words were like "real poems." They also said many of her songs were good enough to be sung in people's homes.

Adapting Operettas

In 1891, Helen helped bring a German operetta to America. An operetta is like a short, light opera. The original German show was called Der Vogelhandler by Carl Zeller. Helen changed the words for American audiences. The new version was called The Tyrolean. It was performed 100 times at the Casino Theatre in New York City. Years later, in 1947, it was performed in London as The Bird Seller.

Translating Song Lyrics

Helen translated the words for many songs. She worked with music by famous composers like Franz Abt, Jean-Baptiste Faure, Victor Herbert, Jules Massenet, and Ignacy Paderewski. She helped people enjoy songs in English that were originally in other languages.