AWARD-WINNING
TRANSLATIONS
FOR THE STAGE
Two new libretto translations premiering with major UK opera companies in autumn 2026
New Brecht / Weill translations premiering in concert in 2027
George translates professionally from German and Italian into English for commercial and academic publishing houses, and for the stage.
His work spans literary fiction, commercial non-fiction, essays, poetry, and opera.
George is the winner of the 2024 John Dryden Prize, runner-up of the 2022 Goethe-Institut Award, and placed third in the 2020 GINT Prize.
The Revolting Maid
An award-winning pocket opera
“Laugh-out-loud funny”
Dame Felicity Lott
George won the 2024 John Dryden Translation Prize for The Revolting Maid, his new English translation of Pergolesi’s classic farce La serva padrona.
The Revolting Maid was awarded a generous funding grant by the City Music Foundation, and premiered to an enthusiastic reception in 2025, in a brand-new production directed by Sophie Daneman.
Scored for just two singers, six instrumentalists and one unsuspecting audience member, this hour-long pocket opera can be played anytime, anywhere.
Sample Translation
Soldiers’ Song
from The Threepenny Opera
Brecht & Weill | 1928 | Listen to original
Translation © George Robarts 2026
John war darunter und Jim war dabei
Und Georgie ist Sergeant geworden
Doch die Armee, die fragt keinen, wer er sei
Und sie marschierte hinauf nach dem Norden.
Soldaten wohnen
Auf den Kanonen
Vom Kap bis Couch-Behar.
Wenn es mal regnete
Und es begegnete
Ihnen 'ne neue Rasse
'Ne braune oder blasse
Da machen sie
Vielleicht daraus ihr Beefsteak
Tartar!
Johnny war der Whisky zu warm
Und Jimmy hatte nie genug Decken
Aber Georgie nahm beide beim Arm
Und sagte: “Die Armee kann nicht verrecken”.
Soldaten wohnen usw.
John ist gestorben und Jimmy ist tot
Und Georgie ist vermisst und verdorben
Aber Blut ist immer noch rot
Und für die Armee wird jetzt wieder geworben!
Soldaten wohnen usw.
Tom was a private and Dick was a lance
And Harry was a tommy gunner
See how the army gives everyone a chance
Just as long as you don’t do a runner
A soldier willing
To go out killing
From Tidworth to Tehran
Will make a lasting case
That we’re the master race
And if we can’t convince them
We’ll slaughter them and mince them
We’ll mash their brains
And spread them on our biscuits
Like spam
Tom said the blankets gave him an itch
And Dick found the whisky too smoky
Harry told him not to be a whiny little bitch
Or he’d land them all in the pokey
A soldier willing etc.
Tom’s in a box now and Dick’s dead and gone
And Harry went to meet his maker
Come join the army, it’s where you belong
And we’ll pay for the undertaker
A soldier willing etc.
Recent Book Translations
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The Wisdom of Old Dogs
Over 10,000 copies sold
Elli H. Radinger
Translated by George RobartsA dog is for life,
but an old dog’s wisdom is for ever.Published by Mirror Books, 2019
A Sunday Telegraph gift book of the year
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Aesthetics of Pop Music
Available at Tate Bookshops
Diedrich Diederichsen
Translated by George RobartsPop music cast in a fresh light by one of Germany’s foremost cultural critics.
Published by Polity Press, 2023
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German Romanticism and Latin America
ed. Jenny Haase and Joanna Neilly
Contributing translator on literary responses to Wilhelm Müller and Franz Schubert’s Winterreise.
Published by MHRA (Legenda), 2024
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In AI We Trust
Helga Nowotny
New preface translated by George RobartsHas our world of predictive algorithms changed what it means to be human?
Published by Polity Press, 2021
New edition 2024