Transmutacja jako podstawowy element w procesie przygotowania nadpisów operowych

This article examines the problem of opera surtitling, which has been growing on popularity since it was introduced in 1983. Following the semiotics of opera and the characteristics of the libretto, it is argued that it is the whole staging perceived as a multimodal text that should constitute the source in the process of drafting surtitles. It seems that adopting a wider semiotic-based perspective to translation helps to underline the multisemiotic nature of opera and consequently create a relevant end-product with surtitles as an integral element of the performance.