后疫情時代的歌劇（二）

Joanna C.Lee

小瓊：上個月我們講到了馬德里成功的《茶花女》制作，其中演出人員均保持社交距離。這個月我們來探索還有哪些歌劇能符合嚴(yán)格的舞臺安全規(guī)范，尤其是在一些仍然需要執(zhí)行嚴(yán)格疫情防控措施的歐美國家。

小薇：馬德里版的《茶花女》里，兩位有情人完全沒有肢體接觸，始終隔著兩米的“社交距離”。是不是還有別的歌劇能讓角色相互保持距離呢？

小瓊：我們不如再退一步，考慮一下獨唱歌劇——這樣演職人員就只有舞臺上的唯一演員和樂池里的樂團(tuán)了。我想到了弗朗西斯·普朗克于1958年創(chuàng)作的《人聲》。

小薇：普朗克這部改編自讓·柯克多1928年單人話劇的歌劇的確是一個非常“現(xiàn)代”的故事。房間里一名女子不愿與前男友分手，在電話里極力挽留。這名女子（劇中被稱作“她”）在整場演出中手里都拿著電話。

小瓊：觀眾的確只能聽到她那邊廂講話，情緒激動、跌宕起伏。她把孤獨所內(nèi)在具有的煎熬和憤怒濃縮在了約40分鐘的一幕戲里。我們都知道普朗克的代表作《加爾默羅修女的對話》（1957），比《人聲》早一年；但《人聲》的音樂語言更為冒險，捕捉了現(xiàn)代人幽閉恐懼的焦慮。

小薇：同樣以電話為主題的另一部歌劇也很適合后新冠疫情時期的當(dāng)下上演，那就是吉安·卡洛·梅諾蒂的獨幕歌劇《電話》，僅需兩人演唱。

小瓊：雖然故事的主人公是一對愛人，但他們不必相互接觸。故事（詞曲均由梅諾蒂本人創(chuàng)作）的前情提要是男主人公想要向女主人公求婚，但總是不停地有人給女主人公打電話，有的是想和她聊天，有的甚至是撥錯的電話。

小薇：我知道演出《電話》時常常以鋼琴伴奏，這也讓保持社交距離更為容易。

小瓊：你知道這部20分鐘長的喜歌劇是如何結(jié)束的嗎？男主最終用電話求了婚。所以最后他們“浪漫”的二重唱是兩個人拿著電話唱出來的——兩個人分開站著，象征著他們在不同的空間里。還有什么能比這更好地保持社交距離呢？

Joan： Last month we discussed the successful production of a socially-distanced La Traviata in Madrid. This month I want to explore other operas that can potentially conform with strict health regulations on stage， specifically those still mandated in many countries in Europe and America.

Valery： Wed discussed the Madrid Traviata where the two lovers never touch and always remain two meters apart. Perhaps there are other operas that allow characters to stay far away from each other？

Joan： We could start by stepping back even further， with operas written for solo voice—just one singer on stage （and orchestra in the pit）. Im thinking of Francis Poulencs La voix humaine （1958）.

Valery： Poulencs opera version of Jean Cocteaus one-woman play from 1928 is indeed a “modern”story： inside a room， a woman is unwilling to let go of her ex-lover whom she tries to hold on in her phone conversation. The woman （referred to as “she”/Elle） has a phone in her hand throughout the performance.

Joan： Yes， the audience only hears her side of the conversation， but what an emotional rollercoaster it is！ She epitomizes the suffering and exasperations inherent in loneliness， all captured in one act （lasting about 40 minutes）. We all know Poulencs major opera， Dialogue of the Carmelites （1957）， which preceded La voix humaine by a year. When it comes to musical language， La voix humaine is much more adventurous， capturing the modern anxieties of claustrophobia.

Valery： On the subject of telephones， another opera that can work well in the post-COVID era is Gian Carlo Menottis one-act opera The Telephone （1947）. It only features two singers.

Joan： Although it is about two lovers， they dont necessarily have to touch. The premise of this story（libretto and music both by Menotti） is that the boyfriend wants to propose marriage， yet is constantly interrupted by phone calls she receives from people calling to chat， and even someone dialing a wrong number.

Valery： I understand that often The Telephone is performed with piano accompaniment， which also makes social distancing really easy.

Joan： Do you know how this 20-minute comic opera ends？ The boyfriend ends up proposing marriage by phone. So their final “romantic” duet is sung with each of them holding a phone—standing apart to symbolize their being in two different spaces！ How more socially distant can you get？