紀念卡萊爾·弗洛伊德

小瓊：剛剛過去的9月30日，成為全美歌劇迷的哀悼日。20世紀最著名的作曲家之一去世，享年95歲。他的名字叫卡萊爾·弗洛伊德。

小薇：我記得他最著名的一部歌劇《蘇珊娜》（Susannah）寫于1955年，但直到1999年才在大都會歌劇院上演，蕾內·弗萊明（Renée Fleming）擔綱主角，與塞繆爾·拉米（Samuel Ramey）演對手戲。

小瓊：也許我應該再補充一些。《蘇珊娜》是弗洛伊德根據《舊約》中的故事改編的第一部歌劇。他自己寫了劇本，將一個關于失去純真與抵抗暴民的警示故事改編到田納西州的小農村。盡管歌劇的世界首演在佛羅里達州立大學舉行（弗洛伊德當時在那里任教），但它在次年贏得了紐約評論界最佳新歌劇獎。不久以后，《蘇珊娜》作為美國音樂的代表，在1958年布魯塞爾世界博覽會上演出。

小薇：弗洛伊德畢生共創作了13部歌劇。我看到他的另一部主要作品是 1970 年首演的《鼠與人》。他以約翰·斯坦貝克1937年的經典中篇小說為基礎，創作了自己的劇本。在很多方面，這讓我想起了另一位著名作曲家，中國歌劇界的先鋒——金湘，他根據曹禺1937年的劇作創作了歌劇《原野》。巧合的是，這兩部原創文學作品幾乎是同時期創作的！

小瓊：當我們看當代歌劇時，我們或會忘記這些最早打開藝術大門的前輩們。弗洛伊德和金湘都在各自國家的歌劇土壤里種下了一枚意大利藝術的種子，讓它生長。他們都以自己的方式創作了抒情歌劇，他們對戲劇素材的高品位是顯而易見的。

小薇：這兩位作曲家的另一個共同點是他們對教育的奉獻。弗洛伊德先后在佛羅里達州和得克薩斯州任教，而金湘在執教于北京。

小瓊：他們還都維持了漫長的創作生涯。我還記得2015年在北京國家大劇院觀看金湘歌劇《日出》的全球首演（這是另一部改編自曹禺劇作的作品）。而卡萊爾·弗洛伊德的最后一部歌劇《戲劇王子》于2016年初首演，當時這位作曲家已是89歲高齡。

小薇：我們希望有朝一日能看到所有這些現代經典歌劇作品的復排！

Joan： September 30 will be marked as a day of mourning for opera fans across America. One of the most notable composers of the last century just died at the age of 95. His name was Carlisle Floyd.

Valery： I remember one of his most famous operas， Susannah， which he wrote in 1955， was belatedly staged at the Metropolitan Opera only in 1999， with Renée Fleming in the title role， playing opposite Samuel Ramey.

Joan： Perhaps I should tell you more. Susannah was Floyds first opera， which he based on an Old Testament story. He wrote his own libretto， adapting a cautionary tale about lost innocence and mob violence to rural Tennessee. Although the premiere took place at Florida State University （where Floyd was teaching at the time）， it won the New York Critics Circle Award for Best New Opera the following year. A few years later， Susannah was presented at the 1958 Worlds Fair at Brussels to represent American music.

Valery： Floyd composed a total of 13 works for the stage. I see that another major work of his was Of Mice and Men， which premiered in 1970. He wrote his own libretto for that one has well， based on John Steinbecks classic novella from 1937. In many ways，this reminds me of another notable figure in Chinese opera： the pioneer Jin Xiang， who wrote Savage Land based on Cao Yus play from 1937. What a coincidence that both original literary works were created around the same time！

Joan： Sometimes when we look at contemporary opera， we forget the immediate predecessors who first opened those artistic doors. Both Floyd and Jin planted the seed of an Italian art form in their local soil and let it grow. They both created lyrical operas in their own right， and their great taste in dramatic source material is clearly evident.

Valery： Another thing these two composers had in common was their commitment to education. Floyd taught in Florida， then Texas， while Jin taught in Beijing.

Joan： They also sustained long creative careers. I still remember being at the NCPA in Beijing to see the world premiere of Jins Sunrise in 2015 （another adaptation from Cao Yu）. Carlisle Floyds last opera， Prince of Players， premiered in early 2016 when the composer was 89.

Valery： We hope to see revivals of all these modern classics sometime in the future！