永恒的欽佩

小瓊：上個月，幾乎全世界都在慶祝瑪麗亞·卡拉斯（1923—1977）100周年誕辰。但在西班牙，我看到了一個美麗的展覽，聚焦了另外兩位1923年出生的杰出音樂家。

小薇：我記得曾經讀過一篇新聞報道。對于全世界的音樂愛好者來說，20世紀最著名的女高音依次是：瑪麗亞·卡拉斯、瓊·薩瑟蘭（1926—2010），然后就是維多利亞·德·洛斯·安赫萊斯（1923—2005）。

小瓊：是的，這次在巴塞羅那羅伯特宮舉辦的展覽不僅是向這位女高音致敬，也是為了紀念她一生的摯友、偉大的鋼琴家艾麗西亞·拉蘿佳（1923～2009）。兩位女士都是巴塞羅那本地人，但她們來自不同的背景。維多利亞的父親是巴塞羅那大學的管理員，她從小在校園的門衛室里長大。艾麗西亞的父母是地地道道的中產階級，讓孩子學習鋼琴是合情合理的規劃。兩人第一次見面是年輕的維多利亞于1941年贏得歌唱比賽后，有機會在《波希米亞人》中扮演咪咪一角并錄制專業唱片。兩人首次合作錄制唱片，從此開始了一生的友誼。

小薇：如果不是因為音樂，兩人可能永遠不會碰得上。即使是現在，你還能在網絡上找到她們合作的唱片錄音，包括她們在20世紀80年代一起演出的音頻。

小瓊：事實上，展覽的名稱“永恒的欽佩”，其靈感來自1989年維多利亞寄給艾麗西亞的一張賀卡；艾麗西亞當時正下榻在紐約一家酒店里。除了一束鮮花，賀卡寫著以下的話：“這花束，代表我對你的藝術和意志力深深的欣賞和永恒的欽佩。”

小薇：我在網絡上看到，展覽展出了她們職業生涯和個人生活中的各個方面，包括她們在化妝間里使用過的物品，記錄了她們參加比賽、錄音以及作為巡演藝術家的經歷。

小瓊：1951年，維多利亞在大都會歌劇院首次亮相后，就經常出現在紐約，并在接下來的十年里參與了大都會在美國的多次巡演。那時離開她剛組建的小家庭是很艱難的。

小薇：當我閱讀她們的傳記時，確實有些東西引起了我的注意。兩位藝術家都是西班牙音樂界的翹楚。她們為自己的民族與傳統感到驕傲，并致力于同世界分享她們祖國的曲目。

Joan： Last month， almost the whole world celebrated the centenary of the birth of Maria Callas （1923–1977）. But in Spain， I saw a wonderful exhibition highlighting two other outstanding musicians born in 1923.

Valery： I once remember reading a news story. To the worldwide musical public， the most famous sopranos in the 20th century are， in order： Maria Callas， then Joan Sutherland （1926–2010）， then Victoria de losángeles （1923–2005）.

Joan： Yes， and this exhibition at Barcelonas Palau Robert celebrates not only the soprano， but also her lifelong friend， the great pianist Alicia de Larrocha （1923–2009）. Both ladies were Barcelona natives. But they came from different backgrounds. Victorias father was a custodian at the University of Barcelona， and she was born in the porters lodge on campus. Alicias parents were solidly middle-class， where piano lessons for children were expected. The two met for the first time after Victoria won a singing competition （in 1941） and was given the opportunity to play the role of Mimi in La bohème and make a professional recording. Still in their teens， they recorded together for the first time and a lifelong friendship began.

Valery： If it hadnt been for music， the two would probably never meet. You can find recordings of their collaboration online even now， including their joint recitals in the 1980s.

Joan： Indeed， the title of the exhibition （“That Eternal Admiration”） is inspired by a note that Victoria sent to Alicia at her New York hotel in 1989. Along with a bouquet of flowers are the following words： “With these flowers go my great affection and that eternal admiration for your art and your strength of will.”

Valery： I read online that exhibition includes many aspects of their professional and personal lives： items that they used in their dressing rooms， competitions， recordings and their lives as touring artists.

Joan： After making her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1951， Victoria often appeared in New York and on American tour with the company for another decade. It was hard being away from her young family then.

Valery： Something did attract my attention as I read their biographies. They were both great champions of Spanish music. They were proud of their heritage and wanted to share that repertoire with the world.