別讓丑角入場：尋找真正的真實主義

司馬勤

一個多世紀以來，波特羅·馬斯卡尼的《鄉村騎士》（Cavalleria Rusticana，1889）和魯杰羅·萊翁卡瓦洛的《丑角》（I Pagliacci，1892），一直像美國人在早餐中將花生醬配果凍一樣搭配在一起——或者，以其他國家的飲食習慣為例，類似豬肉配卷心菜或香腸配土豆泥——但這種搭配并不是完全不可分離的。兩部作品的“初次約會”是在1893年的紐約大都會歌劇院，如今偶爾各自還會搭配其他的劇目上演——我第一次觀賞《丑角》是在一個大學制作的演出中，當時是與普契尼的獨幕喜劇《賈尼·斯基基》（Gianni Schicchi）共度一晚——但幾乎每個人都認為《鄉村騎士》和《丑角》是絕配。

這主要是因為，盡管它們的故事背景不同，然而事實證明兩部作品非常契合。兩部劇的時長都約75分鐘（雖然它們都被稱為“獨幕劇”，但嚴格意義上來說《丑角》有兩幕），也基本上都是兩位作曲家為當今觀眾所知的唯一作品（盡管類似總部位于倫敦的著名歌劇團體Opera Rara等組織一直在致力于發掘兩位作曲家其他作品，安排高質量、高知名度的歌劇制作或錄音）。

《鄉村騎士》和《丑角》中的合唱和詠嘆，精彩程度不相上下，兩者都成為真實主義歌劇中的經典——用一位評論家的話來說，真實主義歌劇是一種短暫流行的意大利歌劇流派，“用社會最底層家庭的通奸、引誘、謀殺和自殺，取代了貴族階層的通奸和引誘、謀殺和自殺”。

然而，如今真實主義歌劇可能很難再被接受。盡管其名字是含有“真實”之意的詞根，但真實主義歌劇比起戲劇化風格的演繹更不“真實”。與意大利新現實主義一樣——這場于真實主義歌劇半個世紀后出現的一場以電影為主導的運動，旨在戲劇化地表現社會問題——真實主義歌劇的特征雖然容易識別，但與今天的戲劇習慣完全不一致。

那么，你如何將這兩個完全不同的故事串聯起來，同時又能讓這種風格看起來很現代呢？在今年早些時候希臘國家歌劇院的新制作中就嘗試過其中的一種方法，即在上演《鄉村騎士》和《丑角》時，將一個裝飾有非洲圖案的巨型風車放置在舞臺中央，并在兩側環繞著兩個巨大的紅色罌粟花溫室。

導演尼科斯·卡拉塔諾斯（Nikos Karathanos）備受贊譽，是因為消除神圣和世俗的陳詞濫調并不容易。他的《鄉村騎士》中沒有清晰可辨的教堂，《丑角》中也沒有“戲中戲”的舞臺——盡管這并不意味著他完全拋棄了原著中的宗教戲或后臺戲。事實上，《鄉村騎士》中有大部分內容都融入了希臘東正教意象，尤其是大量的狂歡節裝飾和一個圍著纏腰布、頭戴荊棘王冠的形象。《丑角》則散發著它獨特風格的戲劇文化，一群持著槍踢足球的惡棍看起來很像歌舞伎中的忍者，但是又放棄了傳統的黑色忍者服，改為身著充滿涂鴉的彩色服裝。

你這下明白了吧，沒有人會把這個場景誤認為是一個意大利村莊，或者是19世紀末的那個時代。但是，即使在當晚最愚蠢和最無關緊要的時刻——舞臺上幾乎沒有任何宣敘調的呈現——萊斯利·特拉弗斯（Leslie Travers）的布景和服裝設計成功地將這晚的兩個部分融合在一起，讓人們認為這實際上是發生在同一地點不同時間的兩個片段。與此同時，指揮安托內洛·阿萊曼迪（Antonello Allemandi）在樂池中以完全合乎邏輯的真實主義風格，將希臘國家歌劇院管弦樂隊和合唱團的力量結合在一起。

演唱也循規蹈矩，總是與舞臺表演格格不入，但演員卻為觀眾提供了一些引人入勝的串聯元素。男高音歌唱家亞森·索格霍莫尼揚（Arsen Soghomonyan）在希臘國家歌劇院首秀，也是第一次在《鄉村騎士》中飾演圖里杜；之后，他又在《丑角》中飾演卡尼奧。他所塑造的兩個角色引人注目——首先是一個誘惑者，然后是一個因嫉妒而殺人的丈夫（盡管索格霍莫尼揚飾演的卡尼奧并不像一個小丑）。

男中音迪米特里·普拉塔尼亞斯（Dimitri Platanias）在上下半場中，都成功地演繹了在犯罪邊緣游走的阿爾菲奧和托尼奧。女歌者中，最強的表現也提供了最大的反差。葉卡捷琳娜·古班諾娃（Ekaterina Gubanova）在《鄉村騎士》中熱情洋溢的桑圖扎（也是她第一次演唱該角色），與塞莉婭·科斯泰（Cellia Costea）在《丑角》中活潑的內達有著鮮明對比。兩人都充分把握了作品的風格，但無奈兩人的音色都過暗，發聲技巧又都太豐富，在舞臺上飾演年輕的農民形象缺乏可信度。

這種做法與幾個月前我在世界另一端的新加坡看到的演出截然不同——盡管兩者都有一個共同點。雖然《鄉村騎士》和《丑角》可能已經捆綁演出了幾十年，但直到最近，才出現在同一個晚上由同一位歌手在這兩部劇中同時出演的情況。去年11月，新加坡抒情歌劇院不僅請到了多米尼加青年男高音何塞·埃雷迪亞（José Heredia）在《鄉村騎士》中飾演圖里杜、在《丑角》中飾演卡尼奧，請到了新加坡男中音吳翰衛（Martin Ng）出演阿爾菲奧和托尼奧，還邀請了意大利裔美國女高音麗莎·阿爾戈齊尼（Lisa Algozzini）出演桑圖扎和內達。

這場冒險出乎意料地取得了成功，這在很大程度上是因為導演阮妙芬（Nancy Yuen）對于制作的其他考慮都十分謹慎，絕不疏忽。舞臺中央是一個簡單的平臺（用作《丑角》中的舞臺），周圍有兩個柱子（《鄉村騎士》的主要裝飾）。由于視覺干擾很少，歌手們可以放棄通常的歌劇架勢，更多地專注于他們所需演繹的不同角色的微妙之處：埃雷迪亞的圖里杜明顯沒有平時那么有男子氣概，他的卡尼奧比起經典演繹的嫉妒更加充滿絕望；阿爾戈齊尼的桑圖扎和內達站在通奸行為的對立方（先是受害者，然后是施害者）；吳翰衛從一個兇神惡煞的阿爾菲奧變成了一個笨拙無能的托尼奧，聲音沉著冷靜。

但也許促成當晚演出成功的最大因素是管弦樂的規模。指揮家陳康明（Joshua Tan）嫻熟地指揮著一個12人合奏團，在丹尼爾·詹姆斯（Daniel James）精湛的縮編中，音樂線條從未顯得蒼白無力，也很少讓歌手們超出他們的舒適區。盡管在《鄉村騎士》的結尾表現出些許緊張，但埃雷迪亞在《丑角》中的嗓音強度從未減弱。同樣來自國際的配角陣容也表現出了扎實的表演。唯一的不確定性來自成人和兒童合唱團，盡管一出場有些粗糙，最終他們還是設法用音樂填滿了舞臺。

“連一個完整的管弦樂隊都沒有？”我似乎已經可以聽到正統主義者的抱怨了。但新加坡的制作顯然是有一些可圈可點之處的。雅典人在音樂風格上可能具有明顯的優勢，但他們的戲劇性往往缺乏重點和明確性。雅典的舞臺上擠滿了經驗豐富的歌手，而新加坡的表演者們則充滿了青春活力。至于那些偶爾加入的地方戲……嗯，很難評論新加坡的《丑角》，畢竟這原本說的就是一個關于地方劇團的故事。

你甚至可以說，這才是真正的真實主義。

Pietro Mascagnis Cavalleria Rusticana （1889） and Ruggero Leoncavallos I Pagliacci （1892） have been paired together like peanut butter and jelly—or， depending on your culinary traditions， pork and cabbage or bangers and mash—for more than a century， but the match was hardly inevitable. The two first met on a blind date in New York at the Metropolitan Opera in 1893 and still occasionally see others—I first experienced Pagliacci in a university production sharing an evening with Puccinis one-act comedy Gianni Schicchi—but pretty much everyone still considers them a couple.

This is largely because， despite their different backgrounds， the two have proved remarkably com- patible. Both shows run about 75 minutes （despite both being generally described as “one-acts，” Pagliacci technically has two）， and both are essentially the only works of either composer that audiences today know by name （though organizations like the London-based Opera Rara have been offering high-quality， high-profile productions and recordings of the composers other operas）.

Both Cavalleria and Pagliacci display choral writing on par with their finest solo moments， and both became instant classics in the verismo repertory—a short-lived Italian genre that， in the words of one critic，“replaced adultery， seduction， murder and suicide in the highest families with adultery， seduction， murder and suicide in the lowest families.”

Verismo， though， can be a hard sell these days. Despite the roots of its name， verismo is less “real” than just a particular form of theatrical stylization. Like Italian neorealism， a predominantly cinematic movement that emerged half a century later to dramatize social concerns， the earmarks of verismo are both easy to recognize and wholly at odds with dramatic idioms today.

So how can you link these two disparate stories while also making the style seem current？ One approach not attempted until the Greek National Operas new production earlier this year is to place a giant windmill decorated with African patterns at center stage for both productions and surround them on either side with two giant hothouses of red poppies.

To give director Nikos Karathanos some credit， its not easy to eliminate clichés of the sacred and profane. Theres neither a recognizable church in his Cavalleria nor a “stage” stage in his Pagliacci—though that doesnt mean he completely forsakes religion or backstage drama. Much of Cavalleria， in fact， is seasoned with Greek Orthodox imagery， not least being an abundance of Carnival decor and a beleaguered figure wearing a loincloth and a crown of thorns. Pagliacci exudes its own culture of stylized theatricality， with a group of gun-toting， football-playing ruffians resembling the ninja-like kuroko of kabuki， here eschewing their traditional black attire for colorful graffiti-filled garb.

You get the idea. No one would ever mistake the setting for an Italian village， or its time period for the late 19th century. But even in the evenings silliest and most irrelevant moments—very little of the dialogue being sung is actually represented on stage—Leslie Traverssets and costumes manage to blend both parts of the evening together as essentially two episodes occurring at different times in the same place. At the same time， from the orchestra pit， conductor Antonello Allemandi held the combined forces of the Greek National Opera Orchestra and Chorus together coherently in fully legitimate verismo style.

The singing， too， was practically the picture of tradition， often placing it rather at odds with the staging. The casting in particular offered some intriguing through lines. Tenor Arsen Soghomonyan， making his company debut and first professional appearance as Turiddu in Cavalleria， returned to the stage as Canio in Pagliacci to make a strong dramatic arc， first a seducer， then a jealous， murderous husband （Soghomonyans Canio was not much of a clown）.

Baritone Dimitri Platanias effectively portrayed both Alfio before intermission and Tonio afterward as borderline thugs. Among the women， the strongest showings also provided the biggest contrast. Ekaterina Gubanovas richly warm Santuzza in Cavalleria （also her first time to sing the role） stood at the opposite end of the vocal spectrum from Cellia Costeas bubbly Nedda in Pagliacci. Both were fully assured stylistically， yet both were way too dark in tone color and rich in vocal technique to be credible young peasants.

This approach was starkly at odds with a production Id seen only a few months ago halfway around the world in Singapore， though on one matter the two shared something in common. Cavalleria and Pagliacci may have split a billing for decades， but only recently have the same singers been expected to perform in both in a single evening. Last November， Singapore Lyric Opera featured not only the young Dominican tenor José Heredia as both Turiddu （in Cavalleria） and Canio （in Pagliacci） and the Singaporean baritone Martin Ng as Alfio and Tonio but also the Italian-American soprano Lisa Algozzini as Santuzza and Nedda.

The gamble paid off surprisingly well， in large part because director Nancy Yuen took so few chances with anything else. At center the stage was a simple platform （serving as Pagliaccis stage-within-a-stage） surrounded by two pillars （the primary ornaments for Cavalleria）. With so few visual distractions， the singers could forego the usual operatic grandeur and focus more on the subtleties that marked their different characters. Heredias Turiddu was noticeably less toxically masculine than usual， his Canio full more of desperation than classic jealousy. Algozzinis Santuzza and Nedda stood on opposite ends of the adultery divide （first a wronged woman， then the woman doing the wronging）. Ng went from a thuggish Alfio to a bumblingly inept Tonio with vocal aplomb.

But perhaps the greatest factor contributing to the evenings success was the scale of the orchestration. Conductor Joshua Tan deftly led a 12-piece ensemble behind the set， with musical lines （in Daniel Jamess superb reduction） that never seemed malnourished and rarely drove the singers past their comfort zone. Despite showing a bit of strain toward the end of Cavalleria， Heredias intensity in Pagliacci never flagged. Solid performances also came from an equally international supporting cast. The only tentative moments came from the adult and childrens chorus， who eventually managed to fill the stage musically despite a few rough entrances.

I can already hear the purists grumbling（“Not even a full orchestra？”）， but the Singapore production was clearly on to something. The folks in Athens may have had a clear edge in musical style， but their theatricality was often unfocused and ill-defined. Where Athens was packed with veteran singers， Singapore offered performers brimming with the energy of youth. And as for some occasionally provincial theatrics…well， its hard to criticize Singapores Pagliacci， which is， after all， a story about provincial theatrics.

You could even say， thats real verismo.