《歌剧》之友
OPERA COMPANION
主持：Joanna C. Lee 编译：辛时雨
从门外汉到歌剧通
How to become an opera expert
歌剧舞台上的真实故事
Real stories on the opera stage
小琼 ：最近我在重温作曲家黄若的一些歌剧，
他笔下的故事让我印象深刻。
小薇 ：我记得近十年前，听说过他的第一部歌
剧《中山·逸仙》。该剧 2011 年由香港中乐团在香
港首演 ；几年后，这部作品的西方管弦乐版的美国
首演在圣达菲歌剧院上演。
小琼 ：歌剧故事可涵盖的范围如此之广，从希
腊神话（如亨德尔的巴洛克歌剧）、莎士比亚戏剧，
到好莱坞电影的改编，再到当代科幻，而黄若尤其
对“真实的生活故事”感兴趣！
小薇 ：我最近了解到他的一部室内歌剧《束缚》
在纽约制作。2014 年，这部由休斯敦大歌剧院委
托制作的原创作品首次公演。
小琼 ：
《 束 缚 》 讲 述 了 黛 安· 陈 的 真 实 故 事。
第二代美籍越南裔女孩黛安·陈是个 11 年级的优
秀生，父母离婚后，她打两份工养家糊口。按越南
传统，她作为最大的孩子必须在母亲离开后照顾她
的弟弟妹妹。黛安忙碌的日程导致她多次缺课，因
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蒋芳涛（左）饰演的黛安 • 陈与杨光（右）饰演的母亲
Joan: Recently I’ve been revisiting a number of operas
by composer Huang Ruo, and am so impressed by
the stories he dealt with.
Valery: I remember hearing about his first opera almost
a decade ago – Dr. Sun Yat-sen , which premiered
in Hong Kong in 2011 with the Hong Kong Chinese
Orchestra, and the western orchestral version and U.S.
premiere took place a few years later at Santa Fe Opera.
Joan: Opera stories can cover such a wide range,
from Greek mythology (such as Handel’s Baroque
operas) to adaptations of Shakespeare plays and
Hollywood films to contemporary fantasies, but
Huang Ruo is singularly attracted to “real life stories”!
Valery: I see most recently a chamber opera by him,
Bound , was produced in New York. The original
commissioned work for Houston Grand Opera
premiered in 2014.
Joan: Bound chronicles the real story of Diane Tran,
a second generation Vietnamese American and 11th
grade honor student who takes two jobs to support
her family after her parents’ divorce. As the eldest
child, she is bound by her Vietnamese heritage to care
for her siblings after her mother leaves. When Diane’s
overextended schedule results in multiple absences
 © Richard Termine
黄若的室内歌剧《束缚》剧照

此行政部门依照得克萨斯州的相关法律，把她送上 from school, the administration exercises its right

under Texas law and sends her to court, where she is
了法庭，在那里她被判处了短期监禁。
sentenced to a short jail term.
小薇 ：这个故事情节很不寻常，但也让观众了 Valery: This storyline is so unusual, and yet also
解到移民生活的艰辛。 educates the audience about the hardships of the
immigrant experience.
小琼 ：他最近的一部歌剧《一个美国士兵》，讲
Joan: His most recent opera, An American Soldier , is
述的是美籍华裔士兵陈宇晖去世前的最后几天及军 about the last days prior to the death of a Chinese-
事法庭对他死因进行调查的故事。委约方肯尼迪中 American soldier Danny Chen as well as the court
martial examining how he died. The original
心华盛顿国家歌剧院规定，该作品的主题必须是一
commission, for Kennedy Center’s Washington
个美国故事。 National Opera, stipulated that the topic must be an
小薇 ：陈宇晖是中国移民的后裔，他加入美国 American story.
Valer y: Danny Chen was the son of Chinese
军队后，备受战友欺凌和折磨，最终在阿富汗坎大
immigrants who joined the U.S. Army who suffered
哈省他所在基地的一个警卫塔中死去。这部歌剧指 from hazing and bullying from his fellow soldiers,
found dead in a guard tower at his base in Kandahar
向了当今世界的许多复杂议题，如爱国主义、文化
province, Afghanistan. The opera posits such
认同和种族歧视等。 complicated issues as patriotism, cultural identity
小琼 ：歌剧的确可以描绘出丰富的故事。随着 and discrimination in today’s world.
Joan: There is indeed a wealth of stories that opera
我们更多地了解人类经验的广度和深度，歌剧可以
can portray. Opera can touch the audience so
如此深刻地触动观众。 profoundly, as we learn more about the breadth and
depth of the human experience.

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