浙江昆劇團朋友告訴我，他要跟汪世瑜到北京去搞一個廳堂版的《牡丹亭》。有“中國巾生魁首”之稱的汪世瑜，前些年幫白先勇先生搞出過青春版《牡丹亭》，海內(nèi)外極其轟動，因此我對這個廳堂版的《牡丹亭》也抱有很大的期待。后來趁到北京參加蕭軍誕辰百年紀念活動之機，我便前往劇場，一飽廳堂版《牡丹亭》眼福。

來到了東四十條22號，一下車我就大吃一驚：廳堂版《牡丹亭》演出地居然是一座距今已有600年歷史的皇家糧倉，這糧倉舊稱東門倉，系明代永樂七年 (1409)在元代北太倉的基礎(chǔ)上建造而成，它是古代京杭大運河南糧北運的終點站，是和故宮同年齡的建筑群落。這座糧倉歷經(jīng)明清24代君王，見證過從民國到共和國以及今天京都的全部歷史，它是全國僅存的、規(guī)模最大、現(xiàn)狀最為完好的皇家糧倉。我看到它的時候，夕陽的余暉正好落在了皇家糧倉的黑瓦黃墻上，仿佛是舞臺上的一道追光，這道追光更凸現(xiàn)了古建筑的沉穩(wěn)、大氣和歲月的滄桑。

走進劇場，我立即被精妙的藝術(shù)創(chuàng)造所征服。整個舞美設(shè)計順勢而為，充分尊重皇家糧倉建筑原貌，最大程度地利用了建筑本身，并從中尋找到了一種視覺力量。八根古老而粗獷的柱子通體被燈光打亮，而觀眾對這八根大柱不覺礙眼反覺得是劇中必不可少的一個戲劇元素。那斑駁的青磚墻體，此際燈光明暗錯落，構(gòu)成了歷史深遠的帷幕，樸拙青磚與曼拂輕紗演繹著恍惚如生的凝望關(guān)系。舞臺也不曾搭高，拋棄了清末以來舞臺式戲曲表演，形式采用昆曲“家班”演出場面，以讓觀眾與演員能夠更加融為一體；另一方面也為了能讓演員根據(jù)劇情需要，流暢地行走于整體空間和任意區(qū)域，以尋找到更加自由的表演天地。

觀眾置身于這樣一種如夢如幻的場所，那種瞬間飛至身畔的驚艷之美，仿佛可以觸摸也可以對話。舞臺設(shè)計還給蝴蝶、金魚賦予了戲劇生命，戲的最后上百只蝴蝶翩翩而飛，一下子升華了戲劇的藝術(shù)氣氛。而我最欣賞的是觀眾席邊上鼎立著的那八只全透明的大魚缸，燈光自始至終打在水面上，紅色金魚舒緩地游弋，瞬間變幻出片片耀眼的彩色水晶薄片，因為這魚兒的游動，靜謐的氣氛忽然被靈動的生命所激活，并在劇場彌漫著。隨著劇情或悲或喜地發(fā)展，魚兒的游動幻化成了劇中不可或缺的精彩道具。當劇情發(fā)展至《游園》一節(jié)時，魚缸接住了紛紛而落的玫瑰花瓣；而在《離魂》一節(jié)中，淅淅瀝瀝的雨水從空中落下，又在魚缸中泛起了層層漣漪，這仿佛是主人公心情的精妙寫照，那魚缸真的是畫龍點睛的神來之筆!

我打聽到這是北京人藝著名導(dǎo)演林兆華的大手筆，他在構(gòu)思整臺舞臺效果時曾經(jīng)說過，任何舞臺化的呈現(xiàn)都會有損這個皇家糧倉建筑形態(tài)，任何想表現(xiàn)自我的空間裝置都無法和這個600年的偉大建筑相抗衡。看來，這位前衛(wèi)的先鋒導(dǎo)演在這出戲中的理念，是一種對傳統(tǒng)的敬畏和對歷史物件原汁原味的把握。

在明代的建筑里上演一部明代戲劇，無論空間還是時間，都存在著一種暗藏的契合；而林兆華與汪世瑜的共同觸碰，更使得昆曲獲得了一種世界語匯。

演出中《牡丹亭》的所有對白、唱詞都以中英文對照形式投影在那堵青磚構(gòu)筑的磚墻上，盡管英文與中文的神韻有著天壤之別，但在我身邊的那位高鼻子老外仍然是一臉的陶醉。其實，老外能否聽懂內(nèi)容真的無關(guān)緊要，你在這個現(xiàn)場，只要看衣彩鬢影，聽曲笛幽咽，就完全能夠體驗到一次暗香迫近眼眉的非凡感受!

除了劇中的演員，樂師也按明代服飾裝扮。更是那主角服飾，只要你親眼目睹過，便有醉酒般的感受，蒼白的文字實在難以描摹那一份美麗。更為特別的是所有演出絕對不用現(xiàn)代的麥克風(fēng)和揚聲器，角色完全憑借真嗓子和優(yōu)美的身段表演，你一抬頭，可仰旦角蓮步、裙裾暗香如風(fēng)如影一般迫在眼前。那些從江蘇、浙江千里挑一的演員，務(wù)求冶容曼聲，顰笑身步無不蘊藉風(fēng)雅。擔(dān)綱杜麗娘的女孩胡哲行，年僅19歲，她的芳齡與杜麗娘“二八春容，年已及”相近，她的扮相姣俏，氣質(zhì)華貴，兼具江南女子的溫柔婉約和大家閨秀的端莊秀麗，再經(jīng)過名師張繼青、顧湘諸位前輩指點調(diào)教，故舉手投足無不形神兼?zhèn)洌涣鴫裘返陌缪菡咴?，是汪世瑜的高足，眉目朗然，身形挺拔，剛毅中暗帶傷感，情癡之態(tài)畢露無遺；就連廳堂版《牡丹亭》的樂師們亦都身手不凡，年輕樂師均為中央音樂學(xué)院高材生，有幾位還是碩士研究生，絲弦婉轉(zhuǎn)，如琢如磨，樂師中的主角司鼓張金魁，更是浙江昆劇團樂隊的核心人物，他從藝近50年，給“傳、世、盛、秀、萬”字輩的演員都擔(dān)綱司鼓，不但如此，他自己還能拍曲、譯工尺、吹昆笛，在昆曲繼承傳統(tǒng)風(fēng)格上有獨特見識。樂師中的另一位要角司笛錢洪明，是江蘇昆劇演的首席笛師，曾獲得過全國戲曲音樂最高獎，當他一開場吹著笛兒從亭閣緩緩走出時，昆曲的靈性立刻像花香一般向四周蔓延。有了這樣超豪華的陣容，加上大師林兆華、汪世瑜悉心指導(dǎo)，此劇想不火紅恐怕也做不到了。

現(xiàn)在，廳堂版《牡丹亭》在京城已到了一票難求的程度，雖然價位不低，每張票從580到1980元不等，但人們?nèi)誀幭鄵屬?，因其每周只演兩場，每場只?0位貴賓觀看，因此，火爆程度可以想象。眼下時尚圈里，已經(jīng)流行將是否看過廳堂版《牡丹亭》作為一種品位、格調(diào)的談資標準，外國駐華使館的文化參贊們，更是將它作為了解中國博大精深文化的一個窗口，據(jù)出品人王翔講，2008奧運會組委會已花500萬元巨資訂購了部分演出，準備將其作為奧運的文化大餐奉獻給各國官員和運動員，同時也為“人文奧運”注入了實在而豐富的內(nèi)涵。

然而誰能想到，在策劃、籌備此劇的當初并不如此風(fēng)光，王翔曾幾度受挫，幾度動搖，他不斷追加成本，把自己的血汗和家財都投進了這個深不可測的無底洞。這位既不懂昆曲又不懂戲劇的北方漢子，只是秉持著一個觀點：“傳統(tǒng)的文化要靠精致的呈現(xiàn)去傳承，別把祖宗留下來的東西當破爛兒到當鋪里賣個稀爛錢。它們都是值錢的玩藝兒，你得恭敬著用才對”。這話說得平淡，如同水一般，但那絕不是水，而是濃烈的白酒，使人發(fā)燒，讓人沸騰!

正是文化與經(jīng)濟的相互交融，戲曲與產(chǎn)業(yè)的成功嫁接，廳堂版《牡丹亭》得以在600年的古倉文物遺址中，復(fù)歸昆曲表演的肇始狀態(tài)，以120分鐘和500平方米的簡潔時空，構(gòu)筑起情景交融、虛實相生的極致景觀，并以簡約而緊湊的戲劇結(jié)構(gòu)再現(xiàn)六世紀前曼聲徐度的雅致蘊籍，重塑柳杜愛情傳奇那跨越時空的動人力量，將活生生的嬌美容顏、清亮亮的婉轉(zhuǎn)歌喉，以及萬方儀態(tài)和毫不屈就的矜持，鑄就了廳堂版《牡丹亭》的獨特美學(xué)品質(zhì)!這部戲的文學(xué)顧問余秋雨說得好：“昆曲既然已經(jīng)獲得了可以代表中華文明而進入人類共同遺產(chǎn)的標志性地位，就應(yīng)該以高貴而優(yōu)美的實際面目讓海內(nèi)外人士感性地確認這種地位”。一種文化復(fù)興和再創(chuàng)輝煌，都應(yīng)該有具體形態(tài)的復(fù)興和創(chuàng)新來支持，廳堂版《牡丹亭》和青春版《牡丹亭》一樣，它們都會在昆曲發(fā)展史乃至中國文化的發(fā)展史上寫下濃濃的一筆。

Peony Pavilion Staged in a Royal Granary

By Zheng Xiaolin

A friend with Zhejiang Kunqu Opera Troupe one day mentioned to me that he would appear in a performance of The Peony Pavilion in a hall version in collaboration with Wang Shiyu. This news took my fancy， for Wang played a big part in the blockbuster youth version of The Peony Pavilion produced by Mr. Bai Xianyong. So I expected to find out how the classic play in a so-called hall version could inspire my imagination and give me a new aesthetic experience. The other day， I attended an event in memory of the centennial anniversary of the writer Xiao Jun in Beijing. So I found time and went to see the so-called hall version of The Peony Pavilion.

To my surprise， the venue of the performance turned out to be a 600-years-old government granary. The granary today is the result of a refurbishment project in 1409 that restored and expanded a granary of the Yuan Dynasty. The granary was used to store cereal shipped in from the south through Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. As old as the Forbidden City， the granary witnessed the come and go of the twenty-four emperors of the Qing and Ming dynasties， it witnessed the years of the Republic of China， and it saw the birth of New China. That's how the play staged here is referred to as the hall version.

I arrived at the granary as the dusk began to descend. The setting sun threw its golden sunrays upon the black roof tiles and orange walls， making the granary look like a wonderful theater which revealed history and the architectural magnificence of the granary.

I was totally conquered by the ingenious design of the performing area. The art designers took the best use of the original architecture and layout of the granary. The original eight great pillars became integral part of the setting. I did not feel that the pillars should not be there. The bluish brick wall in the background， highlighted by bright light and shadows， pointed to the solemn grandeur of history. The wall later served as an ideal place for the slide to show the English libretto. There was something new in the setting， though: there was no stage in the hall. This bold idea was against the tradition in which all the theater shows have been performed on uplifted stages since the Qing Dynasty. The new arrangements would allow actors more freedom to interact with the audience.

The eight large fish tanks as part of the setting were an absolutely ingenious and amazing touch. Constant limelight on the tanks revealed the dazzling grandeur of the reddish goldfish swimming around dreamingly. As they sashayed through the static lights， their silent movements turned themselves into colorful slender crystals now and then. At one moment of the performance， rose petals floated down romantically into the glass tanks. At another moment， water drops spattered into the tanks， imitating a drizzling rain.

It was the idea of Lin Zhaohua， a famed director of the Beijing People's Art Theater. When he was designing for the performance， he said that any kind of stage presentation would harm the original architectural beauty of the granary. He believed that no self-important device could stand a chance to outshine the 600-year-old magnificence. The avant-garde director's ideas about the stage arrangement reflect his respect for history and his understanding of the ancient architecture of the granary.

The cooperation of director Li Zhaohua and Kunqu master Wang Shiyu has ensured the success of this classic Kunqu Opera play and enabled the elegant theatric performance to acquire an international appeal.

The actors were all dressed in the Ming-styled costumes. Even the accompanists were dressed that elegantly. The whole performance was unplugged. Poetry was the only word I could use to describe the performance. The thespians came from Jiangsu and Zhejiang， gracefully young and youthful to depict their characters naturally and convincingly. The band was full of highly qualified instrumentalists. Zhang Jinkui， the drummer from the Zhejiang Kunqu Opera House， has seen the careers of five-generation Kunqu actors in his nearly 50-year-long drummer career. The flute player is Qian Hongming， once honored as the country's best opera flute player. The opera began with him playing the flute and wandering out of a pavilion dressed in elegant Ming-styled costume. It was really a grabbing moment.

The hall-version Peony Pavilion has been a hit in the capital. Tickets range from 580 to 1，980 yuan， targeting the elite audience. The show is staged twice a week and each show admits an audience of 60. According to the producer Wang Xiang， the organizing committee of the 2008 Olympic Games has booked 5-million-yuan worth tickets in advance to entertain officials and athletes from all over the world during the grand sports gala next year.

Behind the big success of the play in the ancient granary are the bittersweet tribulations the producer Wang Xiang experienced. In the preliminary stages， he ran into ominous setbacks. He had to put all he had into the play. The producer is by no means a man with professional knowledge of theater in general and Kunqu Opera in particular， but he knows that Kunqu is worth his respect and he respected it with his investment and his faith.

The 120-minute melodious and poetic Peony Pavilion in a 500-square-meter space brings Kunqu Opera， a world's intangible cultural heritage， into highly tangible unparalleled splendor. Against a background of six-hundred years， the opera presentation pours blossoming life into the timeless romance.

(Translated by David)