文：司馬勤（Ken Smith） 編譯：李正欣

我身處樂團后方，坐在樂手后面那些合唱隊平時占用的座位上，雙眼凝望著勒內(nèi)·雅各布斯（René Jacobs）的正臉。我看看手上的門票，票面上的確印著“VIP”字樣。通常買票入場的觀眾，不會花大價錢看60人樂團的背影。我不是不尊敬雅各布斯大師或者無視他在音樂上的卓越成就，但我寧愿觀賞兩位女高音——波麗娜·帕茲蒂斯卡（Polina Pasztircsák）與奧利維亞·維莫倫（Olivia Vermeulen）的正面，她們分別飾演唐娜·安娜與唐娜·埃爾維拉。

弗萊堡巴洛克古樂團在深圳音樂廳演出音樂會版《唐喬瓦尼》期間，飾演萊波雷洛的男中音羅伯特·格萊多（Robert Gleadow）突然跑到舞臺后方，對著我鄰座的一位女觀眾演唱，讓她也成了演出的一部分——這是名副其實的VIP待遇無疑。

討論音樂會版歌劇的文章已屢見不鮮，我也曾經(jīng)貢獻了不少。時至今日，大部分有頭有臉的交響樂團在自己的演出季里都會在歌劇這個“大水池”里“踩踩水”。原因顯而易見，或者說太淺顯了。在沒有布景或服裝分散注意力的情況下，大家能夠聚精會神地專注于音樂里蘊藏的奧妙。因此，當“萊波雷洛”突然沖過來，在觀眾席里隨機挑選下一位唐喬瓦尼要勾引的美女時，這個引人入勝的故事又讓你有了新的體驗。

我決定在深圳看本年度“一帶一路”國際音樂季里弗萊堡古樂團的演出，原是一時沖動之舉。其實，這幾年來我都渴望有機會看看這個古樂團是怎樣演繹莫扎特的。早在2016年，雅各布斯在紐約莫扎特音樂節(jié)（Mostly Mozart Festival）演出《伊多梅紐》（Idomeneo），當時業(yè)界內(nèi)外都雀躍不已。除了常住歐洲大陸的觀眾，大部分樂迷僅能通過唱片了解過雅各布斯與弗萊堡巴洛克古樂團的藝術(shù)造詣（把歌劇唱片界定為“音樂會版歌劇”，沒有人會有異議吧）。

弗萊堡巴洛克古樂團演出的音樂會版《唐喬瓦尼》劇照

雅各布斯過去是一位假聲男高音，理所當然地會聚焦在聲樂演出上，這不足為奇。我也預料得到，因為他還是位古樂專家，自然而然地會很尊重作曲家原本的創(chuàng)作意圖。我們平時習以為常的莫扎特——尤其是演奏速度——在雅各布斯的指揮棒下，都被動搖了。演奏速度雖然像是在賽馬一樣，但唱詞還是聽得一清二楚。有時候，甚至會覺得旋律故意停了下來，讓我們好好享受聲樂的美妙時刻。飾演唐喬瓦尼的約翰尼斯·威瑟爾（Johannes Weisser）演唱那首著名的“香檳詠嘆調(diào)”時，就顯得深思熟慮，而少了平常的那種喧鬧。

雅各布斯選擇的演奏速度要是真的配上布景服裝，肯定會被它們拖累。我認為深圳的演出最讓人刮目相看的是：觀眾接觸了一批在大歌劇院無法充分發(fā)揮才華的歐洲演員。年輕美貌的他們演出時使出渾身解數(shù)、行動敏捷——無論是純熟的嗓音技巧（能追得上雅各布斯帶領(lǐng)的輕快節(jié)奏），還是他們的肢體動作，經(jīng)常要從舞臺的一端奔跑到另一端。

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2月底，一版截然不同的“歌劇音樂會”在新加坡上演。濱海藝術(shù)中心的華藝藝術(shù)節(jié)搬演了歌劇《畫皮》（Painted Skin）。這部作品去年10月在上海的首演更像是一臺多媒體劇場演出。導演易立明這次為新加坡的制作被定義為“歌劇音樂會”——舞臺上只有一個投影屏幕。

別的不說，這次的經(jīng)驗讓我們領(lǐng)略到在不同音樂文化背景下，“歌劇音樂會”的定義也有很大的差別?！懂嬈ぁ返姆b十分講究，但道具不多。要說真有什么的話，郝維亞創(chuàng)作的這一部聯(lián)篇創(chuàng)作曲式歌劇與傳統(tǒng)戲曲有不少雷同，《畫皮》讓人聯(lián)想起京劇“一桌二椅”那種簡潔的美學觀。

新加坡華樂團也強調(diào)了其他的共鳴點。樂團在舞臺上沒有依據(jù)西方的樂團編制來排位。個別小組被編排在舞臺不同區(qū)域，看起來有點像中國傳統(tǒng)戲院的格局。郝維亞在配器方面凸現(xiàn)了傳統(tǒng)樂器的演奏法，卻又把它們獨特的音色延展出來，所營造出的音樂世界就像阿爾班·貝爾格（Berg）與安東·韋伯恩（Webern）（添加了一絲西方恐怖電影效果）。

左頁、下：香港藝術(shù)節(jié)歌劇《白蛇傳》劇照

要是跟弗萊堡的《唐喬瓦尼》比較，《畫皮》的第四堵墻①第四堵墻（fourth wall），戲劇術(shù)語。在鏡框式舞臺上，通過人們的想象位于舞臺臺口的一道實際上并不存在的“墻”。它是由對舞臺“三向度”空間實體聯(lián)想而產(chǎn)生，并與箱式布景的“三面墻”相聯(lián)系而言的。它的作用是試圖將演員與觀眾隔開，使演員忘記觀眾的存在，而只在想象中承認“第四堵墻”的存在。相對牢固，到了最后才被打破。女中音董芳（飾王生）、女高音李晶晶（飾王夫人）與京劇乾旦劉錚（飾女鬼媯嫣）在他們固定的舞臺區(qū)域演出，他們之間的互動只限于故事或音樂的需要。劉錚也有幾個像是前文中提到的萊波雷洛與觀眾交流的段落。這些行為主要為了展現(xiàn)《畫皮》編劇王爰飛劇本里對女鬼裝模作樣的描述與反諷，與羅伯特·格萊多的故意搶戲有點不同。和《唐喬瓦尼》一樣，到了尾聲，《畫皮》的演員消失于臺下，融入了觀眾席中。

但這真的是我們通常定義的“歌劇音樂會”嗎？我猜，當晚在濱海藝術(shù)中心的觀眾完全抓得到這場“音樂會”的戲劇性要點。

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數(shù)周后，《畫皮》找到了一個可謂是志同道合的伙伴：香港藝術(shù)節(jié)搬演了歌劇《白蛇傳》（Madame White Snake）。這兩部作品都源于中國古代的奇幻傳說，如今為了當代觀眾而更新了展現(xiàn)的形式。兩者都嘗試融合中國與西方的聲樂方式：歌唱方面注入了像勛伯格式誦唱（Sprechstimme），從某種程度上模仿京劇念白的效果。（《白蛇傳》的例子更為復雜，因為林曉英寫的是英語劇本，并用英語演唱。）

這兩部歌劇都用了四幕劇的結(jié)構(gòu)，連貫演出，沒有中場休息。兩部作品都有借鑒演員反串的傳統(tǒng)，無論是男扮女或者女扮男——《白蛇傳》最明顯的案例，是用了假聲男高音邁克爾·馬尼亞奇（Michael Maniaci，他本人自稱為“男性女高音”）扮演小青（青蛇），旋律風格偏向無調(diào)性。

說實在的，“音樂會”版《畫皮》一幕里的舞臺動作要比整套《白蛇傳》的更多?！栋咨邆鳌反蟛糠值母泄俅碳碜詫а葸~克爾·考茲（Michael Counts）的視覺設計——燈光與動畫投影深化了舞臺動感以及感情表現(xiàn)力。林曉英把古老的民間故事現(xiàn)代化，削弱了批判妖精的成分，變成一個跨越種族的愛情故事。周龍譜寫的四幕音樂都具有令人佩服的風格對比——這部作品于2011年贏得普列策音樂大獎，周龍也是首位獲得該獎項的中國出生的作曲家，但是真正把音樂與唱詞融合起來的是考茲的視覺設計。

可惜，《白蛇傳》在香港亮相前一周，由卡里希托·比埃托（Calixto Bieito）導演的《湯豪舍》不如人意：瓦格納的音樂與舞臺上所發(fā)生的一切沒有任何“融合”可言。這位經(jīng)常引起評論分歧的導演竟然讓香港的歌劇界各類群體團結(jié)一致了：評論家、電臺名嘴、互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上的討論立場一致，清一色地批評比埃托徹底漠視了瓦格納的劇本與音樂。有人更致信《南華早報》，呼吁香港藝術(shù)節(jié)在節(jié)目選擇方面需要加倍謹慎。觀眾們做何反映？他們用行動說話：中場休息后，觀眾席頓時空了很多。

左頁、下：香港藝術(shù)節(jié)歌劇《白蛇傳》劇照

這種狀況真令人扼腕嘆息！因為烏爾夫·席爾默（Ulf Schirmer）率領(lǐng)的萊比錫布業(yè)大廳樂團與萊比錫歌劇院合唱團帶來了不但細膩，更是原汁原味的瓦格納式演繹，在亞洲地區(qū)實屬罕見。他們3月2日的演出一氣呵成，簡直可謂是天衣無縫。樂團把焦點歸于音樂織體藏著的旋律而不只是表面的光鮮。樂手簡直是跟歌唱家同頻率呼吸，同步配合樂句的線條。

丹尼爾·弗蘭克（Daniel Frank）演繹湯豪舍，他駕馭舞臺的秘訣，不只靠音量而是憑他那聽起來舒服但響亮的聲線。馬庫斯·埃沙（Markus Eiche）是一位剛毅、靠譜的沃夫拉姆。而女演員方面，要在凱特林·格靈（Kathrin G?ring）飾演的紅發(fā)維納斯與伊麗莎白·斯特里德（Elisabet Strid）飾演的形象健康的金發(fā)伊麗莎白二人之間挑選其一——標準純粹在于她們的嗓音。斯特里德明顯是贏家，她的演出豐富而立體；格靈本應是個妖婦，卻顯得過分貞潔。

如果在神圣和褻瀆之間做出選擇是一種典型的困境，為什么這個抉擇顯得這么容易？維納斯的巢穴本應代表著肉體的誘惑，但看起來卻無精打采。湯豪舍回歸至“純真”的場景中，一班兄弟用鮮紅的血液涂在他胸膛上，勾畫了一個十字架。這看起來有點像單身漢派對的玩意，也像異教徒的狩獵祭禮。真的，哪一方更有樂趣？

倘若比埃托營造的景象——與瓦格納背道而馳的導演手法，令你懷疑他有沒有搞明白故事情節(jié)，這個制作中視覺轉(zhuǎn)換的節(jié)奏與現(xiàn)場音樂的演出從頭到尾都脫了節(jié)。無論如何，他有意無意地給了我一個念頭。我很少很少看罷一個歌劇制作后，寧愿它是一場“歌劇音樂會”。

So I'm behind the orchestra—really behind, sitting in the choir stalls—looking at the face of René Jacobs.I glance down at the tickets to remind myself that they really say “VIP seats.” People don't usually pay big bucks to look at the backs of 60 musicians. And nothing against Maestro Jacobs or his prowess on the podium, but I'd rather be facing Polina Pasztircsák and Olivia Vermeulen, the sopranos singing Donnas Anna and Elvira.

But at some point at the Shenzhen Concert Hall during the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra's concert performance ofDon Giovanni, the baritone Robert Gleadow (playing Leporello) runs to the back of the stage and starts directly addressing a woman a few seats over from me, making her part of the show.VIP seating, indeed.

Much has been written about opera in the concert hall—some of it by me—and by now few symphony orchestras of any stature will get through an entire season without dipping their toes at least once in the operatic pool. The reasons should be obvious. Too, obvious, perhaps. We're all so focused on listening to the music with such intensity,undistracted by sets and costumes, that if Leporello comes around and singles out someone in the audience who might be the Don's next conquest,it shocks you back into thinking what the story is really about.

Though I attended the Freiburg's appearance at Shenzhen's Belt and Road Festival on a last-minute impulse, I'd been hankering to see what they do with Mozart for some time. Back in 2016, Jacobs had generated some excitement in New York withIdomeneoat Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival.Most people outside of Europe, though, know his work with the Freiburg mostly from CD recordings(which pretty much by definition, fall under “concert opera”).

It's not surprising that Jacobs, a former countertenor, focuses so heavily on the singing. Nor is it a shock that, given his experience in early music,he's concerned with a piece's original intentions.Much of what we expect from Mozart—particularly tempos—is shaken under Jacobs's baton. The music often races at a clip, but never at the expense of the text. Sometimes it even seems to bask in the moment. When Johannes Weisser's Giovanni sang his “Champagne Aria,” the performance was more reflective that riotous.

At these tempos, sets and costumes would simply get in the way. If nothing else, the evening introduced the audience to a roster of European singers whose particular gifts would never be fully utilized in the largest opera houses. They were,throughout the cast, young, attractive and limber—both vocally, from Jacobs's musical pacing, and physically, from having to run frequently from one side of the stage to the other.

左、右：新加坡濱海藝術(shù)中心搬演的歌劇《畫皮》劇照

左、右：新加坡濱海藝術(shù)中心搬演的歌劇《畫皮》劇照

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A much different venture into “concert opera”took place in Singapore in late February whenPainted Skinappeared at the Esplanade's Huayi Festival of Chinese Arts. As a marked contrast to the opera's premiere last October in Shanghai, where director Yi Liming's production was something of a multimedia showcase, the Singapore performance was billed as “an opera in concert,” its projections limited to a single screen.

If nothing else, the experience brought home the idea that “concert opera” means different things in different musical cultures. InPainted Skin, costumes were certainly elaborate, props suitably minimal.If anything, Hao Weiya's through-composed opera seemed remarkably akin to traditionalxiqu, evoking the “one-table-two-chairs” aesthetic of Peking opera.

Further connections were enhanced by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, which instead of its usual placement in Western symphonic formation was spread across the concert stage in various stations much like musicians in traditional Chinese theatre. So too did Hao's score draw its own associations, delving into the playing techniques of traditional instruments while extending their distinctive timbres into the sound world of Berg and Webern (with echoes of Western horror films).

Compared with the Freiburg'sGiovanni, however,the fourth wall remained intact much longer. Mezzosoprano Dong Fang (as Scholar Wang), soprano Li Jingjing (as his wife) and the Peking opera performer Liu Zheng (as the ghost Gui Yan) generally stayed in their respective spaces, mingling even among themselves as little as the story and score required. Liu did have a few Leporello-like moments,reaching into the ironies of Wang Yuanfei's text with more obvious camp than Gleadow's hammy scene-stealing. And as inGiovanni, characters do eventually disappear into the seating area and interact with the audience.

But was this really a “concert opera” as we normally define it? I suspect that few people at the Esplanade felt that they were missing anything by merely attending a musical performance.

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A few weeks laterPainted Skinfound a kindred spirit, so to speak, inMadame White Snakeat the Hong Kong Arts Festival. Both operas were old fantasies of Chinese imagination modernized for contemporary audiences. Both tried to negotiate differences between Western and Chinese vocalism with extended passages of Schoenberg-likeSprechstimmeto simulate the effect of stylized Peking opera oration. (This was rather more complicated inMadame White Snake, given that Cerise Lim Jacobs's text was written and performed in English).

Both operas maintained a four-act structure,running about 100 minutes without intermission.And both made reference to gender-bending casting in both theatrical cultures, where men often play women's roles and vice-versa—the chief example here being countertenor (or as he prefers to be called, “male soprano”) Michael Maniaci as the green snake Xiao Qing, who bore the brunt of the atonal vocal lines as well.

歌劇《湯豪舍》第二幕，伊麗莎白·斯特里德的飾演伊麗莎白

There was, truth be told, much more stage movement in a single act of the “concert”Painted Skinthan the whole ofMadame White Snake. Most of the stimulation came from director Michael Counts's visual design, an amalgam of lighting and animated projections that unfolded with great physical and expressive depth. While Jacobs modernizes the folk legend into a less judgmental interspecies romance, and Zhou's score moves from act to act with remarkable musical contrast—the opera was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Music,making Zhou the first Chinese-born composer to win the award—it is Counts's visual design that truly merge music and text together.

左頁：歌劇《湯豪舍》第二幕場景

Would that we could say the same for Calixto Bieito's production ofTannh?user, which appeared in Hong Kong the week before. In his own way, the divisive director actually brought Hong Kong's opera community together. Critics, radio commentators and internet chatter alike united against Bieito's blatant disregard for Wagner's text and score. A letter to theSouth China Morning Postcalled for greater due diligence from the Hong Kong Arts Festival in its selections. Audiences voted with their feet, with a notable exodus at the interval.

This was a pity, not least because Ulf Schirmer led the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Oper Leipzig Chorus in one of the most subtly idiomatic Wagner performances yet to reach this part of the world. On March 2 the performance reached nearseamless cohesion, with the orchestra focusing less on the shimmering surface than on the music's inner threads. Players practically breathed with the singers in matching the musical line.

As Tannh?user, Daniel Frank filled the stage less with sheer power than in pleasantly bright tone colour. Markus Eiche was a suitably sturdy and dependable Wolfram. As for the women, the choice between Kathrin G?ring's brunette Venus and Elisabet Strid's wholesomely blonde Elisabeth—both clad in near-identical spaghetti-strap dresses—became a purely vocal affair. Strid was the clear winner, with a rich, rounded performance in stark contrast to G?ring's surprisingly chaste temptress.

If choosing between the sacred and profane was such an archetypical dilemma, why did it seem so easy? Venus's lair, representing carnal temptation,was nearly lifeless, while Tannh?user's return to “purity” involved hanging out with the boys,smearing his chest with simulated blood in a cross between bachelor-party revelry and a pagan hunting ritual. Really, which side was having more fun?

If Bieito's images—so counter to Wagner's intentions—came across as having no grasp of the story, the visual pacing never connected to the evening's musical flow. The director did, however unintentionally, make a point. Rarely have I seen a staged production make such a clear case for opera in concert.

下：歌劇《湯豪舍》第二幕大合唱場景