小瓊：現(xiàn)在，隨著新冠肺炎疫情對(duì)日常生活的影響或多或少地減小，紐約的文化生活正在回歸其充滿活力的狀態(tài)。最近，我很高興看到一家新劇團(tuán)上演了一部講述亞洲故事的當(dāng)代歌??！

小薇：你是在說(shuō)彈射歌劇團(tuán)嗎7我了解到他們劇團(tuán)的使命是“通過(guò)展示非西方文化和代表性不足的文化的杰作來(lái)擴(kuò)展歌劇經(jīng)典”。我們之前曾在專欄中討論過(guò)這家劇團(tuán)的成立，當(dāng)時(shí)正值新冠疫情大流行的時(shí)期，他們?cè)诰W(wǎng)上組織創(chuàng)作新項(xiàng)目。他們第一次的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)演出作品是當(dāng)今最著名的目前還健在的日本作曲家細(xì)川俊夫的《班女》的美國(guó)首演。演出在紐約大學(xué)斯基爾貝爾表演藝術(shù)中心舉行。

小瓊：這是一部令人著迷的作品，由三名歌手及一名飾演無(wú)聲角色的舞蹈演員組成。這個(gè)故事改編自能劇，作為一部溫馨的室內(nèi)歌劇，你能夠真正感覺(jué)出這個(gè)故事對(duì)生命的隱喻，而這正是能劇的精髓。

小薇：我們都知道能劇的歷史傳統(tǒng)，《班女》是三島由紀(jì)夫（1925～1970）的現(xiàn)代作品。但如果你深入挖掘這個(gè)故事的起源，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)令人驚嘆的歷史層出不窮。三島給日本室町時(shí)代劇作家世阿彌的原作（約1363～約1443）添加了一個(gè)新的轉(zhuǎn)折和完全不同的結(jié)局。世阿彌寫(xiě)的《班女》則是基于以一把團(tuán)扇作為愛(ài)情信物的古代故事，故事發(fā)生在中國(guó)西漢時(shí)期。

小瓊：對(duì)中國(guó)古代文學(xué)感興趣的人可能很熟悉樂(lè)府詩(shī)。世阿彌最初的靈感來(lái)源于班婕妤的《怨歌行》，詩(shī)中描述了愛(ài)的象征——一把繡扇有朝一日可能會(huì)被丟棄，它的短期恩寵也會(huì)結(jié)束。班婕妤（約公元前48～公元前2）是一位妃子，她過(guò)著堪稱楷模的生活，被列入《列女傳》。

小薇：那它又是如何被改編成當(dāng)代歌劇的？我了解到，該劇2004年在普羅旺斯-艾克斯舉行了世界首演。

小瓊：你可以想象，這部作品的音樂(lè)語(yǔ)言非?，F(xiàn)代，但也很精致，充滿了夢(mèng)幻般的特質(zhì)。由彈射歌劇團(tuán)的藝術(shù)總監(jiān)尼爾·戈倫執(zhí)棒塔利亞樂(lè)團(tuán)，意大利導(dǎo)演盧卡·維格蒂執(zhí)導(dǎo)，這部作品充滿了夢(mèng)幻般的視覺(jué)效果。

小薇：舞臺(tái)可能很抽象，但也讓令人感受到很親密。在這么小的空間里，空氣中完全充斥著音樂(lè)，觀眾們肯定會(huì)感覺(jué)到與演員拉近了距離。

Joan： Now with COVID more-or-less behind us，New York's cultural life is returning to its vibrant self.Most recently I was delighted to see a new companystaging a contemporary opera with an Asian story！

Valery： You're talking about Catapult Opera？ I readthat their mission is to \"expand the operatic canonby presenting masterpieces from non-Western andunder-represented cultures.\" We discussed thefounding of this company in this column before， atthe height of the pandemic， when they organizedinnovative projects online. Their first in-person eventwas the US premiere of Hanjo by Toshio Hosokawa（the most famous living Japanese composer today）.The performance was at the Skirball Center for thePerforming Arts at New York University.

Joan： It was a mesmerizing production， with threesingers and a dancer/actor playing a silent role.The story is adapted from Noh theatre， and as anintimate chamber opera， you really feel the story as ametaphor for life， which is the essence of Noh.

Valery： We all know about the historical traditionof Noh， and this is a modern take by Yukio Mishima（1925-1970）. But if you dig deeper into the originsof this story， you'll find layers of amazing history.Mishima adds a new twist and completely differentending to the original by （c.1363-c.1443）. And Zeami'sstory-about a love relationship and two peopleexchanging fans-was based on an ancient figure ofthe Western Han dynasty.

Joan： Those interested in ancient Chinese literatureare probably familiar with Yuefu Songs. Zeami'soriginal inspiration can be traced to Ban Jieyu's Songof Resentment， describing how an embroidered fan-a token of love-may one day be cast away， its short-term favor ended. Ban Jieyu （c.48-2 BCE） was anImperial Concubine， she led such an exemplary lifethat she was included in the Lienu Zhuan.

Valery： How was it adapted in the contemporaryopera？ I read the world premiere took place in 2004 inAix-en-Provence.

Joan： The musical language is very modern， asyou can imagine， but also delicate and filled withdream-like qualities. The Talea Ensemb[e， expertlyconducted by Catapult's artistic director Neal Goren.And with Italian director Luca Veggetti at the helm，the production also has a visual dream-like quality.

Valery： The stage might be abstract， but it can alsobe so intimate. In a space that small， the music musttotally fill the air， and the audience certainly feelsclose to the singers.