小瓊：我覺得自己很幸運(yùn)，能夠在香港藝術(shù)節(jié)上觀看了由兩個(gè)大洲的藝術(shù)家們帶來的克勞迪奧·蒙特威爾第《尤利西斯歸鄉(xiāng)記》的最后一場(chǎng)演出。

小薇：我在網(wǎng)上看到，這不僅僅是這部巴洛克早期經(jīng)典作品的現(xiàn)場(chǎng)表演，并且這部歌劇的角色都由木偶飾演。該制作由世界著名導(dǎo)演威廉·肯特里奇于1998 年創(chuàng)作首演。在那段時(shí)間里，肯特里奇迷上了解剖學(xué)，尤其是人體血液循環(huán)的概念。他與南非木偶劇團(tuán)的創(chuàng)始人阿德里安·科勒和巴茲爾·瓊斯密切合作，創(chuàng)作出了富有表現(xiàn)力的、栩栩如生的木偶?？咸乩锲孢€與菲利普·皮埃羅協(xié)商，將音樂進(jìn)行了明智而審慎的剪輯，因此整場(chǎng)演出時(shí)長(zhǎng)只有100 分鐘（這無(wú)疑使戲劇發(fā)展得更快）。

小瓊：來自南非木偶劇團(tuán)的五名成員遠(yuǎn)道而來，還有獨(dú)唱歌手和比利時(shí)里切卡爾古樂團(tuán)的七名成員。我發(fā)現(xiàn)最具啟發(fā)性的是，歌劇中的每個(gè)角色——不管是人或是神——都是用木偶來表現(xiàn)的，木偶出現(xiàn)在舞臺(tái)上，歌手們?cè)谄渖砼员硌?，?chuàng)造出一種完整的藝術(shù)體驗(yàn)。此外，舞臺(tái)還設(shè)置有電影投影，從視覺上重現(xiàn)了故事的背景、角色，甚至是情感。

小薇：我看到木偶師們還舉辦了一個(gè)名為“呼吸使木偶栩栩如生”的講座演示，向感興趣的觀眾近距離展示他們的木偶技藝。

小瓊：事實(shí)上，我很慶幸能及時(shí)趕到香港參加這場(chǎng)講座。這確實(shí)是一個(gè)非常有趣的藝術(shù)假設(shè)。

木偶不需要呼吸；然而，歌手們需要。如何呈現(xiàn)一場(chǎng)讓木偶看起來像是在呼吸的表演？設(shè)想一下木偶們胸部的細(xì)小起伏，這樣不僅類似呼吸的動(dòng)作，也更接近歌唱時(shí)的狀態(tài)！這顯然需要很多技巧和大量的訓(xùn)練。

小薇：的確，歌劇和舞臺(tái)的魔力就在于能將我們帶入一個(gè)想象的世界里。威廉·肯特里奇將這個(gè)故事現(xiàn)代化了（故事從尤利西斯躺在約翰內(nèi)斯堡一家現(xiàn)代醫(yī)院的病床上開始），所有關(guān)于他“回到”妻子佩內(nèi)洛普身邊的事情都只存在于他的夢(mèng)里。

小瓊：能夠在現(xiàn)實(shí)中呈現(xiàn)一個(gè)夢(mèng)，也能在夢(mèng)中展現(xiàn)現(xiàn)實(shí)故事，這代表了至高無(wú)上的藝術(shù)。我真的希望更多的亞洲觀眾能看到這個(gè)節(jié)目并受到啟發(fā)！

Joan： I count myself lucky to have caught the finalperformance of Claudio Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisseat the Hong Kong Arts Festival with visiting artists fromtwo continents.

Valery： I read on the web it’s not just any live performanceof this early Baroque classic， but the opera’s charactersare all puppets. This was a production first created by theworld-renowned director William Kentridge in 1998. Duringthat time， he was fascinated with anatomy， especially theidea of the body’s blood circulation. Working closely withAdrian Kohler and Basil Jones， founders of the HandspringPuppet Company， they created puppets that wereexpressive and totally life-like. Kentridge also collaboratedwith Philippe Pierlot in making judicious cuts， so theentire performance lasts only 100 minutes （which certainlymakes the drama move much faster）.

Joan： Five members from South Africa’s HandspringPuppet Company came all the way to Hong Kong， alongwith solo singers and seven members of Belgium’sRicercar Consort. What I found most illuminating ishow each character in the opera—human or deity—isrepresented by a puppet， and puppets appear on stagewith the singers performing in close proximity to createa total artistic experience. In addition， there’s a film"projection that visually represents place and people， aswell as feelings.

Valery： I see the puppeteers also hosted a lecture anddemonstration entitled “Breathing brings Puppets toLife，” showing interested audience members up-closehow they practice their art.

Joan： Indeed， I was lucky to have arrived in Hong Kongin time for the workshop. This is indeed a very interestingartistic premise. Puppets don’t need to breathe; singersdo， however. How do you present a performance inwhich the puppets literally look like they’re breathing？Think of the minute movements of the chest rising andfalling， thus approximating not only breathing， but alsosinging！ This clearly takes a lot of skill and training.

Valery： The magic of opera and stage is to transportus into an imaginary and imaginative world. WilliamKentridge has updated the story （it starts with Ulysseslying in bed， in a modern hospital in Johannesburg） andeverything concerning his “return” to his wife Penelopeonly exists in his dream.

Joan： Being able to present a dream in reality， andalso reality in a dream represents supreme artistry.I do hope even more audiences in Asia can see thisshow and be inspired！