小瓊：3月初我在紐約時，很高興能欣賞到曼尼斯音樂學(xué)院歌劇項目制作的《呂西斯特拉特》，該劇由作曲家馬克·阿達(dá)莫根據(jù)阿里斯托芬的古希臘喜劇改編而成。這部歌劇于2002年在休斯敦大歌劇院全球首演，隨后又在紐約市立歌劇院亮相。但讓此次曼尼斯音樂學(xué)院歌劇項目之旅最為愉快的是，我在舞臺上欣賞到了三名來自中國的年輕歌手的演出：他們分別是男中音陳威、女中音顧平和男高音任哲東。

小薇：我上網(wǎng)查了一下，發(fā)現(xiàn)這個歌劇項目非常獨(dú)特：它隸屬于位于紐約的新學(xué)院大學(xué)的表演藝術(shù)學(xué)院，其歌劇制作在美國各個音樂學(xué)院中處于最高水平。這些年輕的歌手們需要完成為期兩年的研究生課程，并獲得聲樂專業(yè)研究生文憑。

小瓊：該項目還與知名的老牌歌劇院合作。兩年前，曼尼斯的年輕歌手們參加了歌劇《正義者》的工作坊。該劇由作曲家格雷戈里·斯皮爾斯和美國詩人特蕾西·K.史密斯創(chuàng)作，將于今年夏天在圣達(dá)菲歌劇院進(jìn)行全球首演。

小薇：多么獨(dú)特的體驗??！

小瓊：學(xué)習(xí)當(dāng)代歌劇是一項艱苦的工作。不久前我采訪了陳威。他畢業(yè)于星海音樂學(xué)院，之后在曼哈頓音樂學(xué)院攻讀了碩士學(xué)位。此后，他有機(jī)會在佛羅里達(dá)州演出，出演了《費(fèi)加羅的婚禮》（阿爾馬維瓦伯爵）、《卡門》（埃斯卡米洛）和《仲夏夜之夢》（彼得·昆斯）。

小薇：布里頓的《仲夏夜之夢》是一部20世紀(jì)的現(xiàn)代歌劇，但另外兩部是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的經(jīng)典劇目。

小瓊：陳威于2023年9月被曼尼斯音樂學(xué)院歌劇項目取錄，他充分意識到學(xué)習(xí)新音樂（以20世紀(jì)80年代后創(chuàng)作的歌劇為主）的重要性，這種經(jīng)歷對任何歌手的成長都非常有用。

小薇：曼尼斯也很與時俱進(jìn)，制作視頻發(fā)布在網(wǎng)上。流媒體的使用無疑擴(kuò)大了受眾覆蓋面，讓不在當(dāng)?shù)氐娜嘶蛟诂F(xiàn)場表演周期忙碌的人都可以一飽眼福。我就觀賞了兩次年輕演員的精彩表演！

小瓊：制作一部歌劇需要很多人的努力。陳威給出了一些很好的見解。例如，我們都知道唱英語歌劇很難。為此他接受了90分鐘的發(fā)音指導(dǎo)，這讓他的現(xiàn)場表現(xiàn)更加完美。

Joan： When I was in New York in early March， I was so delighted to catch the Mannes Opera production of Lysistrata by the composer Mark Adamo （who wrote his own libretto based on the ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes）. The opera received its world premiere at the Houston Grand Opera in 2002 and appeared at the New York City Opera soon after. But what made the Mannes Opera experience particularly delightful was that I saw three young singers from China on stage： baritone Wei Chen， mezzo-soprano Ping Gu and tenor Zhedong Ren.

Valery： I went online and found out that Mannes Opera runs a really unique program in New York： it operates under the College of Performing Arts at the New School University and its opera productions are at the highestlevel among music conservatories. The young singers go through a two-year post-graduate course with a Professional Studies Diploma in Voice.

Joan： The program also partners with illustrious， established companies. Two years ago， Mannes Operas young singers took part in a workshop to develop The Righteous （by composer Gregory Spears and U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith）， which has its world premiere at Santa Fe Opera this summer.

Valery： What a unique experience！

Joan： Learning contemporary opera is hard work. I caught up with Wei Chen not long ago. He was a graduate of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music who then finished his masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music. And then he had the chance to perform in Florida， appearing in Le Nozze di Figaro （Count Almaviva）， Carmen （Escamillo） and A Midsummer Nights Dream（Peter Quince）.

Valery： Although Brittens A Midsummer Nights Dream is a 20th-century opera， the other two are standard repertory. Joan： Wei Chen began training at Mannes Opera in September 2023， fully aware that new music （operas mostly written after the 1980s） is important to learn， and having such experience is very useful in any singers resume.

Valery： Mannes Opera was also enterprising in offering the production video online. Streaming certainly amplifies the reach for people who are not in town， or were busy during the week of the live performances. And I got to see the wonderful young cast in action twice！

Joan： It takes many people to make an opera production. Wei Chen gave me some great insights. For example， we all know that singing English is quite hard. He received 1.5 hours of diction coaching， and his performance was very fine.