司馬勤

在涉足花天酒地的音樂評論界之前，我在書籍出版社上班。當(dāng)年我在蘭登書屋（Random House）最要好的一位同事得知我對于兒童文學(xué)一無所知，覺得很震驚（孩提時代的我很早就開始閱讀不少難度高的、成年人看的書籍）。有一天，她送了一本自己小時候最喜歡的書給我：《天使雕像》（這是中文出版時選用的書名，原書名為From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler，直譯應(yīng)為《巴塞爾·E.弗蘭克韋勒夫人的亂糟糟的文件摘錄》。）

在這個言過其實（還缺乏內(nèi)容描述性）的標(biāo)題下，講述的故事其實相當(dāng)簡單：兩個智力超常的頑皮小孩離家出走，躲進(jìn)了大都會博物館。到了晚上博物館關(guān)了門，他們把握機(jī)會近距離接觸珍貴的藏品。書中描述的經(jīng)歷還包括他們在噴水池里洗澡（在池底撿獲不少硬幣）和睡在博物館展出的古董大床上。孩子們順便破解了一宗專家們一直以來被蒙在鼓里的藝術(shù)贗品案件。

故事也涉及很多其他的情節(jié)，但言歸正傳，這本兒童小說已經(jīng)成為經(jīng)典，贏得了多項大獎，并跨越了媒體，被改編為不同的電影、電視版本（這部作品的成功大概也可以歸功于系列電影《博物館奇妙夜》，盡管這部電影的取景地是另一類型的博物館）。如果我沒記錯的話，《天使雕像》一書中更附上了大都會博物館的地圖指南，這使它成為博物館有史以來最成功的商業(yè)廣告之一——對不起，應(yīng)該用“觀眾拓展”這個詞。對于大都會博物館來說，這本書為博物館帶來前所未有的曝光率。

不過，有時你遇上經(jīng)典時會相逢恨晚。在我20歲出頭的時候，唯一感興趣的“大都會”不是博物館，而是歌劇院。當(dāng)時就已經(jīng)流傳過不少報道，說美國的歌劇觀眾群以老年人為主，且平均年齡還在不斷上升。因此，每當(dāng)我坐進(jìn)大都會歌劇院觀眾席，就會感覺當(dāng)時的自己將觀眾平均年齡拉低了至少10歲。當(dāng)年那個神圣的音樂殿堂雖然敞開大門，卻沒有提供任何吸引年輕一代的東西——就算有，那些觀演體驗也絕對說不上親善友好。

因此，除了觀看那些利用很少美國人熟悉的語言寫出來的老戲?qū)?，除了跟著那些對于歌劇藝術(shù)已經(jīng)了如指掌的老人在一起觀劇，如果小孩子有機(jī)會能在歌劇院關(guān)門后進(jìn)入那里探險，甚至可以試試服裝、摸摸道具，按照自己的方式構(gòu)建出一個幻想國度，又會發(fā)生什么呢？

我可以很肯定地說，這種設(shè)想在大都會歌劇院是永遠(yuǎn)不可能發(fā)生的：這家歌劇院在紐約市立歌劇院引進(jìn)投影字幕十年后才追上了潮流。對于構(gòu)建一個真正能供孩童體驗的歌劇院項目，這種前瞻性思維必須發(fā)散得更遠(yuǎn)。

第一個宣稱“條條大路通羅馬”（All roads lead to Rome）的并非意大利人。嚴(yán)格來講，意大利這個國家在公元1175年，即法國教士阿蘭·迪·里爾（Alain de Lille）首次把這個概念記錄下來的年份，還未建國。里爾當(dāng)年用拉丁文這樣寫道：mile viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam，即“一千條路永遠(yuǎn)把人們引向羅馬”（杰弗里·喬叟是第一個用英語表達(dá)同一個理念的人，但他的文句更為復(fù)雜）。后來這一概念濃縮成精簡的短句，更為朗朗上口。

幾個世紀(jì)以來，羅馬一直是美食家的天堂，當(dāng)然也以古代歷史和歌劇聞名。這個城市通常不提供的——尤其是因為在過去76年里經(jīng)歷過68屆政府，就是在當(dāng)?shù)貫槠渌私鉀Q他們的問題。

然而，羅馬這個名字最近從四面八方浮現(xiàn)出來。5月，戛納電影節(jié)剛呈獻(xiàn)了兩部刻意令人聯(lián)想到羅馬的影片——亞當(dāng)·德賴弗在法蘭西斯·科波拉編導(dǎo)的《大都會》（Megalopolis）中飾演一個名為“愷撒”的角色；克里斯·海姆斯沃斯在喬治·米勒的電影《瘋狂的麥克斯：狂暴女神》（Furiosa： A Mad Max Saga）中出演的人物（據(jù)《紐約時報》的描述，他像個“重金屬的戰(zhàn)車御者”）。在公共事務(wù)的范疇，紐約州、馬薩諸塞州與加利福尼亞州的州長參加了由羅馬教皇方濟(jì)各主辦的氣候變化峰會；此前一周，紐約市市長埃里克·亞當(dāng)斯也到訪羅馬，考察當(dāng)?shù)靥幚斫谝泼翊罅坑咳胛C(jī)的應(yīng)對措施（可想而知，移民與右派反移民勢力的沖突幾年前已在羅馬發(fā)生，后來世界各地才紛紛效仿）。

因此，當(dāng)我聽說羅馬歌劇院的駐地——科斯坦齊劇院（Teatro Costanzi）剛剛邀請了130名8至10歲的兒童在那里留宿一晚的消息后，我一點(diǎn)都不驚訝。除了觀看樂團(tuán)排練、學(xué)習(xí)基本芭蕾舞步、有機(jī)會一起參加合唱、用紙張制作戲服外，這些孩子們還親眼看到劇院維修工人如何清洗全世界最大的水晶燈。他們更遇上一個“鬼魂”——一百年前，女高音艾瑪·卡利里（Emma Carelli）接管了劇院經(jīng)理一職，并在這里工作多年，有傳言說“她”仍會在劇院的各個走廊出現(xiàn)（扮演艾瑪?shù)呐咭羰橇_馬歌劇院青年藝術(shù)家計劃的成員；后來她刻意卸了妝，以素顏真面目跟兒童訪客們再次會面，以確保孩子們不會信以為真而被嚇到）。

孩子們在參加了尋寶游戲之后，熟悉了劇院前后臺的各個角落。這不但是大部分參加者首次造訪歌劇院——其中許多人都來自比較貧窮的家庭——當(dāng)家長送孩子到羅馬歌劇院時，也是他們首次踏足這個藝術(shù)場館?！拔覀兩钚艅≡簯?yīng)該服務(wù)全民，”科斯坦齊劇院總經(jīng)理弗朗西斯科·吉安布朗尼（Francesco Giambrone）接受《紐約時報》訪問時說，“進(jìn)入到我們劇院的每一個人都應(yīng)該覺得賓至如歸?！?/p>

從我記事起，美國與英國的國民一直都會哀嘆自己國家的教育政策里沒有兼顧音樂教育，資源不足。然而很多觀察人士卻指出，英美的音樂教育情況比意大利幸運(yùn)得多：意大利的某些政客時而沉浸在自己國家歌劇悠久傳承的榮譽(yù)感中，時而又會有不少人強(qiáng)烈譴責(zé)這門藝術(shù)是社會階層戰(zhàn)斗的遺物。

其實，反諷的意味十分明顯：意大利是歌劇的發(fā)源地，但這個國家的議會議員不僅經(jīng)常對音樂教育投反對票，他們更拒絕認(rèn)可歌劇為意大利國寶（可是，意大利還是成功地將“歌劇歌唱藝術(shù)”列進(jìn)聯(lián)合國教科文組織人類非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)代表作名錄）。

作為一種自我保護(hù)的手段，全球的專業(yè)藝術(shù)機(jī)構(gòu)都致力于舉辦藝術(shù)教育項目。美國很多大城市都發(fā)起了“輔助”藝術(shù)教育項目，而意大利起步較晚，到現(xiàn)在也沒追得上，但后者卻有更深厚的藝術(shù)根基資源可以使用。羅馬歌劇院除了積極拓展年輕觀眾以外，更針對無家可歸者與住在偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)的人們安排了不同項目。這家歌劇院早在1990年代就設(shè)立了教育項目，其本意是為了拓展市場。歌劇院方面充滿信心地表示，多年前參與過歌劇院教育活動的青年人如今仍是歌劇院忠實的觀眾。

至于意大利歌劇傳承的問題，今天的藝術(shù)家、藝術(shù)管理人員與高瞻遠(yuǎn)矚的政策制訂者可能會感到一絲安慰：即使在19世紀(jì)歌劇藝術(shù)最巔峰的全盛時期，一位聲名顯赫的、精通音樂的意大利國會議員曾經(jīng)游說過國會支持公立學(xué)校開辦音樂教育課程，可是他沒有成功。

他的名字是——朱塞佩·威爾第。

Back when I worked in book publishing， right before I joined the music criticism racket， a close colleague at Random House was appalled at how little I knew about childrens literature. （Even as a child， I went straight to the hard stuff.） One day she presented me with her favorite book from childhood： From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Inside that overblown （and not terribly descriptive） title was a pretty simple premise： two precocious kids run away from home and sneak into the Metropolitan Museum of Art， where they camp out and experience the exhibits after hours. This includes bathing in the fountain （snagging the coins from the bottom） and sleeping the museums antique beds. They also wind up solving a case of a counterfeit exhibit that had fooled the experts.

Theres more to the story， but to get to the point， the book had become a classic， winning numerous awards and spawning film and TV adaptations. （It probably also had something to do with Night at the Museum， despite that film taking place at a very different museum on the other side of town.） If I remember correctly， the book even contained walking maps of the Met， which made it one of the most successful commercial advertisements—sorry， I mean tools for audience outreach—that a museum had ever seen.

Sometimes， though， you discover a classic too late. In my 20s， the only Met I was interested in was the Metropolitan Opera. Much was made at the time about how opera audiences in America were old and growing older. My very presence in the house seemed to lower the average age by at least a decade. Very little was there to entice a younger generation to enter those hallowed doors—and even if there was， the experience wasnt exactly welcoming.

So instead of seeing old shows in languages that few Americans spoke well， with older audiences who seemed to know everything， what would happen if kids had the chance to enter the opera house after hours， in full reach of costumes and props and able to enter a fantasy world on their own terms？

I think its safe to say that would never happen at the Met， an opera company that was still resisting surtitles a decade after theyd become a mainstay at New York City Opera. For a truly forward-thinking childhood experience， youd have to go back a bit further.

The first guy who claimed that “All roads lead to Rome” wasnt actually Italian. Strictly speaking， Italy didnt even exist as a country in 1175 when the French cleric Alain de Lille first penned mile viae ducunt homines per saecula Romam， literally “a thousand roads forever lead men to Rome.” （Geoffrey Chaucer， who first expressed the same sentiment in English， was even more verbally cumbersome.） But boiled down to five words， the phrase continues to roll off the tongue.

For centuries， Rome has been a destination for fine dining， communing with ancient history and， of course， opera. What the city has not generally offered， particularly with its 68 different governments in 76 years， are solutions for other peoples problems at home.

And yet， Rome has been popping up lately from every direction. Two films at the Cannes Film Festival in May were cited for consciously referencing ancient Rome （Adam Driver playing a character named“Cesar” in Francis Ford Coppolas Megalopolis； Chris Hemsworth mimicking “a heavy-metal charioteer，” to quote the New York Times， in George Millers Furiosa： A Mad Max Saga）. In the public sector， the governors of New York， Massachusetts and California joined in a summit on climate change hosted by Pope Francis only a week or so after New York City Mayor Eric Adams came to Rome looking for solutions in how to handle the citys recent influx of migrants （as with so many other things， migrants and right-wing antiimmigration blowback surfaced in Rome before it became fashionable）.

So I guess I shouldnt be surprised that Teatro Costanzi， the home of the Rome Opera， recently hosted a sleepover for nearly 130 children， ages 8 to 10. In addition to watching the orchestra rehearse， they learned basic ballet moves， sang in a chorus， made costumes out of paper， and discovered how the buildings maintenance staff cleans the worlds largest chandelier. There was also a cameo visit by a ghost—the spirit of Emma Carelli，a soprano turned theatre manager from a century ago who is still rumored to be haunting the halls.（The singer from the companys young artists program later reappeared without makeup， just in case some of the audience thought that “Emma”was real.）

After participating in an organized treasure hunt， the kids learned many of the theatres nooks and crannies. It wasnt just the first time in the opera house for most of the participants—many of whom came from disadvantaged backgrounds—but also for many of the parents who dropped their children off for the night. “We believe that the theatre should be for everyone，” the Costanzis general manager Francesco Giambrone told the New York Times， “and that it should make people feel at home.”

For as long as I can remember， people in the United States and England have lamented the state of their respective countrys music education. Many observers， though， have pointed out that the problem in those countries is not nearly as pronounced as it is in Italy， where politicians veer between basking vi- cariously in the countrys operatic heritage and condemning the current art form as a socially stratified battleground in the class wars.

You dont need to look far to see the irony： lawmakers in the country that invented opera not only regularly vote against supporting music education but have also refused to declare opera a national treasure. （Italy did， however， successfully campaign to have opera singing included in UNESCOs Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.）

As a means of self-preservation， arts education around the world now falls largely to the professional organizations themselves. Italy may not have been as quick to develop supplemental arts education as some of the major cities in the US， but they have much deeper roots to draw on. In addition to its work with young audiences， the Rome Opera also has programs for the homeless and those who live in geographically challenged areas. The company organizes its educational programs—many dating back to the 1990s—under the general banner of marketing， and one thing the company says with complete confi- dence is that many of those young participants from years ago remain loyal operagoers today.

As far as Italys operatic heritage is concerned， todays artists， artistic administrators and forwardthinking lawmakers can take cold comfort in that fact that even during operas heyday in the 19th century a prominent music-conscious member of Italys Parliament was unable to convince his fellow lawmakers to support music education in the nations public schools.

His name was Giuseppe Verdi.