小瓊：我剛剛看了大都會歌劇院新制作的約翰·亞當(dāng)斯的《厄爾尼諾》，這是對耶穌誕生故事的現(xiàn)代復(fù)述。除了對指揮家馬林·阿爾索普和主演茱莉亞·布洛克、喬奈·布里奇斯、達(dá)璜·泰尼斯印象頗深外，我還留意到大都會歌劇院的成人合唱團(tuán)，以及一個令人驚嘆的童聲合唱團(tuán)的客串演出。

小薇：歌劇中的童聲合唱總是引人入勝。我們都記得，在普契尼的《圖蘭朵》中，當(dāng)孩子們進(jìn)入皇宮廣場時唱起了《茉莉花》的旋律，伴隨著美妙的童聲合唱，普契尼用配器施展了魔法，描繪出冉冉升起的月亮。而孩子們的唱歌方式——沒有顫音，沒有分聲部——也傳達(dá)出一種純潔和天真的感覺，與故事主線本身形成了鮮明的對比。

小瓊：歐洲歌劇中使用童聲合唱的傳統(tǒng)可以追溯到19世紀(jì)末。盡管最早使用大型童聲合唱的作品之一是赫克托·柏遼茲的《浮士德的詛咒》，作曲家將其描述為“戲劇傳奇”；但我們大多數(shù)人記得的是《波希米亞人》中的平安夜，孩子們聚集在莫墨斯咖啡館外的玩具小店里的場景。事實上，再往前推20年，比才的《卡門》第一幕（第二場）中，就有兒童出現(xiàn)在卷煙廠外！

小薇：到了20世紀(jì)初的《托斯卡》，教堂的場景里出現(xiàn)了童聲合唱團(tuán)。顯然，普契尼保持著在歌劇中使用童聲合唱的傳統(tǒng)。

小瓊：正如你所想象的，大多數(shù)歌劇院都無法維持院內(nèi)童聲合唱團(tuán)的運作，因為成本費用高得令人望而卻步。為了這次制作的《厄爾尼諾》，大都會歌劇院邀請了一個非常成熟的團(tuán)體——紐約市青年合唱團(tuán)。30多年來，我一直是這個合唱團(tuán)的粉絲。藝術(shù)總監(jiān)弗朗西斯科·努涅斯是一位杰出的音樂教育家，他創(chuàng)立了這個團(tuán)體，明確表示希望促進(jìn)文化多樣性。事實上，參與合唱團(tuán)的孩子們反映出紐約市的種族構(gòu)成，這對于一部講述黑人和拉丁美洲文化的歌劇來說非常關(guān)鍵。青年合唱團(tuán)還進(jìn)行過多次國際巡演，包括中國！我聽說他們將在今年下半年前往中國。

小薇：我能夠想象得出舞臺上的孩子們正在享受著在歌劇院演出的成就感，并將他們的所學(xué)付諸實踐。多么了不起！

小瓊：我們甚至還沒有談到歌劇中的兒童獨唱演員，這類演員有很多（有些扮演天使）。我們將在下期繼續(xù)！

Joan： I just saw the Metropolitan Operas new production of John Adamss El Ni？o， a modern retelling of the Nativity story. Apart from being so impressed by conductor Marin Alsop and the leading cast—Julia Bullock， Jnai Bridges， Davóne Tines—there was also the Mets adult chorus as well as a guest appearance by an amazing childrens chorus.

Valery： Childrens choruses in opera are always entrancing. We all remember hearing “Jasmine Flower” as the children enter the main square early in Puccinis Turandot. When they enter， Puccinis orchestration also casts some magic in depicting the rising moon. And the way they sing—without vibrato， in unison—conveys a sense of purity and innocence， providing much contrast to the main storyline itself.

Joan： We can trace the tradition of childrens choruses in European opera to the late 19th century， though one of the earliest use of a large childrens chorus was in Hector Berliozs Damnation of Faust， which the composer described as a “dramatic legend.” But most of us remember Christmas Eve in La bohème， when children crowd around the toy seller outside Café Momus！ Actually， two decades before that， Bizets Carmen featured children appearing in the first act （in the second scene） outside the cigarette factory！

Valery： By the early 20th century， we have Tosca， with the childrens chorus in church. Clearly， Puccini holds the record regarding childrens choruses in opera.

Joan： As you can imagine， most opera houses cannot maintain a childrens chorus， because it is prohibitively expensive. For El Ni？o， the Metropolitan Opera actually engaged a very well-established group， the Young Peoples Chorus of New York City. Ive been a fan of this ensemble for a couple of decades. Artistic Director Francisco J. Nú？ez， a distinguished music educator， founded the group with the expressed hope of promoting diversity. The kids， in fact， mirror the racial makeup of New York City， which is very key for an opera referencing Black and Latin American culture. The Young Peoples Chorus has also made multiple international tours， including going to China！ I hear they are returning later this year.

Valery： I can just imagine the children on stage relishing the experience of appearing in an opera house and putting what they practice into use. What an amazing accomplishment！

Joan： And were not even talking about child soloists in opera， of which there are many （some playing angels）. Well discuss that later！