“歌劇王”韋伯

Generally speaking， when a horde of animals takes over a major public building， there is a bit of an outcry. But when a mob of musical moggies took over the Beijing Exhibition Theatre in January， nobody really seemed to mind.

通常來(lái)說(shuō)，一個(gè)重要的公共建筑物要是成為了一群流浪貓的聚集地，人們肯定都會(huì)有所抱怨。但是1月，當(dāng)一群會(huì)唱歌的貓占領(lǐng)了北京展覽館劇場(chǎng)時(shí)卻沒(méi)有一個(gè)人有意見(jiàn)。

The hit musical Cats， back in Beijing for its second run after the original was cut short due to SARS， opened on January 19th to vast acclaim. Playing to packed houses， the 36-strong cast wowed audiences with their acrobatic dancing， spectacular stage effects and magnificent vocals.

1月19日，音樂(lè)劇《貓》在北京隆重上演，受到了觀眾的熱烈歡迎。這是《貓》第二次在北京上演，第一次因?yàn)镾ARS來(lái)襲而被迫取消。北展劇場(chǎng)人滿為患，觀眾為36名杰出演員精彩絕倫的舞蹈和美幻美倫的舞臺(tái)特效以及鶯舌百囀的歌聲而傾倒。

Cats， based on Old Possums Book of Practical Cats by American poet T.S Eliot， is the brainchild of British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. In a career spanning forty years， Lloyd Webber has almost single-handedly reinvented musical theatre as an entertainment form， and his plays always open to packed houses in London's West End， New York's Broadway， and in theatres and playhouses all over the world.

《貓》源于美國(guó)詩(shī)人T.S艾略特的詩(shī)集《實(shí)際的貓》，由英國(guó)作曲家安德魯#8226;洛伊#8226;韋伯改編成音樂(lè)劇。在音樂(lè)界打拼了40年的韋伯幾乎是一個(gè)人就把音樂(lè)劇徹底改變成大眾的娛樂(lè)產(chǎn)品，他的作品在世界各地上演，包括倫敦西區(qū)和紐約百老匯，看他作品的觀眾總是擠爆各個(gè)劇場(chǎng)和劇院。

Born in London on March 22nd， 1948， Lloyd Webber seemed destined for a life of musical genius from an early age – his mother was a famous violinist and pianist， and his father was a composer. At the age of 3， when he first went to school and heard other children playing musical instruments， he thought they were so bad he covered his ears.

韋伯于1948年3月22日在倫敦出生，他小時(shí)候就似乎注定要成為音樂(lè)家——她母親是著名的小提琴家和鋼琴家，父親是作曲家。3歲時(shí)第一次踏入校門聽(tīng)到其他孩子在演奏樂(lè)器，他就捂上耳朵，因?yàn)樗X(jué)得他們的演奏糟透了。

By the time he was 9 he had published his first collection of music， and in 1971 he and long-term collaborator Tim Rice debuted their first Broadway production – Jesus Christ， Superstar. Telling the story of Jesus' last few days， the \"rock opera\" is very different to Lloyd Webber's later works and was condemned by some religious groups. Tim Rice was quoted as saying \"The idea of the whole opera is to have Christ seen through the eyes of Judas， and Christ as a man， not as a God.\"

9歲時(shí)，他就出版了第一本音樂(lè)集，1971年，他和長(zhǎng)期的合作伙伴蒂姆#8226;賴斯一起在百老匯發(fā)布了他們的處女作——《萬(wàn)世巨星》。該歌劇講述的是耶穌升天的故事，而其中采用的“搖滾”形式和韋伯后來(lái)的作品大相徑庭，也因此遭到了宗教組織的譴責(zé)。蒂姆#8226;賴斯曾說(shuō)：“整個(gè)歌劇的核心概念是通過(guò)猶大來(lái)看耶穌，在這里，他只是一個(gè)人而不是一個(gè)神?！?/p>

In 1976， Lloyd Webber and Rice teamed up again to write Evita， a musical version of the life of Argentinian politician Eva Peron. The show was an instant success， and many believe it marked the start of Lloyd Webber's success.

1976年，根據(jù)阿根廷女政治家伊娃#8226;貝隆的生平，韋伯和賴斯再次合作推出《貝隆夫人》。該劇一炮而紅，很多人認(rèn)為該劇是韋伯開始成功的標(biāo)志。

Finally， in 1981， Lloyd Webber hit the West End with Cats， the first show for which he had written the music and most of the lyrics. Set in an oversized junk yard， Cats tells the story of a group of moggies who get together for the \"Jellicle Ball\"， a night of tale-telling in which the cats will choose one of their number to go to the mystical \"heaviside layer\" (don't ask…)

1981年，韋伯以《貓》轟動(dòng)了西區(qū)，這是第一個(gè)由他自己完全譜曲并完成絕大部分歌詞的音樂(lè)劇。《貓》的背景設(shè)置在一個(gè)超大型的垃圾場(chǎng)中，講述的是一群貓為了參加杰里可舞會(huì)而聚集在一起，它們?cè)谝粋€(gè)互相講故事的夜晚選出其中最優(yōu)秀的一個(gè)去往神秘的九重天。

Since Cats， Lloyd Webber has had a number of hit musicals produced on both Broadway and in the West End- shows like The Phantom of the Opera， Aspects of Love， Starlight Express and most recently The Sound of Music. He has recently been seen on UK television screens as a judge on the reality TV shows How do you solve a problem like Maria and Any Dream Will Do， in which he searches for actors and actresses to fill the lead roles in his productions.

自《貓》后，韋伯又創(chuàng)作了大量在百老匯和西區(qū)隆重上演的作品，包括《歌劇魅影》、《愛(ài)的觀點(diǎn)》、《星光列車》以及最近的《音樂(lè)之聲》。最近，你也能經(jīng)常在英國(guó)電視上看到他，他在為《How do you solve a problem like Maria》和《Any Dream Will Do》做評(píng)委，以此尋求優(yōu)勝者擔(dān)任他作品的男女主角。

In his personal life， Lloyd Webber is a happily-married family man. He lives in Sydmonton， UK， with his third wife Madeleine， their three children， and their cat， Otto. In 1997， he received a life peerage and became Lord Lloyd-Webber of Sydmonton. His production company， The Really Useful Group， owns a series of theatres across the United Kingdom， and in 2006 Lloyd Webber appeared in the Sunday Times Rich List as the 87th richest Briton， with a personal fortune of $1.4 billion.

私底下，韋伯是個(gè)快樂(lè)的已婚男人。他和第三任妻子以及三個(gè)孩子還有他們的貓奧托住在英國(guó)塞德蒙頓。1997年，他被封為終身貴族，成為了塞德蒙頓的韋伯男爵。而他的制作公司在英國(guó)擁有很多劇院，2006年，他以14億身家登上了《泰晤士報(bào)》財(cái)富榜，成為英國(guó)第87個(gè)最富有的人。

When not busy being a musical genius， Lloyd Webber's personal hobbies include collecting art， watching his beloved Leyton Orient football club， and reading.

在不忙于創(chuàng)作的時(shí)候，韋伯喜歡收集藝術(shù)品、收看他最愛(ài)的奧連特足球俱樂(lè)部的比賽以及閱讀。