歌劇《紅樓夢》的啟示

吳山青

劇團借助戲院而立足發(fā)展，戲院則憑借劇團而名揚四方，兩者應(yīng)當做到你中有我、我中有你，各得其所。

歌劇《紅樓夢》

2016年9月10日，歌劇《紅樓夢》在舊金山歌劇大戲院上演。

舊金山歌劇大戲院是世界歌劇界的重要演出場所，其短短幾十年的發(fā)展過程和做法，對渴望文化發(fā)展繁榮的中國城市來說，有一定的啟示作用。

進入21世紀以來，舊金山歌劇團致力于邀請世界頂級歌手參加演出。有不少全球巡演的歌劇在舊金山首演，其中包括《尼克松在中國》《秘密花園》和根據(jù)華裔美籍作家譚恩美小說改編的《接骨師之女》等。2016年，根據(jù)中國古典小說改編的歌劇《紅樓夢》在舊金山歌劇大戲院全球首演。

2008年《接骨師之女》演出大獲成功，這使得舊金山灣區(qū)的亞洲人和亞裔美國人對西式歌劇興趣越來越濃厚。之后不久，坐落在明尼阿波利斯的中國傳統(tǒng)基金會與舊金山歌劇大戲院總經(jīng)理戈克利聯(lián)系，商討改編《紅樓夢》事宜。戈克利進行市場研究后得知，所有中國人或者華裔美國人從小就以各種方式接觸這個故事的各種演繹，于是決定上這個項目。

歌劇《紅樓夢》由舊金山歌劇團制作，很能體現(xiàn)該團的運作方式。該團不求自己麻雀雖小五臟俱全，而是利用全球人才來制作。歌劇的主創(chuàng)人員和演出陣容來自世界各地，尤其是中國的杰出人才，大陸的盛宗亮和蜚聲百老匯的美籍華人劇作家黃哲倫擔任共同編劇，盛宗亮擔任作曲，臺灣的賴聲川擔任導(dǎo)演，香港的葉錦添擔任舞臺美術(shù)設(shè)計，上海的石倚潔出演寶玉，韓國的女歌手出演黛玉，陣容中還有相當一些外籍華人和其他亞裔人士。

舊金山當?shù)孛襟w盛贊歌劇的音樂、服裝、布景、演唱。評論家們認為，演出極為華麗，音樂使用中國民族樂器和曲式，極富想象力，是視覺和聽覺的盛宴。

也許不是題外話，中國文化走出去，最早、最成功、最成氣候的是音樂、戲劇、電影等方面的人才。改革開放30多年來，中國歌劇演唱家在世界各大歌劇舞臺頗為活躍，涌現(xiàn)出不少世界級的小提琴、鋼琴演奏家以及電影導(dǎo)演。從小的方面說，正是由于這些人的存在，舊金山歌劇大戲院才得以推出歌劇《紅樓夢》這樣的中國特色劇目；從大的方面說，中國文化才得以用外國人看得懂的方式，走出中國。

那么，具體而言，舊金山歌劇大戲院和歌劇團是如何運作與發(fā)展的呢？

舊金山歌劇大戲院和歌劇團

舊金山的文化市場，在第一次世界大戰(zhàn)之后才進入真正的發(fā)展期。1923年，舊金山歌劇團成立，但舊金山還缺少一個專門的歌劇院。1927年，舊金山市政府發(fā)行400萬美元城市債券，為歌劇大戲院的設(shè)計和建設(shè)籌集資金。1932年，舊金山歌劇大戲院建成。

歌劇團借助大戲院而立足發(fā)展，大戲院則憑借歌劇團而名揚世界，兩者真正做到你中有我、我中有你，各得其所。在舊金山的文藝界，大演出團體往往是公司性質(zhì)，往往是發(fā)達后建起屬于自己的演出場所，但無論是先有巢后引鳳，還是先有鳳后筑巢，都是人才決定命運。

舊金山歌劇團的發(fā)展，要歸功于其歷史上的數(shù)位掌舵者。該團一共有過7位總經(jīng)理，任期較長且影響較大的是莫羅拉任期30年（1923—1953），繼任者阿德勒任期28年（1953—1981）。

莫羅拉首次訪問舊金山是1906年，后來作為指揮常帶演出團體來此演出歌劇。1921年秋天，他來舊金山定居，并在1922年建立了舊金山歌劇團。他讓舊金山相信，這個城市文藝市場足夠繁榮，可以養(yǎng)活一個歌劇團。由于資金短缺，第一個演出季前后持續(xù)5天，此后他發(fā)起捐款活動，結(jié)果全市有2441人響應(yīng)了每人捐50美元的號召。就這樣，舊金山歌劇團開始了它的輝煌生涯。莫羅拉使歌劇團獲得斐然名聲，演出在美國各地廣播電臺轉(zhuǎn)播，很多年輕的歌手得到了演出機會。

阿德勒1938年從奧地利來到美國，為芝加哥歌劇公司建了一個合唱隊，五年之中成績斐然。莫羅拉聽說后打電話邀請阿德勒來舊金山歌劇團擔任合唱隊總監(jiān)。1953年，阿德勒接任總經(jīng)理，鼎力開拓——舊金山歌劇演出季從9月初開始延續(xù)到11月底，演出場次也有所增加。1961年秋季演出季，共上演11部歌劇，每部大約上演5至6場。

阿德勒致力于挖掘和培養(yǎng)新人。在1954年、1955年間，他推出了一個培養(yǎng)工程，不少新人通過這個工程培訓(xùn)成長為國際名人。這個計劃在1957年命名為莫羅拉歌劇工程，至今仍在延續(xù)。

在阿德勒主持下，每年秋天演出季開始的前一天，舊金山歌劇團與舊金山歌劇交響樂團合作，在金門公園舉辦免費歌劇音樂會，由非營利組織贊助。自1971年創(chuàng)辦以來，年年舉行，每場音樂會吸引三萬聽眾出席。

舊金山歌劇團在普及歌劇藝術(shù)、培養(yǎng)歌劇觀眾和加強與社區(qū)、學(xué)校的聯(lián)系等方面，也不遺余力。它舉辦各種活動，邀請當?shù)刂R精英介紹歌劇的各種知識，還在學(xué)校和社區(qū)培養(yǎng)對歌劇所涉及的音響、舞臺設(shè)計、服裝、樂器和演出等有興趣的少兒人才。這些活動蓬勃開展，使得歌劇成為當?shù)厝藗內(nèi)粘Ｉ畹囊徊糠郑蔀槌鞘形幕畹牧咙c，成為媒體持續(xù)關(guān)注的新聞事件。

（本文圖片由作者提供）

On September 10， 2016， ， an opera adapted from Chinese classical novel of the Qing Dynasty， made its world debut at San Francisco War Memorial Opera House.

For some cultural trends observers in China， the event at the opera house is a case study for Chinese cities with cultural ambitions. Over the past decades， the cities across China have prospered due to the successful modernization drive and implementation of the policy of opening up to the outside world. Grand theaters have mushroomed， but shows are yet to catch up.

In the 21st century， San Francisco Opera has intensified its efforts to get more world class opera singers to participate in its opera projects. San Francisco Opera has presented several world premieres such as ， and ， an adaptation from a namesake novel by Chinese American writer Amy Tan.

The success of in 2008 made the Asians and Asian Americans in the bay area of San Francisco become more interested in the western opera. China Heritage Foundation in Minneapolis approached David Gockley， general director of the troupe， for adapting the Chinese classical novel Dream of the Red Chamber. After studying the market in San Francisco， Gockley became aware that the novel exerts a wide influence on Chinese. He learned from members of the Chinese community in San Francisco that there is not a Chinese or a Chinese-American who has not grown up and had some contact with this piece in some form.

The way SFO produced the opera play is typical of the way the opera troupe operates and flourishes. Many important players of the cast and crew were from all over the world and some celebrated Chinese were in the production， including composer and co-librettist Bright Sheng， co-librettist and playwright David Henry Hwang， director Stan Lai， Production Designer Tim Yip， Yijie Shi who acted as Bao Yu the hero.

The local media responded warmly to the performance， heaping beautiful words on the music， singing， stage design， etc.

It is not meaningless to point to the fact that Chinese talents of music， theater and cinema are among the first driving force that has brought Chinese culture to the world. Over the past 30 plus years since the opening up to the outside world， Chinese musicians， opera singers and film directors have made high-profile appearance in the world. It is due to some of these talents that SFO was able to stage .

San Francisco Opera House and San Francisco Opera can be a revelation to troupes and theaters in China.

The entertainment market in San Francisco saw a booming growth after World War One as testified by the mushrooming of theaters and other entertainment venues. In 1923， San Francisco saw the founding of its first opera troupe， but the city did not have a standard opera theater to go with the troupe. In 1927， the city government issued 4 million bonds to raise funds for designing and constructing an opera house. In 1932， the opera house came into being and has housed the opera troupe since then. The house has helped the troupe grow and the troupe in turn has made the house well known across the world. The two have fused in one in a sense.

The success of the troupe can be attributed to the seven general directors in its history of nearly 100 years. The most influential are probably the first two of them.

The first general director was Gaetano Merola who directed the troupe from 1923 to 1953. He was the first one who firmly believed that the city could support an opera troupe. The first season was a popular and critical triumph， but it was not a financial success. He started a fund-raising initiative and 2441 responded by donating 50 dollars. With the funds raised， the second season was much better. During the thirty years， Merola did his best to get international singers to appear in his operas. The international opera seasons marked SFO growth. He gave young American singers opportunities and his troupe performed in Los Angeles. Some short versions of the works he staged were broadcast on about 30 radio stations.

Kurt Herbert Adler succeeded Merola and served as general director of the SFO for 28 years from 1953 to 1981. He extended the autumn season from early September to the end of November. In 1955 he started a training project for opera novices. In 1957 the project was named after Merola. The project has been going on since then. Adler also initiated a free concert at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco in 1971. The annual event now attracts 30，000 listeners.

San Francisco Opera works closely with local communities. It holds various projects to train talents， inspire curiosity and interests， and disseminate knowledge and aesthetics of opera， thus making itself part of the cultural scene of the city.