第一次看“梁祝”，感受十足江南情

鄭琳

在美國加州圣馬力諾亨廷頓圖書館，人們聚集到中國園林里，等待一場別開生面的音樂會開場。

這是全美最大的私人圖書館，收藏有莎士比亞早期作品、華盛頓簽署的文件、雪萊的手稿等稀世珍品。它同時擁有一個龐大的植物園，收藏著風(fēng)格迥異的10多座園林，被稱為“世界園林”。其中，就有一個“空降”的蘇州園林，一石一瓦都從中國江南空運而來，由蘇州工匠親自打造。

這一天，這座風(fēng)味純正的中國園林，迎來了一批來自中國江南的藝術(shù)家——浙江音樂學(xué)院赴美巡演團。

對加州當(dāng)?shù)氐闹髁魃鐣?，這是一場規(guī)格極高的文化交流盛事。首演當(dāng)晚，財團老板、銀行家、企業(yè)家們穿著正裝出席，就像去大都會欣賞歌劇一樣。

還有幾位著長衫、戴禮帽、穿旗袍的華裔，他們在滿場金發(fā)碧眼的觀眾席里十分顯眼，仿佛從民國穿越而來。

“我們感受到了美國觀眾對東方藝術(shù)的一種敬畏?！闭阋袈暩柘蹈敝魅螐埥ɑf。

江南絲竹走進美國

這次赴美巡演，浙江音樂學(xué)院藝術(shù)團受駐美國洛杉磯總領(lǐng)館和美國“魅力中國”電視臺的邀請，一行39人于1月28日至2月5日進行了為期9天的交流演出。演出活動集民族器樂演奏、越劇、舞蹈、爵士等各種藝術(shù)形式為一體，中西合璧。

9天中，巡演團從加州州立大學(xué)、亨廷頓圖書館到南加州亞太博物館、駐洛杉磯總領(lǐng)事館、道尼劇院、南海岸廣場，每天都在奔波中，吸引了上萬觀眾觀看演出，并同時通過“魅力中國”電視臺進行全球直播，當(dāng)?shù)孛襟w全程紀(jì)實跟拍。

由于演出的時段恰逢中國春節(jié)，來自杭州的藝術(shù)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)，中國的春節(jié)文化已經(jīng)在美國盛行。

不論是亨廷頓圖書館的銀行家們，還是加州最大購物中心南海岸廣場的普通民眾，都對中國春節(jié)的各種習(xí)俗耳熟能詳。

隨后，藝術(shù)團受邀來到駐洛杉磯總領(lǐng)館。中國駐洛杉磯總領(lǐng)館總領(lǐng)事張平及其夫人、美國國會眾議員、加州眾議員和參議員等，以及南加州近600多位中美各界人士觀看了演出。

演出在充滿中國江南韻味的民樂合奏《采茶舞曲》中拉開帷幕。江南絲竹優(yōu)雅華麗、流暢委婉的音色和旋律，把杭州西子湖畔的春風(fēng)帶到了招待會的現(xiàn)場。隨后《敦煌新語》的旋律響起，透過悠揚琴聲，全場仿佛置身茫茫大漠，遠處的駝鈴聲聲，緩緩講述著“一帶一路”新的輝煌。

民樂作品之后，藝術(shù)團還帶去為本次赴美文化交流專門創(chuàng)作改編的爵士樂《茉莉花》，把中國流傳最廣的民間曲調(diào)和美國本土的爵士樂節(jié)奏完美結(jié)合，相融交織，交響輝映。

演職人員富有中國特色的服裝，以及節(jié)目中熟悉的民間曲調(diào)，讓現(xiàn)場觀眾感受到純正的中國風(fēng)和濃郁的中國年味。

演出的幾天時逢大雨，但并未阻擋美國觀眾的熱情。在亨廷頓圖書館的3場演出，500座音樂廳座無虛席。

演出由亨廷頓圖書館中國園林館長Phillip Bloom博士主持。這位博士是個中國通，他認真地向觀眾解釋每一個表演節(jié)目涉及到的中國歷史和文化。

“他的博學(xué)讓我印象深刻。”張建化說，“我注意到他講解的內(nèi)容，遠遠超過了我們事先提供給他的材料。在表演《梁祝》的時候，他把整個戲劇性的故事都為觀眾講了一遍?！?/p>

Bloom博士則說，亨廷頓圖書館舉辦的有關(guān)中國文化的系列活動中，浙江音樂學(xué)院藝術(shù)團的演出是“重中之重”，他對藝術(shù)團的中西合璧及具有浙江地方特色的表演給予了高度評價。

音樂老師帶整班學(xué)生來看演出

很久以來，外國人對“中國歌劇”的了解僅限于京劇。所以，當(dāng)講述梁山伯和祝英臺故事的《十八相送》出現(xiàn)在美國舞臺上的時候，它勾起了大量觀眾的好奇心。每次演出結(jié)束，媒體都會饒有興致地圍著那兩個越劇演員。

“兩位演員都是女性，然而祝英臺是女性，梁山伯是男性，那么為什么他們穿的衣服款式卻一樣呢？”顯然，不少老外被這個女扮男裝的復(fù)雜戲曲劇情搞暈了。

但細心的觀眾還是看出了兩位演員的不同，祝英臺的服裝是粉色的，她的唱腔也更婉轉(zhuǎn)嬌嫩，她的動作似乎也更女性化。

“其實這里還有更多的門道，祝英臺面對梁山伯的時候是男兒態(tài)，背過身去就是女兒態(tài)。當(dāng)然，第一次看越劇的外國人，是很難體會到的?！睆埥ɑf，“但他們依然能感受到這種藝術(shù)的魅力，比如兩人在一個虛擬的橋上來回走，表達出依依不舍的情感，觀眾都能體會得到?！?/p>

“我們帶去了純正的中國音樂，并且是中國江南絲竹。”張建化說，“如今的美國人對中國的了解早已超過從前，他們在本地也能聽到中國音樂。所以，當(dāng)中國的藝術(shù)家來到美國，需要給他們提供更有特色的東西。”

在加州州立大學(xué)北嶺分校音樂系進行交流演出的時候，一位教世界音樂的老師，干脆帶著一整個班的學(xué)生跑來看演出。這場中國音樂會，成了學(xué)生們最生動的課堂。

要說最“水土不服”的，居然是演奏家的樂器們。

中國的江南氣候濕潤，美國加州太干燥，有一次，一位演奏家的琵琶竟然在演出前斷了琴頸。

“琴弦的拉力很大，琵琶忽然遇到干燥天氣，裂了。”張建化說，“后來我們用502膠粘上，拿電吹風(fēng)吹干。演出全程都很緊張，生怕琵琶在臺上斷掉。所幸，一切順利?！?/p>

除了樂器“水土不服”，演奏家們還要適應(yīng)不同場地的演出?！捌綍r大家都在設(shè)備高檔的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)音樂廳里表演，去美國的時候卻要面對一些聲學(xué)環(huán)境并不理想的場所，例如購物中心，甚至露天。有的場地沒有反聽，我們準(zhǔn)備的一些節(jié)目就無法演出。每到一個新的地方，我們都需要臨時調(diào)整演出曲目，這對我們的考驗很大?！?/p>

但這次短暫的美國巡演，讓浙音藝術(shù)團的師生們感到充實和喜悅。

“7天9場演出，來不及倒時差，甚至來不及多走一遍臺，卻為美國觀眾及遠在海外的祖國同胞帶去了來自祖國的問候。有的觀眾甚至全程跟隨藝術(shù)團，每場不落。每次演出過后，聽到觀眾的歡呼，看到數(shù)次謝幕也久久不肯離開的觀眾，我們心中的感動與喜悅早將演出的疲憊、時差不適一掃而光?！睆埥ɑf。

ZJCM Student Artists Tour California in Celebration of Chinese New Year

By Zheng Lin

At the invitation of Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles and Charming China IPTV， a delegation of 39 musicians， Yueju Opera performers， and dancers from Zhejiang Conservatory of Music visited California， United States from January 28 to February 5， 2019. The group mounted performances in celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year， which fell on February 5 this year. All the performances were broadcast live on Charming China IPTV.

The first show was held on January 29 at the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles. VIPs present at the show were Chinese officials of the consulate， senators at state and county levels， local government officials， and business leaders.

Three performances were given at the 500-seat concert hall at the Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library， Art Collections and Botanic Gardens in San Marino in southern California. The library is the largest private library in the United States. Its collections boast some very precious historical documents such as the early works of Williams Shakespeare and manuscripts of Percy Bysshe Shelley， a document signed by George Washington. The botanic gardens are amazing. The Chinese Garden， one of the 15 gardens there， was built by artisans from Suzhou， China. They spent about six months constructing the first phase of the 12-acre garden， with all the building materials shipped from China.

The three shows at the Chinese Garden were all emceed by Dr. Phillip Bloom， curator of the Chinese Garden and Director of the Center for East Asian Garden Studies at the Huntington Library， Art Collections， and Botanical Gardens. “I am deeply impressed by his erudition，” recalls Zhang Jianhua， vice director of the Vocal Arts and Opera Department of ZJCM. “I noticed what he said to the audience at the performances were much more than the information we had given him in advance. He actually gave a relatively full account of the tragic romance of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.”

The student artists in this delegation were from different departments of ZJCM， including dancers， jazz musicians， Yueju Opera performers， and traditional Chinese instrumentalists. This arrangement was designed to offer a bright and delightful insight into Chinese culture in general and Zhejiang in particular.

The show started with ， a traditional Chinese music composition by Zhou Dafeng （1923-2015）， a celebrated composer based in Zhejiang. This composition is widely considered the representative musical symbol of the province and is played in important events and activities associated with Zhejiang. A dance was especially choreographed and presented on the basis of this musical masterpiece at a stunning G20 summit night gala on the West Lake on the 4th September， 2016 to entertain the world state heads attending the summit.

The young players from the orchestral department of ZJCM played in Jazz style ， a traditional folksong from the south of the Yangtze River Delta. The piece was especially adapted for this show in California.

or? as best known to the west audience， was probably the most fascinating part of the show. When a show was over， audiences usually came forward to see the two young female Yueju Opera performers who interpreted the tragic romance on the stage. Some audience members wondered why two females performed a romance between a woman and a man. Explanations are in many things： the folk story which can be traced back to hundreds of years ago in Zhejiang， the Yueju Opera which originated in Zhejiang over 100 years ago， the Yueju Opera presentation of the romance， one of the most popular in the operas repertoire. Some audiences noticed the details that differentiate the two butterfly lovers.

This Yueju Opera showpiece is something rarely seen in the United States. That explains why it was presented on this road show. Another showpiece in this program was .

“Nowadays Americans know much more about China than ever. They have access to Chinese music. We need something original and authentic to show. Thats why we brought? music to the United States，” explains Zhang Jianhua. Jiangnan is the traditional name for the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in southern Jiangsu， Shanghai， and northern Zhejiang. ， literally "silk and bamboo，" refers to string and wind musical instruments.

This strategy worked. When the ZJCM artists staged a show on the campus of California State University， Northridge， a scholar who taught world music brought the whole class to the performance. For these students， it was a rare opportunity to watch Chinese musicians play Chinese music.

The artists found it amazing that they needed to adapt themselves in the United States. Accidents happened. As California is relatively dry and the Jiangnan in China is relatively humid， the traditional Chinese instruments were affected by the dry weather. The neck of a ， a four-string pluck instrument that resembles the guitar， snapped before the show started. The neck was glued back and the glue was dried with an electric drier. The player worried all the time while playing on the stage. Fortunately， the fix worked and the? was okay.

Show venues varied on their road trip. They played even outdoors. Accustomed to the perfect performing environment back in China， the artists found it a little bit difficult to adjust to the different venues. But they made necessary changes in programs to create the best performance.

Altogether， the artists were happy to see their nine performances in seven days were a huge success. Some audience members followed the artists on their tour and attended all the nine shows. The student artists thought it a great joy to see audience applaud and they enjoyed standing ovations.