舞臺(tái)動(dòng)物：與四條腿的朋友們共享聚光燈

“永不跟兒童或動(dòng)物合作?！?/p>

——W.C. 菲爾茲

如果你跟一群演員在一起，大多數(shù)人都會(huì)同意美國(guó)喜劇演員威廉·克拉克·杜肯菲爾德（William Clark Duckenfield）的名言：他們（我指的是，兒童與動(dòng)物）完全不可預(yù)測(cè)，經(jīng)常搶盡風(fēng)頭。誰會(huì)愿意跟他們同臺(tái)演出？

我們最近聽說了很多在歌劇中亮相的兒童的事情，比如在《波希米亞人》（La bohème）或《托斯卡》（Tosca）中客串的小群眾演員，或是在《魔笛》（The Magic Flute）、《帕西法爾》（Parsifal）和《仲夏夜之夢(mèng)》（A Midsummer Night’s Dream）中屢次出場(chǎng)的不同角色，甚至在《阿馬爾與夜來客》（Amahl and the Night Visitors）一劇中擔(dān)任主角的孩子。這些年來，兒童合唱團(tuán)對(duì)于提高歌劇演出上座率發(fā)揮了關(guān)鍵作用（“六個(gè)口袋，一張嘴”這句話，套用至演藝范疇就變成“六張門票，一張嘴”）。很明顯，某些歌劇制作人對(duì)菲爾茲針對(duì)兒童的評(píng)價(jià)并不買賬。

然而，我發(fā)現(xiàn)很少有人提到跟動(dòng)物合作這個(gè)議題，這激發(fā)起我這方面的思考。在我的記憶之中，至今為止聽到反對(duì)動(dòng)物參與舞臺(tái)演出最強(qiáng)烈的聲明，來自新加坡濱海藝術(shù)中心（Esplanade）的前負(fù)責(zé)人。濱海藝術(shù)中心開幕的第一個(gè)演出季，邀請(qǐng)到了國(guó)際各大演藝機(jī)構(gòu)來新加坡搬演不同種類的制作，除芬蘭薩翁林納歌劇節(jié)（Savonlinna Opera Festival）之外，還有來自澳大利亞的馬戲團(tuán)，可謂包羅萬象。此舉意在嘗試不同形式的不同節(jié)目，摸索濱海場(chǎng)地未來運(yùn)作的方向與目標(biāo)觀眾的喜好。結(jié)果呢？“堅(jiān)決謝絕動(dòng)物！”（“你曾否嘗試過，當(dāng)大象在舞臺(tái)上謝幕后的地板清潔工作嗎？”他問我。）

有一個(gè)案例恰恰相反——弗朗切斯卡·贊貝羅（Francesca Zambello）執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《卡門》（Carmen）。這個(gè)制作在倫敦科文特皇家歌劇院首演，后來巡演至臺(tái)北。跟其他制作版本不一樣的是，贊貝羅堅(jiān)持讓一頭活生生的馬匹走上舞臺(tái)。為了達(dá)到要求，制作人宣布在當(dāng)?shù)胤秶鷥?nèi)進(jìn)行海選，以挑選出最適合該角色的馬匹。

事實(shí)證明，幾乎大都會(huì)歌劇院的每個(gè)演出季，你都可以在舞臺(tái)上找到活生生的動(dòng)物：從《玫瑰騎士》（Der Rosenkavalier）中的狗，到《毀滅天使》（The Exterminating Angel）里的三只羊。當(dāng)然，我們也不能忽略馬匹、駱駝以及——千真萬確的——大象，它們都在《阿依達(dá)》（Aida）的凱旋進(jìn)行曲中一個(gè)接一個(gè)地踏上舞臺(tái)?？墒?，眾多動(dòng)物中，沒有任何一個(gè)能像比利（Billy）那樣光芒四射。駿馬比利在《阿依達(dá)》的第二幕中獨(dú)占鰲頭，搶了其他動(dòng)物以及臺(tái)上150名演員的風(fēng)頭。

今年年初，當(dāng)《紐約郵報(bào)》（New York Post）刊登了這頭20歲的挪威峽灣馬的專題報(bào)道后，比利成為紐約炙手可熱的大明星——起碼是《紐約郵報(bào)》的焦點(diǎn)。比利并非舞臺(tái)新秀，《阿依達(dá)》也不是它的首次登臺(tái)。它在演藝界是一位老手，曾在《最偉大的表演家》（The Greatest Showman）的電影版中為休·杰克曼（Hugh Jackman）拉過馬車，也曾參加過梅里爾·斯特里普（Meryl Streep）主演的電影《小婦人》（Little Women）。它更是《星級(jí)馬匹》（The Star Horse）這部青少年小說的主人翁，《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》（New York Times）記者莎拉·馬思琳·尼爾（Sarah Maslin Nir）正是在撰寫回憶錄《為馬而狂》（Horse Crazy）時(shí)，遇上比利后，它成為她新小說的靈感來源。

幾年前的演出季，另一只四腳演員也受到《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》文藝專版的關(guān)注，那就是15歲大的旺達(dá)（Wanda）。這頭毛驢首次在大都會(huì)舞臺(tái)上亮相，是在佛朗哥·澤菲雷利（Franco Zeffirelli）執(zhí)導(dǎo)的經(jīng)典制作《波希米亞人》中，它拉著帕匹尼奧的玩具車到了莫墨斯餐廳門口。旺達(dá)的首次亮相令人期盼：上一任的毛驢名為加布里埃爾爵士（Sir Gabriel），曾扮演這個(gè)角色并拉著同一頭車有16年之久——加布里埃爾爵士更是多才多藝，曾連續(xù)12個(gè)演出季參演了《塞維利亞理發(fā)師》（The Barber of Seville）、《鄉(xiāng)村騎士》（Cavalleria Rusticana）與《修女安杰麗卡》（Suor Angelica）。大家都認(rèn)為，加布里埃爾爵士已經(jīng)成為大都會(huì)歌劇院成員中一位受人愛戴的成員。

任何物種的歌劇明星都不是憑空出世的。倘若你知道旺達(dá)與比利同屬一家名為“全都是馴服動(dòng)物”（All Tame Animals）的經(jīng)紀(jì)公司，那就不會(huì)覺得驚訝了。這家公司專門為電影拍攝、舞臺(tái)演出和偶爾的時(shí)裝秀訓(xùn)練動(dòng)物。同一位馴獸師培養(yǎng)了比利與勛爵（Lord）——?jiǎng)拙襞c旺達(dá)在《波希米亞人》中聯(lián)袂擔(dān)綱要角，勛爵負(fù)責(zé)搭載穆賽塔到同一家餐廳用餐的車——毫無疑問，它們也有著同一個(gè)公關(guān)顧問。

你猜，這些四腳朋友有資格和那些歌唱明星并駕齊驅(qū)嗎？讓我重申下，在舞臺(tái)上，四腳動(dòng)物演員與只用兩條腿站立的演員都需要有臺(tái)風(fēng)、有自信。你或許會(huì)覺得導(dǎo)演與制片人寧愿找些安靜、溫順的動(dòng)物來出演，但是根據(jù)“全都是馴服動(dòng)物”公司創(chuàng)辦人南?！ぶZ沃格拉德（Nancy Novograd）的看法，那種性格的動(dòng)物非常容易受到驚嚇，甚至一上臺(tái)就會(huì)跑回后臺(tái)（我肯定這類型的視頻在網(wǎng)上隨便搜搜都可以找到）。

另一方面，大多數(shù)訓(xùn)練有素的動(dòng)物在積聚了舞臺(tái)經(jīng)驗(yàn)后，甚至連出場(chǎng)的音樂都能認(rèn)得出來?！八鼈?cè)诤诤鹾醯暮笈_(tái)打著瞌睡，”諾沃格拉德接受《戲院場(chǎng)刊》（Playbill）雜志訪問時(shí)說，“但一聽到自己的入場(chǎng)音樂就會(huì)提起頭來，準(zhǔn)備就緒?！睋Q句話說，就像它們的許多人類同事一樣。

對(duì)于那些喜愛動(dòng)物，但又怕跟動(dòng)物們同臺(tái)演出的人，現(xiàn)代舞臺(tái)科技提供了不少新的可能性?，F(xiàn)在大都會(huì)歌劇院公演的黛博拉·寇克（Deborah Colker）執(zhí)導(dǎo)的《艾娜達(dá)馬》（Ainadamar，劇名為阿拉伯語，意為“眼淚之泉”）中，利用了投影：為了營(yíng)造佛朗哥暴政下西班牙的緊張局勢(shì)，塔爾·羅斯納（Tal Rosner）所設(shè)計(jì)的影像是一頭正要沖向觀眾席的憤怒公牛。另外，動(dòng)物世界中也有不少代表在百老匯演出，它們的登場(chǎng)方式全都是木偶戲：除了常年上演的《獅子王》（Lion King），還有《大象的眼淚》（Water for Elephants），把木偶藝術(shù)更推進(jìn)一步，展現(xiàn)新生代藝術(shù)家的才華。

素食主義者應(yīng)該會(huì)感到滿意，尤其是《艾娜達(dá)馬》的觀眾看到一大個(gè)疑似要沖向他們的動(dòng)物蛋白質(zhì)生物，但還好只是個(gè)投影。木偶大象當(dāng)然也有自己的優(yōu)勢(shì)——尤其是對(duì)晚上清理后臺(tái)的員工而言。

但是，聘用“動(dòng)物代替品”的最大優(yōu)勢(shì)是讓寵物主人與動(dòng)物保護(hù)者不用擔(dān)心：無論如何，舞臺(tái)上或節(jié)目?jī)?cè)中最糟糕的聲明可能是：“本制作過程中沒有任何人類受到傷害?！?/p>

Never work with children or animals.

—W.C. Fields

Ask a roomful of actors and most will agree with the American comedian formally known as William Clark Duckenfield： They’re completely unpredictable and usually steal the scene （children and animals， I mean）. Who wants to share the stage with that？

We’ve heard quite a bit lately about children in opera， from cameo star turns in La bohème and Tosca to recurring appearances in The Magic Flute， Parsifal and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and even a title role in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Children’s choruses in particular have also long played a key role in increasing opera attendance （the adage “one mouth， six pockets” easily translates to the arts as“one mouth， six tickets”）. So you obviously have a few opera producers who don’t exactly fall in the Fields camp where children are concerned.

Not much， though， has been mentioned about animals， which got me to thinking. The most vociferous anti-animal response I’ve encountered came from the former head of Singapore’s Esplanade， who filled his first season at the theatre complex with everything from productions by Finland’s Savonlinna Opera Festival to an Australian circus just to see what would and wouldn’t work at his venues. The verdict？ No more animals. （“Have you ever tried to clean the stage after the elephants come out？” he asked.）

A totally opposite response came when Francesca Zambello’s production of Carmen， originally staged at London’s Royal Opera House， appeared in Taipei. Unlike many versions of this classic warhorse， Zambello calls for an actual horse， inspiring the local producers to announce island-wide auditions in search of the best steed for the job.

It turns out you can find live animals on stage pretty much any season at the Metropolitan Opera， from the dogs in Der Rosenkavalier to a trio of sheep in The Exterminating Angel. And of course there’s the menagerie of horses， camels and—yes—elephants that trot to the Triumphal March in Aida. Few， though， made the headlines like Billy， a horse who upstaged his fellow animals and some 150 human performers in Act II.

Billy became the toast of New York—or at least the New York Post—earlier this year when the newspaper ran a profile of the 20-year-old Norwegian Fjord. Aida wasn’t his first rodeo， so to speak； Billy had appeared in films pulling a carriage for Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman and appeared with Meryl Streep in Little Women. He was also the inspiration for The Star Horse， a novel for young adults written by New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir， who met Billy while researching her memoir Horse Crazy.

A couple of seasons ago， another four-legged performer appeared in the New York Times arts pages when Wanda， a 15-year-old donkey， made her Met debut in Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La bohème pulling Parpignol’s toy cart to Café Momus. Wanda’s debut came with big expectations： her predecessor in the role， Sir Gabriel， had pulled the same cart for 16 years （he also appeared at the Met in 12 consecutive seasons in a range of other shows， including The Barber of Seville， Cavalleria Rusticana and Suor Angelica）. It’s not exactly Salvatore Licitra taking over from Luciano Pavarotti， but by all accounts Sir Gabriel had become a beloved member of the Met family.

Opera stars of any species don’t grow in a vacuum， so it’s probably surprising to no one that both Wanda and Billy came from the same talent agency， All Tame Animals， which specializes in training animals for stage and screen and the occasional fashion show. Or that Billy shares the same owner-trainer as Lord， Wanda’s Bohème co-star who pulls Musetta’s hansom cab to the same café. （They no doubt share the same publicist as well.）

So you think your four-legged friend has what it takes to run with the stars？ Again， much like the twolegged variety， an animal actor has to be able to take the stage with confidence. You might think directors and producers would want quiet， docile animals， but those are precisely the personality types that scare easily and could potentially run off with the show， says All Tame Animals founder Nancy Novograd.（Plenty of examples of this can be found on the internet， I’m sure.）

Most trained animals， on the other hand， even know their music after a couple of times through.“They doze in the dark behind the scenes，” Novograd told Playbill magazine， “and when they hear their music， they pick up their heads and get ready.” Just like many of their human colleagues， in other words.

For those who love animals but find the prospect of sharing the stage with them a bit daunting， con-temporary stagecraft does offer a few possibilities. Deborah Colker’s production of Ainadamar （now at the Met） summons the tensions of Franco-era Spain through Tal Rosner’s projections of an enraged bull about to charge into the audience. A rather representative sample of the animal kingdom is also currently featured on Broadway as puppets， not only in the perennial Lion King but also Water for Elephants， which extends the craft of puppetry into a new generation.

Vegan alternatives like these do have their place， particularly for audiences at Ainadamar facing a ton of angry animal protein heading in their direction. So too do puppet elephants have their charms—and not only for the stagehands after the show.

But maybe the best thing these animal substitutes could offer to pet owners and animal lovers is the assurance that， no matter what happens， the worst possible announcement from the stage or the program book would be， “Only human actors were harmed in the making of this production.”