后疫情時代的歌劇（上）

Joanna C.Lee

小瓊：首先，祝賀廣州大劇院成功在6月將歌劇《馬可·波羅》搬上舞臺，并向公眾敞開了劇院的大門。這是國內疫情后的首部歌劇制作。唉，美國的歌劇院要開門還早著呢。

小薇：而在歐洲，西班牙馬德里皇家歌劇院成為首個開門迎接觀眾的歌劇院。7月1日至29日，威爾第的《茶花女》在此上演，總共演出27場。

小瓊：馬德里皇家歌劇院想了不少巧妙的方法，來應對政府對疫情防控的嚴格要求。當然他們也理解公眾無處抒發的文化需求，因此將先前定下的在29天里演出19場的計劃，增加到了27場。首先，指揮的任務由兩位指揮家共同分擔，而演唱任務則由多人輪換完成：有5位女高音出演薇奧萊塔，4位男高音出演阿爾弗雷多，還有4位男中音飾演熱爾蒙。

小薇：那樂團怎么辦呢？在樂池里如何保持社交距離？

小瓊：歌劇院把樂池設置為最大擴建面積的140平方米（平時是留給演奏瓦格納或施特勞斯作品的大型樂團的）。而《茶花女》的樂隊編制只需要56人，所以每個樂手都分配到了一個立式譜架，兩人座位間距不小于1.5米。管樂區域也用了亞克力屏風隔開。連臺上的樂隊都有充足的空間。

小薇：合唱團跟主角怎么辦？難道兩位有情人都不與對方相互接觸嗎？

小瓊：要知道藝術家都很有創造力！導演列奧·卡斯塔爾蒂為演出設計了半舞臺制作版本，在保證大家安全的同時還保留了戲劇的特質，尤其是效果豐富的燈光設計。舞臺的地板甚至墻面上都畫上了長寬各兩米的方格，一部分是為了確保演員不會亂走動，同時也在故事展開的過程中增添了色彩和質感。你說得沒錯，獨唱演員確實沒有接觸對方，但這恰恰進一步突出了這個悲傷愛情故事里的隱隱苦痛。導演卡斯塔爾蒂甚至稱這些格子為精神上“囚禁”的象征。

小薇：觀眾呢？我聽說歐洲在防止人群聚集方面政策很嚴格。

小瓊：跟亞洲的不少音樂廳一樣，目前馬德里皇家歌劇院允許的容納人數被限制在原有座位數的二分之一。希望疫情能夠好轉，隨后這一比例也會逐步提高。

Joan： First of all， congratulations to the Guangzhou Opera House for putting on Marco Polo in June and opening its doors to the audience. It marked the first Chinese opera production in the post-COVID era. Alas， American opera houses are lagging far behind.

Valery： But Madrids Teatro Real was the first in Europe to welcome the audience. Between July 1 and 29， Verdis La Traviata appears on stage for a total of 27 performances.

Joan： The Teatro Real has devised some ingenious ways to follow strict health protection measures mandated by the government. Yet they also understand the publics pent-up demand for culture， which is why they increased their planned run from 19 performances to 27 within the 29-day period. First of all， two conductors share the workload， with a large rotation of leading singers throughout the run： 5 sopranos playing Violetta， 4 tenors playing Alfredo and 4 baritones playing Germont.

Valery： What about the orchestra？ How can they maintain distance in the pit？

Joan： The opera house extended the size of the pit to its maximum （140 square meters， normally reserved for massive Wagner or Strauss orchestras）.With only 56 musicians required for Traviata， each person is assigned a music stand and everyone sits at a minimum distance of 1.5 meters from each other. Plexiglass dividers are also used in the wind section. Even the on-stage band has ample space.

Valery： What about the chorus and the main characters？ You mean our lovers never touch？

Joan： Always remember， artists are creative！ Director Leo Castaldi conceived a semi-staged production that keeps everyone safe， yet preserves some of the drama， especially with effective lighting design. The stage floor and even the walls are marked with square grids measuring 2 by 2 meters， partly to ensure that everyone stays in place， but also to add color and texture as the story unfolds. Youre right that the soloists dont touch， but that only further accentuates the latent anguish in this sad love story. Director Castaldi even refers to the grids as symbols of psychological “imprisonment.”

Valery： What about the audience？ I have heard that Europe was very strict regarding keeping people apart.

Joan： As in many Asian concert halls， seating capacity in Madrids Teatro Real is now restricted to 50 percent. Hopefully， the situation will improve， and gradually the percentage will increase.