司馬勤(Ken Smith) 李正欣

五年前，田浩江這位北京出生的歌劇人，開創(chuàng)了一個大膽的聲樂項目。動機很簡單：如果可以吸引一班來自全球不同膚色的歌唱家，學(xué)習(xí)中國聲樂作品，中國青年歌唱家就可以跟俄羅斯或者東歐各國看齊，在世界歌劇舞臺上也可以揚中華之雄威。他設(shè)計的青年歌唱家訓(xùn)練計劃，參照了在意大利教導(dǎo)其他族裔歌唱家學(xué)習(xí)本土歌劇的課程。這項計劃名為“我唱！北京”，從此，這個項目讓不少金發(fā)碧眼的歌唱家們有機會全身心投入到學(xué)習(xí)中國語言及文化的氛圍中來。首屆成果展示音樂會在國家大劇院舉行。

一開始，這個計劃受到多方的重視，尤其在國外。只可惜，我沒有機會參加這個項目的首次演出——其實，該項目舉辦的頭兩年，我都無法抽空到場去看個究竟。到了我真的碰上“我唱”的時候，大家都不在北京而到了紐約。在2013年年初，“我唱”租用了林肯中心埃里斯-圖里音樂廳（Alice Tully Hall）舉行音樂會。那一年的年底，田浩江在卡內(nèi)基音樂廳的?？茽栆魳窂d（Zankel Hall）為“我唱”籌款舉行了演出。在臺上，跟他在一起演唱的，正是參與過訓(xùn)練項目的年輕歌唱家。

那兩場演出都令我覺得稍有不足之處。我指的不是制作質(zhì)量，雖然那些英語投影字幕看起來確實只有業(yè)余水平。田浩江創(chuàng)辦“我唱”項目的原意，確實令人敬佩。作為一個觀眾，我認為在節(jié)目安排上顯得有些局限。創(chuàng)辦計劃的初衷是為了推廣中國歌劇，但中國與俄國不一樣。俄國的歌劇藝術(shù)（我們也可以套用意大利這個國家）盡管面對政治監(jiān)管，但都仍然蓬勃發(fā)展著。在中國，歌劇經(jīng)常被政治所凌駕，塑造出來的藝術(shù)作品受到了其他因素的影響。歐洲的審查員可能在歌劇完成之后下禁令不讓演出。但在中國，從一開始創(chuàng)作，就已經(jīng)逃不過政治上的考慮。

以上所寓意的，是中國歌劇原創(chuàng)劇目——當然跟傳統(tǒng)中國戲曲沒有直接關(guān)系——不只是幾位金頭發(fā)的歌唱家就可以引進西方，讓它發(fā)揚光大的。它所需要的，是謹慎的藝術(shù)策劃，讓觀眾可以洞察一絲絲文化上相同之處，同樣明白其中風(fēng)格差異的所在。身為樂評人，我不介意2013年觀看過那兩場美中不足的“我唱”演出。讓我來做個譬喻：家父經(jīng)常與親戚一起釣魚。倘若他釣上了一條小魚的話，會把小魚放回水中，希望過段時日，放生后的小東西會變成大魚，那么收獲不是更大嗎？

本年7月份，我終于有機會觀看一場“我唱”的演出了，而我觀察到重大的改變——首先，訓(xùn)練基地從北京南移至蘇州；再者，從前只舉行一場大型的“匯報式”壓軸演出，現(xiàn)在卻在周邊的城市舉行一連串的小型音樂會。制作質(zhì)量提高了不少，挑選的曲目更精致了——大家肯定吸取了過去幾年的成功經(jīng)驗——而參與訓(xùn)練計劃的聲樂家，無論男女，他們的資質(zhì)也比幾年前提高了。除了“我唱”指定的語言與演唱風(fēng)格的基本訓(xùn)練以外，課程更添加了動作與演技進修。演出編排的曲目更用上了我們西方所熟知的“劇作文本”（dramaturgy）作為指導(dǎo)，一氣呵成。

演出的標題是“唱響上海：國際青年歌唱家藝術(shù)節(jié)”（iSING！ International Young Artists Festival），安排在上海夏季音樂節(jié)閉幕式的下半場。上海夏季音樂節(jié)創(chuàng)辦的時候，是為了提供精彩的戶外演出，所以英語副標題包括了“夏天的空氣”（Summer Air）這些字眼。自從上海交響樂團音樂廳去年開始啟用后，夏季音樂節(jié)順理成章也落戶音樂廳。盡管音樂廳已經(jīng)啟用了一年，音效還需要進一步調(diào)整，尤其當樂團邀請來歌唱家時：他們的嗓子有時會被樂團完全蓋過去。這一次的成功演出應(yīng)該歸功于上海交響樂團駐團指揮張潔敏。大部分的時候，她都把控著器樂與聲樂的平衡。

演出中真正的成功之處，在于曲目的編排。一直以來，“唱晌”的某些歌曲，好像只是為了帶給觀眾一點驚喜、一點娛樂。華人觀眾——就算在紐約的演出，大部分觀眾也都是華人——聽到《白毛女》的每一句都笑場，全場鼓掌。在我的記憶中，這種現(xiàn)象有點像西方人從前看小狗玩把戲一樣。雖然上海舉行的“唱響”還保留了一些“小狗玩把戲”，可是，每一個環(huán)節(jié)都顯得充實，有內(nèi)涵了。馬可作詞作曲的秧歌劇《夫妻識字》，由波蘭裔女高音阿歷山德拉.斯密特（ Aleksandra Szmyd）與美國男高音阿龍·斯卡貝里（ Aaron Scarberry）演唱，他們的演出效果特別吸引人，因為演唱的兩個人真的正在學(xué)習(xí)中文。

獨唱環(huán)節(jié)都特意留給了曾經(jīng)參加過《唱響》的、更富經(jīng)驗的年輕歌唱家：女高音朱麗葉（Juliet Petrus）演唱由胡廷江改編的哈薩克民歌《瑪依拉變奏曲》、王云鵬演繹“普羅旺斯的陸地和海洋”（選自《茶花女》）。本屆的學(xué)員則參與各種重唱，包括多尼采蒂《拉美摩爾的露契亞》與普契尼《燕子》的選段。各位女歌唱家也都穿上了華美的旗袍，演唱一些老上海流行歌曲。這場演出的最后一個環(huán)節(jié)，指揮臺上換上了上海交響樂團音樂總監(jiān)余隆。他帶領(lǐng)眾人演出雷哈爾《風(fēng)流寡婦》的重唱以及壓軸的大合唱《從茉莉花到圖蘭朵》（這首改編作品合并了這兩個家喻戶曉的旋律）。

重唱環(huán)節(jié)都包含了舞臺造型——很多中國歌曲合有比較難掌握的“念白”部分——讓站在樂團前面的年輕演員，更可以專注發(fā)音與歌唱技巧。我認為，同樣重要的，是導(dǎo)演那些細致的鋪排，讓演員與觀眾都看得出中國與西方曲目的對比與共同之處。國際青年歌唱家藝術(shù)節(jié)除了請來專業(yè)的歌劇藝術(shù)指導(dǎo)、聲樂老師、語音指導(dǎo)以外，更邀請了歌劇導(dǎo)演馬修·巴克萊（Matthew Barclay）與編舞喬安娜-普格里西（JohannaPuglisi）參與。這兩位編導(dǎo)編舞，讓演員將舞臺頓時變成一個富有戲劇性的空間。舞臺呈現(xiàn)效果——比如說，“來自遠方的一封信”（羅西尼《寒斯之旅》中的14人大重唱）演變成眾人忙著用手機“自拍”的逗人發(fā)笑、滑稽場面——簡直就是神來之筆。

***

好了，“唱晌”不再是一個魚苗了（還記得我說過家父釣魚的經(jīng)驗嗎？），未來的方向如何？我剛才也提過，要把中國原創(chuàng)歌劇引進到西方，這是有困難的。“唱響”的畢業(yè)生們或者可以在當代新歌劇這個范疇找到出路，因為不少當代中國歌劇都有機會在國外巡演。去年由圣達菲歌劇院制作的<中山-逸仙》，主要陣容中就只有兩位華人。

另一個前景更好的方向——到現(xiàn)在為止，“唱晌”還沒有涉足這個范疇——是中國的藝術(shù)歌曲。我當然明白其中的原因，因為其一，絕大部分的歌劇演員，對于藝術(shù)歌曲都是避而遠之的（田浩江在歐美的歌唱指導(dǎo)們也曾勸阻他別再鉆研舒伯特的歌曲）；其二，就算是中國的聲樂家們，只有少數(shù)會愿意花時間在藝術(shù)歌曲上。今天活躍在樂壇的年輕歌唱家之中，只有沈洋把精力放在中國藝術(shù)歌曲上了。他整理并研究了中國藝術(shù)歌曲的系統(tǒng)，他的敬業(yè)精神，就像德國歌唱家們對待德國藝術(shù)歌曲一樣。

有這樣一個現(xiàn)象實為可惜。在過去的一個世紀里，中國藝術(shù)歌曲曾代表了兩個宏大文化轉(zhuǎn)移的交匯點——西方古典音樂在中國的出現(xiàn)以及在中國致力于發(fā)展自己獨有的音樂語言的趨勢。情況一直以來都不看好——也可能是歌唱家不愿意接觸這些曲目的原因——因為每十年八年，政治運動與社會風(fēng)氣的變更就會影響到音樂作品演出的機會。

可是，對于歌唱家來說（這也是吸引作曲家的原因），演出中國歌曲是一件極其容易的事情。無需化妝，也不用穿上什么戲服。制作費用的高與低，完全視乎藝術(shù)家的意愿。某些不愿意坐在歌劇院兩個小時看歌劇的人，也不會介意聆聽一首只有兩分鐘的歌曲。

真奇怪，為什么我第一次遇上一張精心策劃的中國藝術(shù)歌曲錄音，竟然來自一位金發(fā)美國女高音？朱麗葉，她現(xiàn)居芝加哥，曾兩度參與“我唱”項目，剛錄制了名為《千里之外》的唱片。唱片的曲目包括中國藝術(shù)歌曲與運用英譯中國詩詞的美國作品，連接了“千里之外”的黃自、丁善德、羅麥朔，以及約翰·奧登·卡彭特（John Alden Carpenter）的《水彩畫》和約翰·杜克（John Duke）的《四首中國情詩》。

更重要的一個問題：這張唱片怎么樣？它真的好嗎？朱麗葉是一位歌劇演員，所以她的思維著重戲劇性而不是美妙的嗓音。錄音咬字不算完全精準，因為推動她的，是要傳達動人的感情（如果有人要批評她的中文發(fā)音，我可以告訴你，她唱英文歌曲的咬字功夫也差不多）?？墒牵@張唱片的選曲真的好極了，整體錄音與她的表現(xiàn)都是很出效果的。

朱麗葉從“我唱”懂得了最重要的一課，是在唱片里提供充分的背景資料。除了提供每一位作曲家的簡歷以外，她那設(shè)計精美的唱片小冊子里還包含了中英文唱詞翻譯（她也花了時間，找出卡彭特與杜克選用那些中國詩詞的原始材料）。這張唱片是朱麗葉自己策劃的，她計劃于11月份在芝加哥發(fā)行。

在我正準備把稿子交給編輯之際，聽說女高音張立萍正在籌備一張中國藝術(shù)歌曲專輯（她的德國藝術(shù)歌曲錄音，去年由Decca唱片公司發(fā)行）。我也聽說，Decca唱片的小冊子將不會提供翻譯文字。依據(jù)張立萍那張德國藝術(shù)歌曲唱片的封面設(shè)計來說，我不期待中國藝術(shù)歌曲的平面設(shè)計會有什么突破。說真的，一位美國年輕歌唱家自己策劃的唱片錄音竟然要比Decca公司的出品要更好，這家國際唱片公司的中國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)應(yīng)該覺得慚愧。

Five years ago， the Beijing-born bass Tian Haojiang launched a bold initiative that stemmed from more or less a single insight： If enough non-Chinese singers could learn his native repertory， maybe China could rival Russia and Eastern Europe on the world opera stage. Tian's vocal program， modeled largely after opera courses in Italy for non-ltalians， was dubbed "I Sing Beijing，" immersing some rather blond singers in Chinese language and culture and culminating in a musical program at the National Centre for the Performing Arts.

The program got plenty of initial attention， particularly outside China， but I couldn't make that inaugural season-or indeed any of their events for a couple of years. By the time I did catch up with "I Sing" it was not in Beijing but New York， when Tian & Co. rented Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in early 2013. Later that year， Tian performed an "I Sing" benefit recital at Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall， again surrounded on stage by singing alumnae of'the program.

My problem at the time wasn't the production values， though the projected English translations at times looked pretty amateurish. It certainly wasn't the fundamental idea. Rather， I felt the program's biggest limitation was in repertory. Contrary to Tian's initial thesis， the Chinese stage is not like Russia's. Opera in Russia （or Italy， for that matter） thrived in spite of political restrictions. In China， it was shaped by them. European censors might forbid something after it was written. In China， shows were expressly written to fit political dictates from above.

All of' this means that the Chinese operatic repertory needs more than just a few blond singers to bring it to the West. It needs careful curation， a thoughtful way of finding cultural similarities and explaining the differences. So as a critic， I ended up treating these early "I Sing" events much like my father used to treat small fish， pulling them off the line and throwing them back in hopes that they'll grow bigger.

In July， I finally got around to another "I Sing" event， and the changes were strikingly profound-first of all， a shift from Beijing to Suzhou and a change from a single high-profile perf'ormance to a series of smaller showcases on the road. There were also better production values， a more refined music selection and--probably because of their success in previous years-a better caliber of singers involved. Language and stylistic training， which was the bedrock of "I Sing" from the beginning， was now enhanced by movement and dramatic coaching， along with a sense of programming approaching what in the West we would call "dramaturgy."

The show I saw--newly rebranded the "iSING！ International Young Artists Festival"--was the closing event of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra's annual series Music in the Summer Air. No longer literally "in the summer air，" MISA has moved into the Shanghai Symphony orchestra's the new， highly resonant concert hall， which presents a few problems of its own. Even after a full season learning to handle the venue's aggressive acoustics， the Shanghai Symphony still constantly threatens to run roughshod over singers. The most rudimentary success of the MISA performance was that the orchestra's resident conductor Jiemin Zhang kept firm control and a healthy sonic balance most of the time.

The real success， though， was more on a programmatic level. From its inauguration， "I Sing" had played up its shock value. Chinese audiences-and even in New York， audiences were predominantly Chinese-laughed uproariously after nearly every line， reacting to Westerners performing The White-llaired Girl much as they would applaud a singing dog. The new "iSING，" still had some residual "Singing Dog"syndrome， but for the most part each segment stood on its own. The humor in Ma Ke's duet "Couple Learning to Read，" performed by the Polish soprano Aleksandra Szmyd and the American tenor Aaron Scarberry， took on a whole new level of charm when performed by two singers who were actually learning the language.

Big solo moments were reserved for returning alumnae. While soprano Juliet Petrus sang Mayila Variatzons （a Kazakh folk song arranged by Hu Tingjiang） and Yunpeng Wang performed Germont's aria "Di provenzail mar， il sol" from La Traviata， current fellows were gathered in groups large and small， from ensemble scenes from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Puccini's La Rondine to a cheongsam-clad chorus of women singing classic Shanghai popular tunes. Toward the end of the evening， Shanghai Symphony music director Long Yu himself leapt in to lead male and female choruses from Lehar's Merry Widow and a mashup of the folk song "Jasmine Flower" with Puccini's treatment of the tune in Turandot.

Staged in ensembles--"dialogue" being imposed on most of the Chinese songs--the young performers were better able to focus on pronunciation and maximize their vocal power against the orchestra directly behind them. But equally important were the subtle directorial touches that drew parallels and contrasts between Chinese and Western repertory. In addition to a fine roster of repetiteurs and diction coaches， director Matthew Barclay and choreographer Joanna Puglisi put those singers to full theatrical use. The results--as when the "Gran pezzo a 14 voci" from Rossini's // Viaggz'o a Rez'ms disintegrated into a comic orgy ofphone-camera selfies--were often sublime.

***

So now that iSING is no longer a minnow， to continue the fishing analogy， what are we to make ofits future？ Chinese stage repertory， as I've mentioned， is not an easy fit in the West. A more promising career niche for iSING alumnae would be would be contemporary works， as more Chinese composers get their operas performed abroad. Last summer's production of Dr. Sun rat-sen at Santa Fe Opera， for example， had only two native Chinese speakers in the cast.

A route seemingly richer in possibilities-and one that iSING has apparently chosen not to trod-is the Chinese art song tradition. One can understand the apprehension， since （1） opera singers rarely immerse themselves in song repertoire， and （2） even Chinese singers rarely pay attention to their own song tradition. Among China's current generation， only the baritone Shenyang has delved into Chinese art song with the methodical care that German singers devote to their own lieder catalogue.

This is unfortunate， since the past century of Chinese art song represented the convergence of two great cultural shifts-the appearance of Western art music in China and the homegrown movement to champion Chinese vernacular language. The downside--and perhaps the reason many singers avoid the repertoire- is that the music of one decade has regularly become politically unpalatable by the next.

Chinese song offers opportunities for singers for the same reason it was a boon to Chinese composers： it was cheap. No makeup or costumes are required. Production values can be solely up to the artist. Even listeners who would balk at a two-hour opera could sit still for a two-minute song.

How strange is it， then， that the first collection I've encountered curated with such care is by someone who's not even Chinese？ The American soprano Juliet Petrus， late of the iSING program， has recently recorded A Great Distance， a collection of Chinese and American songs thematically linking vocal works by Huang Zi， Ding Shande and Luo Maishuo with John Alden Carpenter's Water Colors and John Duke's Four Chines～ Love Lyrics， both translated from Chinese texts.

Perhaps a better question is， how good is it？ Petrus has an opera singer's impulse to stress drama over beautiful singing. That same urge can also end up sacrificing clarity in enunciation in favor of emotional impact （for anyone judging this as a def]ciency in her Chinese， I should add that she does the same thing in English）. But her program is carefully thought-though， and her delivery steadily eFfective.

Of all the lessons that Petrus has taken away from iSING， possibly the most significant are a fine sense of contextual packaging and a missionary zeal in promoting Chinese repertory in the West. In addition to biographies of the composers， she provides full translations for each of the songs （including the original Chinese sources for Carpenter and Duke）， all gathered in an appeaIing booklet design. Petrus plans to launch the recording in her hometown of Chicago in November.

As I sign off this month， I hear that soprano Liping Zhang， who recorded a recital of Schubert lieder for Decca last year， is planning an all-Chinese song recital for her next release. Rumor also has it that it will have no translations. Nor，judging from the Schubert， will attractive design be a consideration. If true， this will be a huge embarrassment. The fact that a blonde girl from Chicago， purely on her own initiative， put out a better product than a major record label should make the Chinese executives at Decca hide their heads in shame.