2017年CRI Emotional devastating drama Die Walkure comes to Beijing

 

One of the most popular international operas "Die Walkure" will be performed in Beijing next week.

A stunningly¹ powerful story featuring Norse mythology², the drama will have its music performed by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton³ of famous conductor Jaap van Zweden.

Die Walkure, part of Richard Wagner's epic⁴ The Ring, is a glorious marriage of drama and music, and tells the story of the curse-inflicting Wotan, the king of the gods.

The devastating⁵ drama involves complex relationships between lovers, brother and sister, father and daughter. Every character is unforgettable — from the valiant⁶ Siegmund and Sieglinde, to the headstrong Brünnhilde and the mighty⁷ tortured Wotan.

Previously⁸, Bulgarian director Vera Nemirova said in Beijing that the production of Die Walkure is a recreation of the very first Salzburg Easter Festival opera production.

"The set design is a recreation from 1967. It's a contemporary staging and I think the public will enjoy it because it's very emotional, very close to us, and the way of story-telling is also very humane,"Vera Nemirova.

In 1967, the first Salzburg Easter Festival presented a legendary⁹ production of Richard Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung, also known as the Ring Cycle, led by the Austrian maestro Herbert von Karajan.

This new production of Die Walküre directed by Vera Nemirova is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the festival in 2017.

Now as Die Walküre comes to China, it is bestowed¹⁰ with a Chinese element, featuring musical accompaniment from the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

Internationally famous Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden is very proud of Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom he has been working for years.

"This orchestra has made themselves better by group sessions, by playing chamber¹¹ music. And so you can feel this orchestra has become, in my opinion, from an orchestra which has a hundred members, changed into a family of a hundred members," Jaap van Zweden noted¹².

Along with immense orchestral forces, world-class singers will also show how the burning passion seizes Siegmund and Sieglinde, the two mortal children of the god Wotan, climaxing¹³ in a love duet.

Australian tenor¹⁴ Stuart Skelton plays valiant Siegmund.

"It's exciting for me as a singer. In everything that you do, that you get to take the story that Wagner wrote for us and musically tell his story every time. As Jaap also said, we find our own timing¹⁵, our own language in every moment of the performance and coordinate¹⁶ that between Vera and us on stage, and with Jaap and the orchestra in the pit to make the story as immediate¹⁷ and as compelling theatre and story-telling as possible. That's our challenge".

The upcoming treat for fans of classical music in Beijing is a co-production between the Salzburg Easter Festival and the ongoing¹⁸ Beijing Music Festival.

Die Walkure will be performed next Tuesday and Friday evening at the Poly Theatre in Beijing.

1 stunningly   

ad.令人目瞪口呆地；惊人地

参考例句：

• The cooks, seamstresses and other small investors are stunningly vulnerable to reversals. 那些厨师、裁缝及其他的小投资者非常容易受到股市逆转的影响。
• The production cost of this huge passenger liner is stunningly high. 这艘船城造价之高令人惊叹。

2 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

3 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

4 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

5 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

6 valiant   

adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人

参考例句：

• He had the fame of being very valiant.他的勇敢是出名的。
• Despite valiant efforts by the finance minister,inflation rose to 36%.尽管财政部部长采取了一系列果决措施，通货膨胀率还是涨到了36%。

7 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

8 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

9 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

10 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

11 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 climaxing   

vt.& vi.达到顶点（climax的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

14 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

15 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

16 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

17 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

18 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。