VOA标准英语2012--Opera Fallujah Shows US Veteran's Inner Battle

 

Opera Fallujah Shows US Veteran's Inner Battle

 

The opera, Fallujah, is inspired by real-life events. It highlights 72 hours in the life of a U.S. Marine¹ who recalls his battle experience in Iraq.

“Fallujah is based on one of America's most deadly battles and the chaos² that ensures when a soldier one day is friends with this young Muslim man, but on the next day, when he sees him, will have to kill him,” said Charlie Annenberg Weingarten of the Internet site Explore.org who conceived the project.

The opera was staged and recorded in Vancouver with help from a professional composer and librettist³. For the moment, it's being presented in installments⁴ on the Internet.

It was inspired by the experience of Marine Corps⁵ veteran Christian⁶ Ellis, a sergeant⁷ and machine gunner. He was changed by what he went through in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, in 2004.

“I took a lot of my own personal experiences that dealt with suicide, that dealt with a lot of dark moments, and turned it into a way that people could understand,” Ellis explained.

Ellis grew up with opera and says telling his story in this genre⁸ was healing.

“It’s helped me so much that I wish that this type of therapy was more readily available to veterans - music, expression,” Ellis added.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan raise questions, Weingarten says.

“As the wars wind down, the new war is going to be, how do we deal with the personnel that is coming home? It’s a very serious issue. And so it fits all the beats of traditional opera," said Weingarten.

Christian Ellis says for him and his comrades, the war on the ground may be over, “But you’re still fighting a battle that goes on in your head.”

That inner battle is set to music in Fallujah, the opera. Its producers hope to put it on stage in the United States. 

 

1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

3 librettist   

n.(歌剧、音乐剧等的)歌词作者

参考例句：

• The musician and the librettist were collaborators. 音乐家与剧作者通力合作。
• Italian-born American composer and librettist whose operas include The Medium(1946) and The Consul(1950). 梅诺蒂，吉安卡洛生于1911意大利裔美国作曲家和歌剧词作者，其歌剧作品包括女巫（1946年）及领事（1950年）

4 installments   

部分( installment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The first two installments were pretty close together in 1980. 第一次和节二次提款隔得很近，都是在1980年提的。
• You have an installments sales contract. 你已经订立了一份分期付款的买卖契约了。

5 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

8 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。