美国国家公共电台 NPR Cole Porter's Pro-Immigration Ballet Gets A Trump-Era Revival

 

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With songs like "Anything Goes" and "I've Got You Under My Skin," Cole Porter was one of America's greatest songwriters. But unlike those classics, Porter's more political work is rarely performed. Nearly a hundred years ago, he wrote the score for a ballet that took on U.S. immigration policy. The work is called "Within The Quota¹." And now a U.S. dance troupe² has teamed up with the British ensemble³ Penguin⁴ Cafe to bring it up to date. NPR's Deborah Amos reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF COLE PORTER'S "WITHIN THE QUOTA")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: One, two, three, four.

DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE⁵: That's Cole Porter. He was practically unknown when he wrote the music for a ballet designed to protest the restrictive immigration laws passed by Congress in 1921.

(SOUNDBITE OF COLE PORTER'S "WITHIN THE QUOTA")

AMOS: Then, it was a backlash to European migrants, says Simon Morrison. He's the Princeton music professor who rediscovered the score two years ago in the Porter archives. Now, he says, this revival⁶ is an act of resistance against President Trump⁷'s anti-immigrant stand.

SIMON MORRISON: And when the election took place, which for a lot of people, was very devastating⁸ - and looked again at this score and thought about its context and thought, oh, my God. You know, this is actually what it was about. These things were real. And actually we're feeling them again now.

AMOS: Today, the focus is on security and economics. Morrison sees parallels between the anti-immigrant climate of the 1920s and 2017.

MORRISON: What set it off was the same things that are happening now. It was this kind of fear about people losing their jobs, fear about American culture being diluted⁹ or watered down or disappearing.

AMOS: So these were Germans and Greeks and Italians.

MORRISON: And Irish and Australians, yeah - and on boats that were frequently turned away.

(SOUNDBITE OF COLE PORTER'S "WITHIN THE QUOTA")

AMOS: The original production tells a story and dance. A newly arrived immigrant meets various American characters - an heiress, a movie star, a jazz musician - and dark forces who want to kick him out.

(SOUNDBITE OF COLE PORTER'S "WITHIN THE QUOTA")

AMOS: In the revival, the heiress is Ivanka Trump. The Lady Liberty character now takes selfies, and the musical finale, "Sweetheart Of The World," hints at Porter's style decades later.

(SOUNDBITE OF COLE PORTER'S "WITHIN THE QUOTA")

AMOS: The Penguin Cafe, a London-based orchestra, perform the musical update, interpreting the complex syncopations, Cole Porter's only score for dance. Daren Berry plays percussion¹⁰, violin and ukulele.

DAREN BERRY: There are still the melodies, and they would stay with you all day. It's an incredible piece of work. It makes sense when you watch it. And it's not designed to be listened to. It's designed to be watched.

(SOUNDBITE OF COLE PORTER'S "WITHIN THE QUOTA")

AMOS: A packed house watched a student dance company perform the update of Cole Porter's "Within The Quota" this month at a Princeton University auditorium¹¹. Again, Professor Morrison.

MORRISON: And the lesson of this piece is that, you know, he's dead, but his works are ours now. And this work, which was nothing but a bunch of yellow manuscript paper, is back and is very, very relevant. I think there's something really magical in that.

AMOS: He says the production will tour the country as it did in the 1920s. Deborah Amos, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHARLIE PARKER'S "I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU")

1 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

2 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

3 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

4 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 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。

9 diluted   

无力的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

10 percussion   

n.打击乐器；冲突，撞击；震动，音响

参考例句：

• In an orchestra,people who play percussion instruments sit at the back.在管弦乐队中，演奏打击乐器的人会坐在后面。
• Percussion of the abdomen is often omitted.腹部叩诊常被省略。

11 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。