纽约林肯中心为成人设立木偶剧场

New York's Lincoln Center Features Puppet

Theater for Adults

纽约林肯中心为成人设立木偶剧场

 

Thunderous applause and shouts of bravo may be surprising at the end of a puppet show, but then this is no run-of-the-mill troupe¹ of sock puppets. The cast of this production includes 70 life-sized string puppets, a 20-member human chorus, seven operatic soloists³, along with a 32-piece chamber⁴ orchestra. Above the theater on a four-meter platform visible to the audience are a dozen puppeteers⁶. Except for the musicians, this entire group dances on stage during the finale of the puppet opera La Bella Dormente Nel Bosco. These puppets are not just for kids as an older member of the audience points out:

 

Audience: Did you see that audience? It's universal. And if it weren't, I don't think he would be packing the place with people of all ages.

 

The impresario⁷ behind this elaborate production is Basil Twist, a third-generation puppeteer⁵ and one of the best-known puppet masters in the world. His work leans toward the avant guarde. His Symphonie Fantastique, for example, was performed underwater in a 4,000-liter aquarium⁸ using flowing strips of fabric⁹ for puppets and set to music by Hector Berlioz. After appearing for weeks off-Broadway, the show toured in Montreal, London and Munich. The marionette¹⁰ opera at the Lincoln Center Festival however was a bit of a departure for Mr. Twist because it appeals more to children.

 

Mr. Twist: This piece is probably the most kid-friendly show I've ever done. I mean sometimes I do shows that are slightly risqué. But I've always tried to create for a general audience, I've never really focused on children. Because they'll always come anyway.

 

(Music)

 

Puppet opera had its heyday¹¹ in the 17th century as entertainment for noblemen. Composer Joseph Haydn wrote several operas for puppets that are now lost. Certainly the crowds flocking to see Twist's current show, a re-telling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale written in 1922 by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, are as much opera fans as they are puppet lovers. This is the first time the piece has been performed in the United States.

 

Mr. Twist: I could hear in the audience a lot of people talking about the singers and the excitement of the opera. And also this is a very rare opera, so there was a lot of interest in opera circles about just this piece being mounted.

 

The singers share star billing with the puppets. They dance with the marionettes and at one point, the soprano climbs atop a bridge to perform her aria¹² among the puppeteers. At first, Mr. Twist was afraid to make such demands.

 

Mr. Twist: Working with the opera singers I was very nervous. I had been warned, 'Be careful Basil,' that they might be, you know, sort of precious or divas, you know, I met them and I sent them right away because you know with the string puppets they get tangled¹³, I told them, 'Now in this show the puppets are the divas. And you may have to wait for them sometimes.' And they all thought that was real funny.

 

Although operating life-sized marionettes is technically¹⁴ challenging, the puppets' movements seem quaintly¹⁵ low tech when compared to the marvels¹⁶ of computer animation¹⁷. How does such an old-fashioned art form compete for audiences in today's high-tech¹⁸ world?

 

Mr. Twist: You would think that technology is killing¹⁹ puppetry, but actually my experience has been the contrary. You know technology makes it too easy for us sometimes to just sit back and you see [the movie] The Attack of the Clones and it's sort of not impressive, because they just did it with computers. But it's impressive to see the puppeteers at work. And it's also asking you to participate, to use your imagination and that I think is more satisfying for an audience.

 

Basil Twist, in fact, has found a thriving interest in puppetry all around the globe.

 

Mr. Twist: It's so great to be part of the brotherhood²⁰ and sisterhood of puppetry and meet people in other countries. I spent a lot of time in Japan last year. There's a really remarkable²¹ puppetry tradition there. [It is] very venerable, not at all for children. I went to a puppetry school in France and I got to travel a lot in Europe. It's so cool to meet puppeteers from other parts of the world because there's something about puppeteers; they're really, really kind, nice people. And that shows up around the world no matter what technique, what culture they're a part of.

 

This summer Basil Twist's marionettes have conquered Manhattan. And there is another New York puppet show, the raunchy Broadway hit Avenue Q, that will soon play Las Vegas. Puppets, it appears, have got audiences by a string.

 

Gini Sikes, VOA News, New York.

 

注释：

thunderous [5WQndErEs] adj. 雷鸣般的

bravo [5brB:vEu] n. 喝彩

run-of-the-mill 普通的

troupe [tru:p] n. 剧团

life-sized [5laifsaizd] adj. 与原物一样大小的

chorus [5kC:rEs] n. 合唱，合唱队

soloist² [5sEulEuist] n. 独奏者，独唱者

puppeteer [pQpi5tiE(r)] n. 操纵木偶的人

finale [fi5nB:li] n.（戏剧的）最后一场，结局

impresario [7impre5sB:riEu] n.（剧团）经理，舞台监督

elaborate [i5lAbErEt] adj. 精心制作的

aquarium [E5kwZEriEm] n. 玻璃缸，鱼缸

off-Broadway 非百老汇戏剧界

Montreal [7mCntri5C:l] n. 蒙特利尔

Munich [5mju:nik] n. 慕尼黑

marionette [7mAriE5net] n. 牵线木偶

Lincoln Center Festival 林肯中心艺术节

risqué（法语）粗野的

heyday [5heidei] n. 全盛期

flock [flCk] v. 聚结

soprano [sE5prB:nEu] n. 女高音

atop [E5tCp] prep. 在……的顶上

aria [5B:riE] n. 独唱曲，咏叹调

diva [5di:vE] n. 著名女歌唱家，歌剧女主角

animation [Ani5meiF(E)n] n. 动画

venerable [5venErEbl] adj. 庄严的，值得尊敬的

Manhattan [mAn5hAtEn] n. 曼哈顿

1 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。

2 soloist   

n.独奏者，独唱者

参考例句：

• The soloist brought the house down with encore for his impressive voice.这位独唱家以他那感人的歌声博得全场喝彩。
• The soloist had never performed in London before.那位独唱者过去从未在伦敦演出过。

3 soloists   

n.独唱者，独奏者，单飞者( soloist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The soloists were ably supported by the University Singers. 这些独唱歌手得到了大学歌手的大力支持。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Summer music festivals feature leading orchestras, soloists and opera companies. 在夏季举行的各音乐节，有著名的交响乐团、独唱和独奏者及歌剧团表演。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 puppeteer   

n.操纵木偶的人，操纵傀儡

参考例句：

• Mr. Sullivan is a professional puppeteer.沙利文先生是一位专业的木偶戏表演者。
• One puppeteer controls the doll's head,face,and right hand.一个表演者控制木偶的头部，面部和右手。

6 puppeteers   

n.操纵木偶的人，操纵傀儡( puppeteer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

7 impresario   

n.歌剧团的经理人；乐团指挥

参考例句：

• The impresario will present an expanded series of concerts next season.下个季节将举办一次大型的系列音乐会。
• The impresario had buttoned his astrakhan coat.乐团经理扣好了羔皮外套。

8 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

9 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

10 marionette   

n.木偶

参考例句：

• With this marionette I wish to travel through the world.我希望带着这个木偶周游世界。
• The development of marionette had a great influence on the future development of opera.木偶戏的发展对以后的戏曲有十分重要的影响。

11 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

12 aria   

n.独唱曲，咏叹调

参考例句：

• This song takes off from a famous aria.这首歌仿效一首著名的咏叹调。
• The opera was marred by an awkward aria.整部歌剧毁在咏叹调部分的不够熟练。

13 tangled   

adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Your hair's so tangled that I can't comb it. 你的头发太乱了，我梳不动。
• A movement caught his eye in the tangled undergrowth. 乱灌木丛里的晃动引起了他的注意。

14 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

15 quaintly   

adv.古怪离奇地

参考例句：

• "I don't see what that's got to do with it,'said the drummer quaintly. “我看不出这和你的事有什么联系，"杜洛埃说道，他感到莫名其妙。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• He is quaintly dressed, what a strange one he is. 他一身的奇装异服，真是另类！

16 marvels   

n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 )；令人惊奇的事物（或事例）；不平凡的成果；成就v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The doctor's treatment has worked marvels : the patient has recovered completely. 该医生妙手回春，病人已完全康复。 来自辞典例句
• Nevertheless he revels in a catalogue of marvels. 可他还是兴致勃勃地罗列了一堆怪诞不经的事物。 来自辞典例句

17 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

18 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

19 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

20 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

21 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。