司馬勤

多年來，我家的客廳里擺放著一個特大型的日歷，計劃在紐約看的演出用黑筆標注，要在香港看的演出則用上藍筆。哪種顏色在某個月里出現(xiàn)得更頻繁，就決定了我該月要去往哪里。

可是現(xiàn)在這個方法只好作罷。自今年2月以來，日歷上找不到黑、藍或任何顏色的標注了。然而這并不代表我的生活變得清閑。事實上，剛好相反。

在新冠疫情發(fā)生之前，我一直以“國際旅途，舟車勞頓”為借口拒絕一些邀約：“對不起，我恐怕要錯過您這里的演出了，”我大可以誠懇地跟人家說，“因為那一周我無法到（倫敦/巴黎/曼谷/悉尼）走一趟。”可現(xiàn)在所有的演出都可以進行網(wǎng)絡(luò)直播，這個說法倒顯得古雅起來。多年前，當我乖乖地常住于某個城市，同一個晚上連看兩場演出已堪稱“大事件”；而在今天的流媒體時代，我可以在一場演出的中場休息時“離開”維也納國家歌劇院，輕輕松松地“趕上”紐約大都會歌劇院的演出拉開帷幕那一刻。

我們回顧一下使用那個大日歷的日子。在新冠疫情發(fā)生前，當我們還生活在正常的現(xiàn)實世界時，經(jīng)常會遇上以下的情況：過了平平無奇的幾周“淡季”后，多個大型演藝團體竟會選擇同一天搬演它們最大規(guī)模的劇目盛典——是純屬偶然的撞期，是大家都選定了同一個良辰吉日，還是故意來較量誰最有號召力擁有最忠實的觀眾？

不管怎樣，在疫情期間，我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己迫不得已在同一時間觀賞了四場節(jié)目。在一個晚上，我的電腦屏幕同時展示了紐約愛樂樂團的網(wǎng)絡(luò)籌款盛典與卡內(nèi)基音樂廳為了向剛?cè)ナ赖拿绹罡叻ㄔ捍蠓ü亵斔埂ぐ偷隆そ鹚共瘢≧uth Bader Ginsburg）致敬的歌劇含金量極高的特別策劃節(jié)目?；旧?，我的鼠標徘徊在兩個視窗之間，切來切去。（我還在同一時間用上小手機與擺在飯桌上的平板電腦接上音頻，聆聽著發(fā)生在兩個不同國際時區(qū)的網(wǎng)上講座與專題論壇。）紐約兩家最大規(guī)模的演藝組織選中同一個晚上播放本年度演出季最重磅的項目，真的假的？

以前的我經(jīng)常吐苦水，平生最怕慶典音樂會，因為那些乏味的演出只不過是大型晚宴的序幕——或是一個更糟的比喻，慶典演出不幸被貶為飯前的娛樂節(jié)目。但是，新冠疫情的暴發(fā)為這類慶典音樂會引進了一個新功能，令我可以度過令人愉悅的整晚：那就是視頻播放界面的靜音功能。唯一跟“靜音”可以媲美的，是“快進”按鈕。

好了，我未免有點過分苛刻。但靜音功能確實確保了當演出最終進行到當晚最令人難忘的重要環(huán)節(jié)時，我的頭腦還能保持清醒：一段經(jīng)過專業(yè)剪輯的、紐約愛樂樂團歷年來不同指揮家詮釋演出的貝多芬《第五交響曲》的混搭視頻——盡管個別片段的速度與風(fēng)格有著很大差別，卻證明了不單是這部作品、還有樂團本身都足夠強大，經(jīng)得起不同音樂家的演繹與感情抒發(fā)的明暗色彩。

靜音功能也讓我繼續(xù)保持清醒，欣賞到比紐約愛樂更加卓越的一個項目：由女中音伊莎貝爾·倫納德（Isabel Leonard）策劃并擔任主持的“卡內(nèi)基現(xiàn)場：紀念魯斯·巴德·金斯伯格”特輯。

***

9月中旬，剛好是猶太新年前夕，傳來金斯伯格因胰腺癌病逝的噩耗。她是有史以來美國聯(lián)邦最高法院任命的第二位女性大法官——也是首位猶太裔女性大法官——更是美國流行文化的重要標志。這些年來，最高法院的成員結(jié)構(gòu)逐漸傾向保守派，她在多個判決意見書中所發(fā)表的異議陳詞激烈尖銳，因此被譽為“聲名狼藉的R.B.G.”[這個名字來源是已故美國黑人說唱歌手比基·斯莫茲（Biggie Smalls），又名“聲名狼藉的B.I.G.”]。金斯伯格為了保衛(wèi)女性與少數(shù)族裔的權(quán)益不遺余力，備受法律界追捧，她的名字與肖像不但在書籍、電視影片以至好萊塢大制作中都曾出現(xiàn)。她的粉絲經(jīng)常說，“沒有魯斯（Ruth）就沒有真相（truth）”。

但是她還有一個最出名的非法律特質(zhì)：金斯伯格畢生鐘愛歌劇，經(jīng)常出入文化場所，是華盛頓附近的狼阱國家公園（Wolf Trap National Park）表演藝術(shù)中心的?？?，也屢次到訪圣達菲歌劇院（Santa Fe Opera）。她坦誠地說：“當我在歌劇院或演奏廳聆聽音樂時，在我腦海里跳動的訴訟摘要或法律意見會立刻停頓下來?！彼龝坷飻[設(shè)的人物照片除了法律界各位大人物以外——大部分都是女法官——還有多位歌劇明星，其中有不少是她的朋友。

卡內(nèi)基音樂廳的紀念盛典給了這些歌劇明星一個機會，回饋金斯伯格對他們的厚愛。倫納德所邀請的嘉賓——大部分都是女性——包括在美國國會大廈舉行的金斯伯格追悼會上獻唱的女中音丹尼絲·格雷夫斯（Denyce Graves），還有金斯伯格已故丈夫馬?。∕artin）的學(xué)生——在華盛頓工作的執(zhí)業(yè)律師提姆·杰瑟爾（Tim Jessell），他的夫人正是女高音蕾內(nèi)·弗萊明（Renée Fleming）。

但是，當晚令我大開眼界的環(huán)節(jié)，是金斯伯格的大女兒和次子——珍妮（Jane）與詹姆斯（James）的對話。在移民美國之前，這個家族就已經(jīng)與歌劇有著深厚的淵源：家族的一位長輩在敖德薩（Odessa）城里的歌劇院負責開閉帷幕的重任。魯斯孩提時代第一次觀賞演出就愛上了歌??；后來有了孩子，她也盡力培養(yǎng)他們對歌劇的興趣。珍妮與詹姆斯兩姐弟回憶起每次看演出之前，母親都會為他們提供音樂與故事大綱介紹。珍妮還記得第一次在大都會歌劇院看演出，坐在第三層（Grand Tier）的第一排，那正是家里人多年來一直預(yù)訂的套票位置所在；當天她穿著黑色絲絨連身裙，只可惜自己太矮，視線剛好被欄桿擋住了。

“母親有時候最愛《費加羅的婚禮》，有時候是《唐喬瓦尼》?！闭材匪拐f。在她的心目中，最理想的“唐喬瓦尼”是切薩雷·謝皮（Cesare Siepi），而喬治·倫敦（George London）是她夢中的“荷蘭人”。當然也少不了男高音。2011年在哈佛大學(xué)舉行的畢業(yè)典禮中，最搶眼的一幕是多明戈（當年多明戈任職華盛頓國家歌劇院藝術(shù)總監(jiān)）為金斯伯格高歌一曲（兩人同時被頒發(fā)榮譽學(xué)位，所以有緣同臺）。

金斯伯格最愛的女高音歌唱家包括辛卡·米拉諾夫（Zinka Milanov）、雷娜塔·蒂巴爾迪（Renata Tibaldi）、莉西亞·阿爾巴尼斯（Licia Albanese），最重要的是蕾昂泰茵·普萊斯（Leontyne Price）。普萊斯首次在大都會歌劇院登臺演出《游吟詩人》時，金斯伯格就是觀眾之一。兩位偉大女性終于在美國國家藝術(shù)基金舉辦的一次午餐會上相談甚歡，當年普萊斯已經(jīng)81歲了。

與金斯伯格相關(guān)的這兩個世界有時候也會有所交集?！澳赣H第一次到聯(lián)邦最高法院訴訟陳詞，當她步進電梯時，瑪麗亞·卡拉斯竟然牽著她的小狗走進來，”詹姆斯說，“母親認為那是個天大的好兆頭?！?/p>

***

當年，即便是在布魯克林區(qū)出生的金斯伯格，倘若能成功躋身紐約法律界，她熱愛歌劇的一面肯定會開花結(jié)果。然而在她移居至華盛頓成為當?shù)氐拇笕宋镏?，更能接近歌劇界的核心圈子。倫納德請來的嘉賓之中有人猜測，金斯伯格面向公眾的姿態(tài)與歌劇息息相關(guān)——你不得不佩服金斯伯格一舉一動的戲劇性，以及善于引出喜劇氣氛的節(jié)奏感。在首都華盛頓，金斯伯格更有機會踏上歌劇舞臺。她曾經(jīng)在《蝙蝠》（2003）與《阿里阿德涅在納克索斯》（1994、2009）的舞臺上現(xiàn)身，雖然沒有對白，但她的臺風(fēng)依然令人矚目。到了2016年，她還有機會參與了多尼采蒂《軍中女郎》的制作，扮演克拉肯托佩公爵夫人（Duchess of Krakenthorp），甚至誦讀了幾句對白。

金斯伯格一生鐘愛歌劇。正因如此，她跟最高法院保守派大法官安東寧·斯卡利亞（Antonin Scalia）建立了傳奇性的友誼——兩人唯一共通的，可能只有對于歌劇的熱忱——這個特別的關(guān)系也成了歌劇作品的主題。2015年，美國年輕華裔作曲家王利成（Derrick Wang）創(chuàng)作的《斯卡利亞/金斯伯格》（Scalia/Ginsburg）在洛林·馬澤爾（Lorin Maazel）主辦的卡斯爾頓音樂節(jié)首演（金斯伯格也有出席）。這部作品不久以后在格里美格拉斯歌劇節(jié)（Glimmerglass Festival）以及英國北方歌劇院亮相，隨后更在美國幾個小型歌劇院中演出。今年11月初，特拉華州歌劇院（Opera Delaware）于2019年的演出視頻更可以在網(wǎng)上點播。歌劇院當年的現(xiàn)場演出，更幽默地找來吉爾伯特與沙利文的獨幕歌劇《陪審團的判決》（Trial by Jury）搭配。

卡內(nèi)基音樂廳的紀念特輯中播放了《斯卡利亞/金斯伯格》的一小段落，也送上更貼近金斯伯格一家的音樂環(huán)節(jié)。幾年前，為了慶祝母親的80大壽，詹姆斯（他是一位音樂監(jiān)制，曾創(chuàng)辦芝加哥Cedille唱片公司）委約了三位女作曲家譜寫藝術(shù)歌曲——其中一位是詹姆斯的夫人，作曲家兼歌唱家帕特里斯·邁克爾斯（Patrice Michaels）?？▋?nèi)基的特輯中呈上的大多是金斯伯格的趣聞軼事，但當邁克爾斯演出《我最親愛的魯斯》（My Dearest Ruth）這首歌曲時（加上多媒體元素），觀眾無不動容。在詹姆斯委約的三首歌曲之中，這首由史黛西·加洛普（Stacy Garrop）配樂的作品所套用的歌詞正是金斯伯格的丈夫馬丁的遺言。在他臨終前住院期間，家人在醫(yī)院收拾東西時，在抽屜里找到了這封馬丁寫在法律便箋簿上的親筆信。

蕾內(nèi)·弗萊明在追憶金斯伯格的對話中透露，自己幾乎忘記了兩人初次見面的日子。自從弗萊明開始在華盛頓演出歌劇，金斯伯格就像是那里的一個“永久固定裝置”（permanent fixture）。當其他人猜測金斯伯格是為了逃避工作而醉心于歌劇，弗萊明顯得有點氣惱?！疤热裟銚V她的工作崗位，每一天的每一個抉擇都影響著國家人民的生與死，那么能夠?qū)ふ业揭粋€與歷史的連接點是多么棒的事情，”弗萊明說，“歌劇，甚至任何古典音樂全關(guān)乎歷史。還有人類的行為——也未必是人類最高尚的行為?！?/p>

一直以來，金斯伯格都聲稱，她最喜歡的歌劇角色是理查德·施特勞斯《玫瑰騎士》（Der Rosenkavalier）中的元帥夫人（Marschallin）。弗萊明也有同感（她扮演元帥夫人有幾十年的經(jīng)驗，直至2017年宣告退休），認為元帥夫人是“歌劇劇目中最復(fù)雜、最真實的女性角色”。然而，現(xiàn)實中金斯伯格與弗萊明最難忘的對話卻圍繞著莫扎特。

“當時我正準備首次擔任歌劇導(dǎo)演，執(zhí)導(dǎo)國家歌劇院的《女人心》（Così fan tutte），” 弗萊明回憶道?！敖鹚共窬蛦栁遥骸滤蛊つ龋―espina）的確是一個精彩的角色，可是，你打算怎樣處理歌劇中對待各個女性角色的方式呢？我心里想，她這個問題問得真的是太一如既往了！”

For years， I kept an oversize calendar in my living room. Events I wanted to attend in New York were written in black ink， events in Hong Kong in blue. Whichever color came up more frequently determined where Id be that month.

Well， so much for that. Ever since February， theres not much black， blue， or any other color on the page. Which is not to say that life has gotten any less busy. Much the reverse， in fact.

Before the pandemic， I always had travel as an excuse. “Sorry to miss your show，” I could say with all due sincerity， “but I just cant make it to [London/Paris/ Bangkok/Sydney] that week.” Now that everything is streamed online， it all sounds kind of quaint. Back when I still lived in only one city it was a big deal to catch two concerts in one night； in our current Age of Streaming， I recently left the Vienna State Opera at intermission just in time to catch the opening curtain at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

But getting back to the big calendar， back when we all lived in the physical world we used to ponder about how it was possible that， after many uneventful weeks， multiple institutions would often schedule their biggest ceremonies and celebrations on the same day. Was it a fluke？ Similar readings of auspicious times？ A competitive urge to make audiences prove their loyalties？

In any case， the internet is how I now sometimes wind up with four events on a single night. Recently I spent an evening bouncing between the New York Philharmonics virtual fundraising gala and Carnegie Halls opera-laden tribute to the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg （with a totally unrelated lecture and a panel discussion， each in a different time zone， relegated to the phone and the iPad）. Two of New Yorks biggest institutions holding their biggest event of the season on the same night？ Seriously？

Ive often talked about my usual aversion to gala concerts， where a lackluster performance is merely a prelude to—if not an outright distraction from— the dinner party afterward. But it took the pandemic to introduce a feature that can make the whole evening palatable： the mute function， rivaled only by the fast-forward button.

Okay， that may be a bit harsh. But it did ensure that my mind was fresh and alert when the show finally got around to the most memorable segment of the evening： a mashup video of the New York Philharmonic playing Beethovens Fifth Symphony under a wide range of conductors， with different tempos and interpretations proving how not only the music but the ensemble itself was formidable enough to sustain a variety of musical interpretations and emotional shadings.

It also kept my mind fresh and alert for what turned out to be a far better presentation： “Live with Carnegie Hall： Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg，” curated and presented by mezzosoprano Isabel Leonard.

***

Ruth Bader Ginsburg， who died of pancreatic cancer in mid-September on the eve of the Jewish New Year， was not merely the second woman—and the first Jewish woman—to serve on the US Supreme Court， she was also a pop-culture phenomenon. Her fiery dissents from an increasingly conservative Court earned her the nickname “the Notorious R.B.G.” （a reference to “Notorious B.I.G.，” the moniker of the late American rapper Biggie Smalls）. Ginsburgs tireless championing of equal rights for women and minorities made her a beloved figure not just in legal circles， but also in books， television and Hollywood films. “There is no truth without‘Ruth，” her fans often claimed.

But the non-legal quality she was best known for was her love of opera. “Listening to music in the opera or concert hall was the only time legal briefs and opinions would stop dancing in my head，”admitted Ginsburg， who was regularly sighted in venues as close to Washington as the Wolf Trap National Park and as far removed as Santa Fe Opera. Alongside portraits in her study of legal figures—mostly other female justices—were photographs of opera singers， many of whom she would come to know personally.

Carnegie Halls tribute was a chance for some of those singers to return the attention. Among Leonards guests—they were predominantly women—were mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves， who sang at Ginsburgs memorial service at the US Capitol， and soprano Renée Fleming， whose husband Tim Jessell is a Washington DC attorney and a former student of Ginsburgs late husband， Martin.

The evenings real revelations， though， came from Ginsburgs children， Jane and James. Even before the familys move to America， opera ran deep in the lineage， with a patriarch back in Odessa employed to raise and lower the citys opera house curtain. Ginsburg， who was hooked after seeing her first opera as a child， worked hard to instill the same love in her children. Both Jane and James recalled their trips to the opera being preceded by briefings on the music and story. Jane recounted her first time at the Met， sitting in the family seats in the front row of the Grand Tier； she wore a new black velvet dress for the occasion， but was too short to see over the railing.

“Depending on the day， my mothers favorite opera was either The Marriage of Figaro or Don Giovanni，”said James. The bass Cesare Siepi was “her Don，”just as George London was “her Dutchman.” But there were tenors， too. The 2011 Harvard University commencement was nearly upstaged when tenor Placido Domingo， then artistic director of the Washington National Opera， serenaded Ginsburg onstage as they both received honorary degrees.

Soprano favorites included Zinka Milanov， Renata Tibaldi， Licia Albanese， and especially Leontyne Price， whom Ginsburg had seen make her legendary Met debut in Il Trovatore in 1961. The two eventually met at a luncheon hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts when Price was 81.

Occasionally， Ginsburg found her two worlds juxtaposed. “Just as my mother was heading to the Supreme Court to make her first argument， she gets into the elevator and in walks Maria Callas with her dogs，” James said. “Mom took that as a good omen.”

***

Even if the Brooklyn-born Ginsburg had managed to break into New York legal circles， her love of opera wouldve surely flourished unimpeded. Washington， though， brought her closer to operas inner circle. Though several of Leonards guests speculated that opera had shaped Ginsburgs public demeanor， filled with astute dramatic and comic timing， only in Washington would she have actually wound up on the opera stage itself. Ginsberg had walk-on roles in both Die Fledermaus （2003） and Ariadne auf Naxos （1994 and 2009） as well as a speaking role as the Duchess of Krakenthorp in Donizettis Daughter of the Regiment （2016）.

An even less likely scenario arose when Ginsburgs relationship with conservative US Justice Antonin Scalia—whose love of opera was perhaps the only thing they shared—became the subject of an opera itself. Derrick Wangs Scalia/Ginsburg had its 2015 debut at Lorin Maazels Castleton Festival（with Ginsburg attending）， later appearing at the Glimmerglass Festival and Opera North before making the rounds of several smaller US opera companies. Opera Delawares 2019 production，cheekily paired with Gilbert and Sullivans Trial by Jury， began streaming in early November.

Carnegie Halls tribute offered a brief glimpse of the production， as well as a more personal musical tribute from her family. For Ginsburgs 80th birthday， her son James （a music producer and founding president of the Chicago-based record label Cedille） commissioned songs from three woman composers—including his wife， the composer and singer Patrice Michaels. Utterly halting the anecdotal flow of the Carnegie tribute was Michaelsheartrending multimedia performance of “My Dearest Ruth，” a musical setting by Stacy Garrop of a handwritten letter from Ginsburgs husband， originally written on a legal pad and found by the family on his deathbed.

Renée Fleming， for her part， could scarcely recall when she and Ginsburg met， only that she seemed to be “permanent fixture” at the Washington National Opera when Fleming began to perform there. She bristled a bit at those who called opera Ginsburgs “escape” from work. “If youre doing the type of work that she did， [with] life or death decisions having a huge effect on people， its great to be connected to history，” Fleming maintained.“And opera—anything classical， really—is all about history. And human behavior—not necessarily the best human behavior.”

Ginsburg had long claimed that her favorite operatic figure was the Marschallin from Richard Strausss Der Rosenkavalier， an assessment seconded by Fleming （a longtime Marschallin herself until retiring from the role in 2017） as “the most complex， authentic female character in all of opera.” But it was over Mozart that Fleming and Ginsburg had their most memorable exchange.

“I was going to direct my first opera， Cosi fan tutte， with the National Opera，” Fleming recalled. “And she asked me， ‘Despinas a really great character， but how are you going to deal with the way women are treated in that opera？ I just thought， true to form！”