司馬勤

早在1990年代我跟凱·安伯拉（Kai Amberla）先生初相識時，他是《芬蘭音樂季刊》（Finnish Music Quarterly）的編輯。過了不久，他履職芬蘭交響樂團(tuán)協(xié)會總監(jiān)。又過了幾年，他接任芬蘭音樂信息中心的總裁，負(fù)責(zé)推廣西貝柳斯時代前后的幾乎所有的芬蘭作曲家。后來，他被委任為芬蘭藝術(shù)節(jié)組織（Finnish Festivals）的行政總監(jiān)，這是一個政府牽頭的傘狀組織，代表芬蘭在全世界范圍內(nèi)推廣芬蘭的數(shù)百個各類藝術(shù)節(jié)活動。

我們兩人這些年來把酒言歡，嘗過不少佳釀，這也讓我們之間很多次談話的細(xì)節(jié)都變得模糊了。但只要我想收集關(guān)于芬蘭的資料，必定會先向凱這位老朋友打聽打聽。今年年初，當(dāng)我知道凱——這位比我累積更多飛行里數(shù)的音樂同行之一——跟我同病相憐，因航班停飛而不得不待在家里時，我通過視頻對話，詢問他芬蘭人是怎樣應(yīng)對新冠疫情的。

“我們是一個內(nèi)向的國家，”說這句話時他刻意地表現(xiàn)得很冷淡，“即便是平常時期，我們也都盡量保持著距離。如今的生活方式，是芬蘭這個國家一直以來就期待的?！?/p>

因此，當(dāng)我聽說芬蘭國家歌劇院搬演了《新冠皆如此》（Covid fan tutte）這部借用莫扎特的作品選段拼貼而成的諷刺歌劇時，立刻發(fā)了一封電郵給凱，想聽聽他的評論?！皩Π滋珕簟笔撬幕貜?fù)。“他們對觀眾的信心不足，臺詞里說完一個笑話還要加上諸多的解釋。所謂‘搞笑的句子很多都不好笑。對于白人中產(chǎn)階級的異性戀群體來說，都是一些淺薄的笑話而已。”

考慮到凱正是他口中所說群體之一，這可以說這是一個相當(dāng)刻薄的評論。芬蘭人真難討好。

***

于8月底在赫爾辛基首演的芬蘭國家歌劇院《新冠皆如此》，完全是一個應(yīng)運而生的劇目。由于國際旅行危機(jī)導(dǎo)致演出取消的情況，其實屢見不鮮。當(dāng)年“9·11”事件發(fā)生之后我正好在紐約，原本安排在那周跟紐約愛樂樂團(tuán)一同演出的獨奏家們都因航班禁令被困在歐洲，無法遠(yuǎn)渡越洋按原計劃演出。突然間，音樂會曲目就改為了勃拉姆斯《安魂曲》，并找來了滯留在紐約的歌唱家[幸好紐約是一個文化大都會，找來的臨時獨唱是男中音托馬斯·漢普森（Thomas Hampson）與女高音海蒂·格蘭特·墨菲（Heidi Grant Murphy）]獻(xiàn)演。

但是，芬蘭的局勢卻完全朝著不同的方向發(fā)展。當(dāng)芬蘭最著名的指揮家與女高音發(fā)現(xiàn)自己本來安排好好的演出全都被取消時——這正是埃薩-佩卡·薩洛寧（Esa-Pekka Salonen）接任舊金山交響樂團(tuán)音樂總監(jiān)的首個樂季，而卡麗塔·瑪?shù)倮↘arita Mattila）原本在倫敦科文特花園皇家歌劇院排練的《耶努法》（Jen？fa），到了2月底終于叫?！獌扇藳Q定回赫爾辛基避難，因為那兒的新冠疫情相對來講不太嚴(yán)重。

到了春季末，芬蘭最終還是跟世界各地一樣，取消了所有的現(xiàn)場演出。但到了6月，芬蘭已經(jīng)局部重啟公眾活動，藝術(shù)機(jī)構(gòu)也得以開始策劃新的演出內(nèi)容。芬蘭國家歌劇院把原來選定的演出季開幕大戲《女武神》延遲至冬季，取而代之的是一套全新并保持社交距離的莫扎特的《女人皆如此》（Cosìfan tutte，又譯《女人心》）。正因為有半年時間籌備這個新制作，歌劇院特別委約了芬蘭當(dāng)今著名的記者兼暢銷犯罪小說家米娜·林德格倫（Minna Lindgren）撰寫新的芬蘭語版本歌詞。

正如這個特別版本的標(biāo)題《新冠皆如此》，大部分的音樂都忠于莫扎特，卻對達(dá)·蓬特的原著大肆修改。該作品以瓦格納《女武神》的開場作為序曲，隨后就被歌劇院的一位“交流經(jīng)理”（interface manager）打斷，宣布即時換演莫扎特歌劇，準(zhǔn)備出場的《女武神》演員貿(mào)然換擋演唱莫扎特。劇中的對白與唱詞幽默諷刺，影射旅游限制、強制隔離、社交距離等衍生的政治與社會問題，間接批評芬蘭政府無法協(xié)調(diào)一致地處理危機(jī)。不出所料，瑪?shù)倮缪莸慕巧潜焕г诤諣栃粱膰H歌劇大咖，因為局勢所迫，唯有飾演女傭黛斯皮娜（Despina）一角，以及所有其他的角色！這套新歌劇更有舞者娜塔莎·盧米（Natasha Loomi）演繹劇中的主角——新冠病毒。

演出的音樂素材除了選自《女人皆如此》以外，也借用了《魔笛》與《唐喬瓦尼》的幾首經(jīng)典詠嘆調(diào)。而發(fā)人深思的段落包括帕帕基諾被封住嘴的情節(jié)改為戴上口罩無法說話；還有報道新冠疫情死亡人數(shù)時套上萊波雷洛（Leporello）數(shù)盡唐喬瓦尼各國情人的詠嘆調(diào)，例如“在西班牙，共一千零三人?！?/p>

***

從音樂上來看，這部歌劇哼哧哼哧地延續(xù)了100分鐘的時長——沒有討厭的中場休息，觀眾也可降低因中場休息的社交而感染病毒的可能性。就算凱·安伯拉對于音樂演繹予以很高評價（薩洛寧更為該劇創(chuàng)作了新音樂以連接各個片段），但我還是同意凱對于劇情的劣評。雖然某些幽默的音樂風(fēng)格細(xì)膩地展露出來——我們看到舞臺上一班瓦格納演員被迫適應(yīng)莫扎特作品的規(guī)模制作，就像一隊舉重運動員突然要表演藝術(shù)體操一樣違和——還有一些雖然令人捧腹大笑的場景，然而似乎感覺還缺少什么東西。

或者這種觀感是來源于代溝？我發(fā)消息給年輕的芬蘭作曲家伊拉里·凱拉（Ilari Kaila），盡管他現(xiàn)在待在香港，我肯定他聽說過這部歌劇。他告訴我各界對該作品的評價褒貶不一，甚至引述他自己“相當(dāng)?shù)湫头姨m人”的父親看了歌劇后“十分生氣”，因為新冠疫情應(yīng)該是一個“嚴(yán)肅的話題”。伊拉里自己也困惑不已?！拔也幻靼祝彼麑懙?，“危機(jī)往往會引出喜劇，讓大眾調(diào)劑一下心情。也許他們所爭論的，是現(xiàn)在開這種玩笑未免‘太早了吧?！?/p>

太早了？當(dāng)俄羅斯向全球公布研發(fā)新冠疫苗的新聞當(dāng)天，網(wǎng)上就有人開起了玩笑，瘋傳一張帶注射器的小伏特加酒瓶的圖片。美國電視上的晚間“脫口秀”也在揶揄當(dāng)天美國頭條新聞的實時性。比起來，芬蘭國家歌劇院起碼有半年的時間來籌備這個制作。時間的早晚不是問題，我想問題是出在歌劇這種藝術(shù)形式的載體上。

當(dāng)然，這并不是說幽默在歌劇中不存在——莫扎特與達(dá)·蓬特，還有很多富有創(chuàng)意的藝術(shù)家，都為此提供了不少佐證——但喜劇卻是另一回事。幽默源自人物性格與情境——尤其當(dāng)兩者配合有所偏差時。相反地，喜劇需要鋪排笑話、插科打諢、滑稽舉動，更需要三者湊合緊密的節(jié)奏。綜上所述，這部《新冠皆如此》更像《周六夜現(xiàn)場》（Saturday Night Live，美國一檔于周六深夜時段直播的喜劇小品類綜藝節(jié)目）中的一則喜劇小品，卻被制作人像氣球般打氣，膨脹擴(kuò)容至網(wǎng)飛（Netflix，會員訂閱制的流媒體播放平臺）上的喜劇系列劇集。莫扎特的音樂幸免于難，可是劇情中的笑點卻完全不到位。

***

附注：芬蘭國家歌劇院《新冠皆如此》首演后，美國有兩家歌劇院也要搬演添加新冠疫情元素的《女人皆如此》，但這些制作之間都沒有什么關(guān)聯(lián)。匹茲堡歌劇院（Pittsburgh Opera）于10月搬演的版本把背景時間改為第一次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，也就是1918年西班牙流感暴發(fā)的高峰，地點是一個彈藥工廠。樂隊減少至17人并在舞臺區(qū)域以外演奏，演員則全都戴上口罩。（直至本文發(fā)稿當(dāng)天，匹茲堡歌劇院的新聞稿中聲稱自己是“今天美國東岸唯一在戶內(nèi)場所舉行演出的歌劇團(tuán)體?！保?/p>

在美國西岸，太平洋歌劇項目（Pacific Opera Project）——這個藝術(shù)團(tuán)體被迫于今年3月取消原定的《女人皆如此》計劃——正緊鑼密鼓地籌備一個顛覆性的改編版本，取名也是《新冠皆如此》。新劇本由導(dǎo)演喬?！ばぃ↗osh Shaw）執(zhí)筆，故事發(fā)生在疫情嚴(yán)峻的今天，地點是南加州一個高爾夫球場。這個制作將于11月在一個教堂的露天停車場中上演，觀眾必須留在自己的車內(nèi)觀賞演出。

When I first met Kai Amberla back in the 1990s， he was editor of the Finnish Music Quarterly. Soon after that， he became head of the Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras. A few years later， he was running the Finnish Music Information Centre， representing pretty much all his countrys composers before and after Sibelius. Then he wound up as executive director of Finland Festivals， the governments umbrella organization promoting hundreds of Finnish festivals around the world.

Given the amount of alcohol weve shared over the years， some of our history is fuzzy， but suffice it to say， whenever I need to know anything about Finland， Kai is my first call. Earlier this year， when I realized that Kai—one of the few people with more frequent flier miles in his account than I have—was also grounded at home， I asked him how he and his fellow Finns were dealing with the Covid-19 lockdown.

“We are a nation of introverts，” he exclaimed dryly. “Even in normal times we go out of our way to distance ourselves. This is the moment my country has always been waiting for.”

So when I first heard about Covid fan tutte， Finnish National Operas pastiche Mozart parody， I immediately reached out to Kai for his thoughts.“Too much talking，” he wrote back. “They dont trust that we understand the jokes without explanation. Too many ‘funny lines that are not that funny. Just typical easy jokes for white middle-class heterosexuals.”

Considering that Kai himself squarely fits the target audience， it was a pretty chilly response. Finns are a tough crowd.

***

FNOs production， which premiered in Helsinki at the end of August， was a project borne of necessity. Cancellations are hardly unknown during a travel crisis. I was in New York City in the aftermath of 9/11 when the New York Philharmonics guest soloists that week were stranded in Europe. Suddenly， the program shifted to Brahmss Requiem with a couple of singers who were likewise stuck in town （New York being New York， they happened to be baritone Thomas Hampson and soprano Heidi Grant Murphy）.

The Finnish situation， though， veered in a different direction entirely. When the countrys preeminent conductor and operatic soprano both found themselves without work—Esa-Pekka Salonen was to open his first season as music director of the San Francisco Symphony， Karita Mattila had been rehearsing Jen？fa at Covent Garden when the production was pulled in late February—they decided to shelter in Helsinki， where the Covid situation was less severe.

Finland wound up cancelling performances along with the rest of the world， but by June the country had partially opened again and people began planning ahead. FNO immediately shifted its season-opening production of Die Walküre to midwinter， replacing it with a new， socially distanced production of Mozarts Così fan tutte. But since they were planning six months ahead， the company also bravely commissioned a new Finnish-language libretto by journalist and best-selling crime novelist Minna Lindgren.

Per its title， Covid fan tutte remains true to Mozarts music， despite doing severe violence to Da Pontes text. The show opens with Wagners Walküre overture before being interrupted the companys“interface manager” announcing that the company will now be performing Mozart. Much of the original Walküre cast shift gears into music from Così， with texts （both spoken and sung） shifting into a wideranging spoof of the politics and social realities of travel restrictions， quarantine， social distancing and general government inability to handle the situation coherently. Mattila plays， of course， an international opera diva suddenly stuck in Helsinki having to perform the role of Despina—a maid， of all things！—while dancer Natasha Loomi gets her star turn as the title character， Covid Virus.

Its not just Così， though； the music dips a toe into The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni as well. In a couple of the shows most inspired moments， the scene where Papageno is muffled by padlock morphs into a man trying to speak through a mask； in another， the Covid victim tally appears as a reworked version of Leporellos Catalogue Aria. “In Spain， a thousand and three，” indeed.

***

Musically， the show chugs along for 100 uninterrupted minutes—no pesky intermission mingling to help spread the virus. Even Kai had nothing but praise for the performances （Salonen， for his part， also composed new musical tissue connecting the scenes）. But still， I had to agree with Kai. Despite some humorous stylistic subtleties— seeing a true Wagnerian cast transition to Mozart is rather like watching a team of weightlifters suddenly doing gymnastics—and a few broad topical laughs， something seemed to be missing.

Perhaps it was a generational thing. I reached out to composer Ilari Kaila， a younger Finn who would certainly know about the production despite being sheltered in Hong Kong. Ilari had already heard several mixed reviews， not least from his “quite Finnish” father， who was “very offended” and wrote“Serious matter！” to the befuddlement of his son. “I dont get it，” Ilari said. “Theres always been comedy at times of crisis. But I guess theres always the ‘too soon argument.”

Too soon？ The very day that Russia announced the development of their Covid vaccine someone jokingly sent me a picture of a small vodka bottle with a syringe. Late-night television hosts spoof US headlines practically in real time. The Finnish National Opera worked on this for six months. No， the problem I think was with the medium.

Its not that humor cant exist in opera—Mozart and Da Ponte， among others， have proved that—but comedy is another matter entirely. Humor emerges from character and situation， particularly when the two are improperly matched. Comedy， by contrast， is a matter of verbal jokes， sight gags and physicality that essentially need a rhythm of their own. Covid fan tutte was like a reasonable funny Saturday Night Live sketch puffed up into a Netflix series. Mozarts music survived quite well， but it was setting up an entirely different punch line.

*** Note： Since Finnish National Operas outing， two US opera companies have launched unrelated productions of Così fan tutte laced with pandemic references. The first， which ran in October at the Pittsburgh Opera， set Mozarts score and Da Pontes text in a munitions factory during the First World War and the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918， with a 17-piece orchestra playing offstage and the entire cast wearing masks throughout the performance. （As we went to press， Pittsburgh Opera claims to be “the only opera company on the East Coast currently doing live indoor performances.”）

Across the country， Pacific Opera Project—which cancelled their Così fan tutte in March 2020—will soon launch a radically revised production entitled， yes， Covid fan tutte with a new libretto by director Josh Shaw set in a Southern California golf resort during the current pandemic. The production， scheduled for November， will be performed in a church parking lot， with audiences to remain in their cars for the duration of the show.