小瓊：為了迎接3月的國際婦女節(jié)，我最近在鉆研歌劇當(dāng)中那些難忘的“女性角色”。不知為何，多尼采蒂《軍中女郎》中的主角瑪麗是我第一個(gè)想到的角色。

小薇：多尼采蒂的這部美聲歌劇極為賞心悅目，不僅在世界上廣受好評(píng)，在國內(nèi)也有很高的人氣，是北京國家大劇院重演次數(shù)最多的作品之一。而我在網(wǎng)上搜索了一下，發(fā)現(xiàn)這部歌劇的原創(chuàng)故事曾經(jīng)被多次改編為電影！

小瓊：這部歌劇（法語原題作 La fille du regiment）1840年首演時(shí)堪稱“第一”，是多尼采蒂創(chuàng)作的第一部法語歌劇，也是他在時(shí)尚之都巴黎的首次亮相。他原本希望在巴黎創(chuàng)作一部嚴(yán)肅歌劇，但計(jì)劃一直停滯不前，他因此迅速調(diào)整了創(chuàng)作方向。很難相信，《軍中女郎》的首演非常失敗，連艾克托爾·柏遼茲都給出了差評(píng)。

小薇：然而這部“孤女”勇于尋找真愛、戰(zhàn)勝與自己貴族家人團(tuán)聚的“幸運(yùn)”命運(yùn)的喜劇卻很能引發(fā)觀眾的共鳴。當(dāng)時(shí)的人們一定非常支持女性“脫離自身階層”并“為真愛結(jié)婚”。

小瓊：我做了更多的研究，發(fā)現(xiàn)基于這個(gè)故事改編的第一部電影竟然是無聲的！這部1929年英德合拍的電影是一部默片。

小薇：以音色為主要欣賞標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的歌劇成為無聲的電影默片的靈感來源，這聽起來是有點(diǎn)諷刺。我倒是想到一個(gè)相反的例子：1925年的默片《劇院魅影》提供了安德魯·洛伊德·韋伯的創(chuàng)作靈感，這部長壽的同名音樂劇在百老匯取得了巨大成功。

小瓊：下一部《軍中女郎》的電影版本就開始有聲音了。這部電影1933年拍攝于德國，被打上了“納粹電影”的標(biāo)簽，今天在市面上很少見到。1953年，又根據(jù)這個(gè)故事拍出了兩部電影！

小薇：如今我們很幸運(yùn)，可以輕松欣賞到“歌劇電影”，感受多尼采蒂音樂的魅力。我在網(wǎng)上搜索，很快就找到了近幾十年的幾部明星云集的優(yōu)秀制作，有貝弗利·希爾斯的（1974年，狼阱歌劇節(jié)，英語演唱），還有瓊·薩瑟蘭的（1986年，悉尼歌劇院）。兩位首席女演員都堪稱傳奇。今天，我們還可以在網(wǎng)上在線欣賞娜塔莉·德賽在大都會(huì)歌劇院高清系列中演繹的瑪麗。

Joan： In preparation for March （when we celebrate International Womens Day） I was delving into memorable “female characters” in opera， and somehow Marie， the title character of Donizettis The Daughter of the Regiment， is the first that comes to mind！

Valery： Donizettis superbly entertaining bel canto opera has been a favorite all over the world. It is also popular in China， having been one of the most revived productions at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing. But when I searched online， I discovered the original story from the opera was made into film not just once， but many times！

Joan： When the opera （original French title La fille du regiment） premiered in 1840， it was a “first，” marking the debut of Donizetti in fashionable Paris with his first opera sung in French. He was in Paris to write a serious opera， but plans had been stalled， so he quickly switched gears. Believe it or not， the premiere was a failure. Among the nasty reviews was one by Hector Berlioz！

Valery： Yet this comedy about an “orphaned” girl finding true love and overcoming her “l(fā)ucky” fate of reuniting with her noble family really caught on with the audience. People must have been rooting for a woman who can “break out of her class” and “marry for love.”

Joan： I did some more research and discovered the first film based on this story did not have any sound！ This British-German production， made in 1929， was a silent film.

Valery： It is ironic that an opera inspired something that was silent. I can only think of something in reverse： how the 1925 silent film Phantom of the Opera became the inspiration of the Broadway success by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Joan： The next film version of The Daughter of the Regiment was already a “talkie.” Released in 1933 and produced in Germany， it was branded as “Nazi film”and is rarely seen today. And in 1953 two more films were made based on this story！

Valery： Luckily we can easily enjoy “opera films”and marvel at Donizettis music. I searched online and immediately located amazing star-studded productions of the past few decades， from Beverly Sills（singing in English at the Wolf Trap Festival， 1974） to Joan Sutherland （at Sydney Opera House， 1986）. Both operatic prima donnas were legendary in their own rights. These days， we can also stream Natalie Dessay singing Marie at the Metropolitan HD series.