从门外汉到歌剧通

主持：Joanna C. Lee 编译：辛时雨

左页：时代华纳中心

歌剧与商业操作：如何花钱？

Opera and commerce: How to spend your money?

小琼：上个月，我介绍了东京新国立剧场的公共空间，以及如何吸引大众走进剧院。这也促使我去思考，早期歌剧院的组织与操作方式是怎样的？

小薇：那你大概要研究研究那些18世纪在意大利建立的歌剧院了。它们是为观众而建，与更早时期王室贵族们光顾、宫廷内的演出场地有所不同。

小琼：的确如此。一个例子是于1778年8月3日开张的米兰斯卡拉歌剧院。那时候的歌剧院常常配有多功能设施，提供多种娱乐活动。最受欢迎的元素之一是赌场，通常会在演出前后甚至是演出期间营业。

小薇：意思是观众可以在剧目演出过程中溜去大堂去赌一把？

小琼：别忘了，当年歌剧院的私人包厢里甚至可以提供全餐。上流社会人士可以在这些地方举行宴会，情侣则可在此幽会！如果我们把场景放到21世纪，你就会明白为什么新建的歌剧院或剧场大抵修建在购物中心或大型的酒店综合体附近。这意味着观众可以在演出前后轻松进餐，或是有一个周末度假的住处。

Joan:Last month I introduced the New National Theatre Tokyo’s public spaces and how inviting they are to the general public. This has now prompted me to look at the structure and organization of older opera houses.

Valery:Well, that means you examine Italian opera houses that were built for audiences in the 18th century, which were different from earlier venues patronized by royalty.

Joan:Precisely. Take for example La Scala in Milan,which opened its doors on August 3, 1778. In those days, opera houses were often multi-purpose facilities, providing a wide range of entertainments.One of the more popular elements would be a casino,open before, after, and even during the performance.

Valery:You mean audience members could slip out to the foyer and gamble?

Joan:Remember also that entire meals were served in private boxes, where the elite could hold their own parties, or lovers could meet for a rendezvous! If we put this in context in the 21st century, you can see why new opera houses or theatres are often built adjoining shopping malls or big hotel complexes.That means the audience can easily enjoy a meal

左：迪拜歌剧院距世界第二大的迪拜购物中心仅几步之遥

小薇：一个极好的例子是位于纽约曼哈顿的弗雷德里克·罗斯厅，正是林肯中心爵士乐之家（包含了罗斯剧场、阿佩尔小剧场、迪兹“可口可乐”俱乐部三个空间）。它建于2004年，比上世纪60年代建造的林肯中心要稍微“外围”一点。

小琼：确实，位于园区南边500米的罗斯剧场（罗斯剧场是“新”纽约市立歌剧院的驻处）是时代华纳中心的一部分。后者是一个购物中心，还可以直通旁边的五星级文华东方酒店。

小薇：香港的西九龙文化区则是另外一个例子。虽然仍在施工阶段，去年开幕的第一家剧场——戏曲中心——现已容纳了六家店铺，包括中餐厅、面馆、糕点店与茶馆。

小琼：考虑到上海歌剧院本月到访了迪拜歌剧院，我们需要特别提到一点：看罢上海制作的《图兰朵》之后，观众可以移步至迪拜购物中心（世界第二大、有50万平方米的可租赁空间），享受其中的购物及餐饮设施！

before or after a show, or stay over for weekend getaways.

Valery:One of the prime examples I know is Frederick P.Rose Hall, the home of Jazz at Lincoln Center (comprising three spaces: Rose Theater, The Appel Room, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola). It was built in 2004, slightly “outside”the original Lincoln Center campus built in the 1960s.

Joan:Indeed, located about 500 meters south of the campus, the Rose Hall (Rose Theater being the home of the “new” New York City Opera) is part of the Time Warner Center, a shopping mall that is also attached to the five-star hotel Mandarin Oriental.

Valery:Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District is another example. Although it is still partly a construction site, the first theatre that opened last year—the Xiqu Centre—already houses six dining and shopping establishments, including a dimsum restaurant, a noodle shop, cake shops and teahouses.

Joan:Considering that the Shanghai Opera House visits the Dubai Opera House this month, we should note that after seeing Shanghai’sTurandot, the audience can take a quick stroll over to the Dubai Mall (the second-largest in the world, with 500,000 square meters of leasable space) to enjoy what it has to offer!