从门外汉到歌剧通

主持：Joanna C. Lee 编译：辛时雨

制作记录卡上列出了1887 年到1899 年《奥赛罗》剧本印刷的清单（里科迪档案馆提供）

由阿道夫·霍恩斯坦设计的法尔斯塔夫服装造型（斯卡拉剧院, 1893）

歌剧与商业：威尔第《奥赛罗》与《法尔斯塔夫》的创作

The business of opera: Verdi creating Otello and Falstaff

小琼：未来几个月里，如果你碰巧在纽约的话，请直接前往曼哈顿中区的摩根图书馆暨博物馆。在这座历史建筑（金融家皮尔庞特·摩根，即J.P. 摩根的父亲的故居）的二楼正举行一场精彩的展览，名为“威尔第：《奥赛罗》及《法尔斯塔夫》的创作——里科迪出版社档案馆精选”。展览将持续到2020年1月5日。

小薇：任何一个歌剧发烧友都明白，威尔第的最后两部歌剧是19 世纪意大利歌剧的登峰造极之作。《奥赛罗》改编自莎士比亚的一部悲剧，而《法尔斯塔夫》则融合了来自莎士比亚喜剧《温莎的风流娘儿们》和《亨利四世》的素材。

小琼：我们来看看威尔第最后几部歌剧创作的时间轴。他于1871 年完成《阿依达》之后，决定隐退歌剧舞台。当年他58 岁，已经赚够了钱，不想再继续从事谱写歌剧这样艰苦的工作了！

小薇：他的粉丝一定非常失望。多年后，是谁说服威尔第重出江湖的呢？

小琼：是威尔第的出版商朱利奥·里科迪（1840～1912），在年轻的词作者阿里戈·博伊托（1842～1918）的帮助下，花了十年多时间才说服他。更重要的是，米兰斯卡拉歌剧院当时是意大利的歌剧“枢纽”，上演威尔第的新歌剧显然是一笔稳妥的财政投资。这场展览将《奥赛罗》与《法尔斯塔夫》的诞生过程一步一步呈现出来。策展人加布里埃莱·杜托和弗兰·巴鲁里奇向观众们展示了歌剧创作的种种材料，追溯委托、创作、签约到设计、选角、宣发、演出——以及最终印刷出版的整个流程。

Joan:If by any chance you happen to be in New York in the next few months, please head straight to the Morgan Library and Museum in midtown Manhattan.On the second floor of this historic building (once the home of financier Pierpont Morgan, father of J.P.Morgan) is a fascinating exhibition entitled “Verdi:CreatingOtelloandFalstaff—Highlights from the Ricordi Archive,” which is on display until January 5 next year.

Valery:Any opera buff knows that Verdi’s final two works are Italian opera’s crowning achievements in the 19thcentury.Otellois based on a single Shakespearean tragedy, whileFalstaffcombines materials from Shakespeare’s comedyThe Merry Wives of WindsorandHenry IV(Parts 1 and 2).

Joan:Let’s look at the chronology of Verdi’s final operas. After he finishedAidain 1871, he retired from the operatic stage. He was 58 and already rich, he didn’t want to continue the hard work of composing operas!

Valery:His fans must have been extremely disappointed. So who persuaded Verdi to come out of his retirement years later?

Joan:It took more than a decade of persuasion by his publisher Giulio Ricordi (1840-1912), with the help of the young librettist Arrigo Boito (1842-1918). On top of that, Teatro alla Scala in Milan was the “hub”

小薇：《奥赛罗》和《法尔斯塔夫》在斯卡拉歌剧院的首演（分别为1887 年与1893 年），为歌剧院、出版商，当然还有演职人员和创作团队带来了巨额收入。

小琼：事实上，米兰的里科迪出版社将永远与19 世纪意大利歌剧的崛起联系在一起。很多个方面来说，没有这家出版社（以及其敏锐的商业感知力），歌剧界的风貌将会大有不同。

小薇：确实，除了威尔第之外，里科迪还出版过多尼采蒂、罗西尼、贝利尼和普契尼的作品。如果没有该社在推广与出版方面的努力，这些作曲家笔下的美妙音乐很可能就无从踏出国门。

小琼：其实，如果你看一看里科迪当前的目录，你会发现名册上有两位当代的中国作曲家名字：郭文景和黄若。

for opera in Italy. Putting on new Verdi operas was clearly a sound financial investment. This exhibition chronicles not only the “beginnings” ofOtelloandFalstaff; curators Gabriele Dotto and Fran Barulich also show many types of materials that go into the making of an opera, from commissioning, creating and contracting to designing, casting, publicizing and performing—and, eventually, publishing.

Valery:OtelloandFalstaffpremiered in La Scala (in 1887 and 1893 respectively), generating huge income for the opera house, the publisher, and of course, the cast and creative team.

Joan:In fact, Casa Ricordi, the music publisher in Milan, will forever be associated with the rise of Italian opera in the 19thcentury. In many ways, without this publisher (and its great business acumen), the operatic landscape would be very different.

Valery:Indeed, apart from Verdi, Ricordi also publishes Donizetti, Rossini, Bellini and Puccini.Without such efforts in promotion and publishing, the wonderful music these composers wrote would never have traveled beyond their country.

Joan:Actually, if you look at the Ricordi catalog today, you’ll discover two living Chinese composers on its roster: Guo Wenjing and Huang Ruo.