替补演员万岁！

小瓊：你应该已经听说了在新冠病毒奥密克戎变异毒株引发的病例激增后，美国各种演出取消的消息了吧。

小薇：你是指那些因为有剧组成员或者工作人员，因为新冠病毒核酸检测结果为阳性而取消的戏剧和舞蹈演出吗？对于这些演出来说，最好的情况是在今年晚些时候重新启动。但也有一些演出就这样默默地消失了。

小琼：许多人仍然对大都会歌剧院如何能够在不取消演出的情况下，保持开放这么长时间感到惊讶。事实上，这得归功于一件事：替补演员。

小薇：你说的是新版《弄臣》吧！该制作在跨年夜首演——那是继演出季开幕之夜后，最令人雀跃的晚上了。通常演出的一整晚都如同一场大型派对，更不用说剧院借此推动大型募捐活动了。这一次，大都会揭开了巴特利特·谢尔（Bartlett Sher）导演新制作的面纱，而主演是奎因·凯尔西（Quinn Kelsey）。

小琼：是的，正是那个。虽然当晚取消了筹款晚宴，但演出还是正常开演了。人们对谢尔的新制作并没有那么激动，但他们都对奎因感到非常兴奋，尤其是因为这是他第一次在舞台上扮演这个角色。

小薇：我明白那种感觉。你告诉过我，去年夏天奎因在辛辛那提歌剧院露天演出的《托斯卡》中首次饰演斯卡尔皮亚。

小琼：然而12月31日的演出之后不久，奎因开始出现一些感冒症状。如今，人们都非常小心，大都会歌剧院也遵循着严格的安全协议，甚至为了安全起见，在核酸检测结果出来之前，歌剧院就安排了一位替补演员上台。

小薇：你是指B组中的演员么？

小琼：不，我是指一个完全独立的替补演员，他很早便准备就绪。当凯尔西感到身体有所不适时，他就没有与任何人接触过，所以剧组的其他人员都很安全。他的替补演员迈克尔·奇奥尔迪（Michael Chioldi）于1月4日开始接替凯尔西扮演这个角色，随后进行了几场演出。像这样的紧急情况正是当初歌剧院为替补支付额外费用的原因。

小薇：所以奇奥尔迪就这样踏上舞台并成为热门话题了？可怜的奎因……

小琼：事情也没那么糟糕！最终，奎因完成了隔离，并在1月15日重返舞台，并迎来了新一轮的宣传。每个人都各得其所，皆大欢喜。

Joan： You’ve heard about all the cancellations in America after the surge of Omicron cases？

Valery： You mean about all those theatre and dance performances that went dark because cast members or crew workers have tested positive for COVID-19？ The best-case scenario is that some start up again later in the year. Others are simply gone forever.

Joan： A lot of people are still marveling about how the Metropolitan Opera has managed to remain open for so long without canceling， but it really comes down to one thing： understudies.

Valery： You’re talking about the new Rigoletto， right？ The one that debuted at the Met on New Year’s Eve—after opening night， probably the most auspicious night of the season. Often the whole night is just an excuse for a big party， not to mention a major fundraiser for the company， but this time the Met was unveiling a new production by Bartlett Sher， with the starring role being played by Quinn Kelsey.

Joan： Yes， that’s the one. They cancelled the fundraising dinner afterward， but the performance took place. People were not so thrilled about Sher’s production， but they were very excited about Quinn， especially since this was his first time playing the role.

Valery： I know that feeling. You had told me about his stage debut in the role of Baron Scarpia at Cincinnati Opera’s open-air Tosca last summer.

Joan： Soon after December 31， Quinn started to show some cold symptoms. People are very careful these days， and the Metropolitan Opera is following strict protocols： Even before COVID test results were ready， the opera house called in a replacement just to be safe.

Valery： You mean someone from the second cast？

Joan： No， I mean an entirely separate understudy， someone already waiting in the wings. By the time Kelsey was feeling sick， he wasn’t in contact with anyone else， so the rest of the company was safe. His understudy Michael Chioldi stepped into the role on January 4 and a couple of performances afterward. Emergencies like this are precisely why opera companies pay the extra money for understudies in the first place.

Valery： So Chioldi steps in and became the talk of the town？ Poor Quinn….

Joan： Not so poor！ Quinn finished his quarantine and was back in the role by January 15 and greeted by another round of publicity. Everybody got something good out of this.