利玛窦、莫扎特与达·彭特——三位西方古人打造的两出香港现代“歌剧”

The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci vs. When Mozart Meets Da Ponte: Contemporary Hong Kong operas featuring protagonists of the West

疫情中,竟然意外地在网络上观赏了两部百分百"香港制造"的"现代歌剧"——风格、手法、效果、内容、主题截然不同,但却都是具有独特创意的香港"歌剧"制作。首先观看的是9月4日晚首播的《利玛窦的记忆宫殿》(简称《利玛窦》),翌日晚则观赏了《当莫扎特遇上达·彭特》(简称《莫扎特》)。这两个制作有好几点相同之处,《利玛窦》是进念·二十面体在疫情剧场停摆的情况下于网上开展"ZLive活"系列节目.

Based on Jonathan Spence’s book of the same name,The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci is styled as a digital opera in seven acts recounting the epic undertaking of a late 16 th-century Jesuit priest trying to promote Christianity to the Chinese.Commissioned and premiered in 2010 by Zuni Icosahedron,the work marked the 400 th anniversary of Ricci’s death near Beijing in 1610.Legendary composer Mozart and librettist Da Ponte were the most famous creative duo in the history of opera.Their collaboration resulted in three extraordinary masterpieces—Cosìfan tutte,Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni—that took comic opera to new heights.A pop opera and a tribute to the two masters,When Mozart Meets Da Ponte presents astonishing renditions of classic numbers from the three operas,even turning the original plots"upside down".