歌剧与爵士乐的罕见混搭——西雅图歌剧院上演歌剧《查理·帕克的雏鸟》

Charlie Parker’s Yardbird at Seattle Opera offered an unlikely mashup of jazz and opera

美国西雅图歌剧院驻地麦考剧院(McCaw Hall)外,一位萨克斯管演奏者独自用爵士乐风格演奏着小夜曲;剧院门厅,展板上展示着“爵士乐的黑人历史”“爵士乐文化特点”以及爵士乐传奇人物查理?帕克(Charlie Parker,1920~1955)音乐天赋的溯源。这个精心策划的展览,缓解了观众对西雅图歌剧院的新创歌剧《查理?帕克的雏鸟》(Charlie Parker’s Yardbird)中,将爵士乐和歌剧混搭在一起的担忧。而突然之间,西雅图歌剧院似乎变成了再现比博普音乐(Bebop)^①始祖音乐生涯的地方。

Telling the story of a jazz legend on stage through opera and classical music is an ambitious and unexpected undertaking.Yet with a talented cast,an intriguing premise,a composer—Daniel Schnyder—with a strong background in both jazz and classical music,and a librettist with a family connection to Parker and a background as a poet,Charlie Parker’s Yardbird was poised to deliver on its ambition.