张火丁的舞台之路

On September 2nd of 2015， “The Legend of the White Snake” appeared at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. The American audience got its first glimpse of Zhang Huoding， one of China’s biggest Peking Opera stars， as she made her United States debut.

2015年9月2日，中国首屈一指的京剧明星张火丁携《白蛇传》在林肯中心大卫·H·寇克剧院初次登上美国舞台。一批美国观众首次目睹其风采。

Ms. Zhang， a woman of 44， is a megastar in Beijing. She has performed for sold-out crowds here and in Shanghai， winning a large audience， including young fans， with her sorrowful eyes， deep voice and graceful displays of martial arts. In 2007， she was the first Peking Opera performer to perform solo at the Great Hall of the People of China’s central government.

44岁的张火丁是北京的一位著名演员。她在北京和上海的演出场场爆满。她那哀怨的眼神、低沉的嗓音和优美的身段令观众着迷，其中包括大批年轻戏迷。2007年，她成为在人民大会堂进行个人独唱表演的首个京剧演员。

Her journey to the stage， she says， began in Jilin Province in northeast China， where she grew up in a family of traditional opera performers. Her father toured with a group that performed a regional form of opera called Pingju， which is common in Hebei Province.

张火丁透露自己的表演生涯始于中国东北部的吉林省。她在一个传统曲艺之家长大，父亲会随剧团巡回演出，表演评剧。评剧是一种地方戏曲，常见于河北省。

Ms. Zhang was about 9 when she fell in love with the sounds and rhythms of Peking Opera. But to her dismay， three times over the next five years， she failed to gain admission to a regional training school. After begging her parents for private lessons， she was sent to Beijing to study with an elderly couple. Soon after， at 15， relatively late for an opera student， she enrolled in an opera school in Tianjin.

大约9岁时，张火丁爱上了京剧的声腔和韵律。但让她失望的是，在接下来的五年里，她三次报考一家地方培训学校均以失败告终。请求父母允许参加私人课程获准后，她被送往北京，师从一对年迈的夫妇。不久后，15岁的张火丁入读天津一所戏校。对于研习戏曲的学生来说，这个年龄有些晚了。

After graduating in 1989， she was invited to join a military Peking Opera troupe based in Beijing， and began training with one of the opera world’s most accomplished performers， Zhao Rongchen， who taught her the so-called Cheng School style， one of the four major styles that emerged in the early 20th century.

1989年毕业后，张火丁受邀加入北京的一个部队京剧团，并开始接受堪称戏曲界最有成就演员之一的赵荣琛的训练。赵荣琛教授了她“程派”技艺。“程派”是20世纪初兴起的京剧四大流派之一。

Fame came some years later， in the mid-1990s， while she was performing with the country’s leading Peking Opera troupe. The opera world began speaking highly of her after she created a special Peking Opera show at the famed People’s Art Theater in Beijing.

若干年后，张火丁声名鹊起。当时是90年代中期，她在中国顶尖的京剧团演出。她在著名的北京人民艺术剧院开创了一种独特的京剧表演形式，之后京剧界对她大加赞扬。

However， the popularity of Peking Opera is declining， and future opera stars may never be as popular as Ms. Zhang. Li Shiqiang， the author of several books on Chinese opera， says that while traditional operas won’t disappear entirely， partly because of the government’s support， some of the best traditions and stories are constantly being lost.

然而，目前京剧的影响力正在下滑，未来的戏曲演员可能永远都不会像张火丁这么受欢迎。著有多部有关中国戏曲著作的李世强表示，虽然由于政府的支持等原因，传统戏曲不会完全消失，但最优秀的一些传统和故事却不断失传。

Things looked so different in 1930， when one of Peking Opera’s greatest stars， Mei Lanfang， performed in New York. There was a sense then that Chinese traditional opera could spread overseas and even influence the global art scene.

1930年，一代京剧大师梅兰芳在纽约演出。当时的情况完全不同，人们觉得中国传统戏曲会传到国外，甚至会影响全球艺术舞台。

In an interview， Ms. Zhang lamented that the great age of Peking Opera may be coming to an end. She said young people today aren’t always willing to put up with the rigors and discipline and sacrifice needed to be a great performer. She said she wanted to inspire the next generation.

在一次采访中，张火丁感叹京剧的黄金时代可能就要结束了。她说，现如今的年轻人并不总是愿意忍受成为一名优秀演员所需要的苛刻性、纪律性和牺牲性。她说她希望自己能激励下一代人。