曼尼斯音乐学院歌剧项目中的中国学子

小瓊：3月初我在纽约时，很高兴能欣赏到曼尼斯音乐学院歌剧项目制作的《吕西斯特拉特》，该剧由作曲家马克·阿达莫根据阿里斯托芬的古希腊喜剧改编而成。这部歌剧于2002年在休斯敦大歌剧院全球首演，随后又在纽约市立歌剧院亮相。但让此次曼尼斯音乐学院歌剧项目之旅最为愉快的是，我在舞台上欣赏到了三名来自中国的年轻歌手的演出：他们分别是男中音陈威、女中音顾平和男高音任哲东。

小薇：我上网查了一下，发现这个歌剧项目非常独特：它隶属于位于纽约的新学院大学的表演艺术学院，其歌剧制作在美国各个音乐学院中处于最高水平。这些年轻的歌手们需要完成为期两年的研究生课程，并获得声乐专业研究生文凭。

小琼：该项目还与知名的老牌歌剧院合作。两年前，曼尼斯的年轻歌手们参加了歌剧《正义者》的工作坊。该剧由作曲家格雷戈里·斯皮尔斯和美国诗人特蕾西·K.史密斯创作，将于今年夏天在圣达菲歌剧院进行全球首演。

小薇：多么独特的体验啊！

小琼：学习当代歌剧是一项艰苦的工作。不久前我采访了陈威。他毕业于星海音乐学院，之后在曼哈顿音乐学院攻读了硕士学位。此后，他有机会在佛罗里达州演出，出演了《费加罗的婚礼》（阿尔马维瓦伯爵）、《卡门》（埃斯卡米洛）和《仲夏夜之梦》（彼得·昆斯）。

小薇：布里顿的《仲夏夜之梦》是一部20世纪的现代歌剧，但另外两部是标准的经典剧目。

小琼：陈威于2023年9月被曼尼斯音乐学院歌剧项目取录，他充分意识到学习新音乐（以20世纪80年代后创作的歌剧为主）的重要性，这种经历对任何歌手的成长都非常有用。

小薇：曼尼斯也很与时俱进，制作视频发布在网上。流媒体的使用无疑扩大了受众覆盖面，让不在当地的人或在现场表演周期忙碌的人都可以一饱眼福。我就观赏了两次年轻演员的精彩表演！

小琼：制作一部歌剧需要很多人的努力。陈威给出了一些很好的见解。例如，我们都知道唱英语歌剧很难。为此他接受了90分钟的发音指导，这让他的现场表现更加完美。

Joan： When I was in New York in early March， I was so delighted to catch the Mannes Opera production of Lysistrata by the composer Mark Adamo （who wrote his own libretto based on the ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes）. The opera received its world premiere at the Houston Grand Opera in 2002 and appeared at the New York City Opera soon after. But what made the Mannes Opera experience particularly delightful was that I saw three young singers from China on stage： baritone Wei Chen， mezzo-soprano Ping Gu and tenor Zhedong Ren.

Valery： I went online and found out that Mannes Opera runs a really unique program in New York： it operates under the College of Performing Arts at the New School University and its opera productions are at the highestlevel among music conservatories. The young singers go through a two-year post-graduate course with a Professional Studies Diploma in Voice.

Joan： The program also partners with illustrious， established companies. Two years ago， Mannes Operas young singers took part in a workshop to develop The Righteous （by composer Gregory Spears and U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith）， which has its world premiere at Santa Fe Opera this summer.

Valery： What a unique experience！

Joan： Learning contemporary opera is hard work. I caught up with Wei Chen not long ago. He was a graduate of the Xinghai Conservatory of Music who then finished his masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music. And then he had the chance to perform in Florida， appearing in Le Nozze di Figaro （Count Almaviva）， Carmen （Escamillo） and A Midsummer Nights Dream（Peter Quince）.

Valery： Although Brittens A Midsummer Nights Dream is a 20th-century opera， the other two are standard repertory. Joan： Wei Chen began training at Mannes Opera in September 2023， fully aware that new music （operas mostly written after the 1980s） is important to learn， and having such experience is very useful in any singers resume.

Valery： Mannes Opera was also enterprising in offering the production video online. Streaming certainly amplifies the reach for people who are not in town， or were busy during the week of the live performances. And I got to see the wonderful young cast in action twice！

Joan： It takes many people to make an opera production. Wei Chen gave me some great insights. For example， we all know that singing English is quite hard. He received 1.5 hours of diction coaching， and his performance was very fine.