天使之声（一）

小琼：我刚刚看了大都会歌剧院新制作的约翰·亚当斯的《厄尔尼诺》，这是对耶稣诞生故事的现代复述。除了对指挥家马林·阿尔索普和主演茱莉亚·布洛克、乔奈·布里奇斯、达璜·泰尼斯印象颇深外，我还留意到大都会歌剧院的成人合唱团，以及一个令人惊叹的童声合唱团的客串演出。

小薇：歌剧中的童声合唱总是引人入胜。我们都记得，在普契尼的《图兰朵》中，当孩子们进入皇宫广场时唱起了《茉莉花》的旋律，伴随着美妙的童声合唱，普契尼用配器施展了魔法，描绘出冉冉升起的月亮。而孩子们的唱歌方式——没有颤音，没有分声部——也传达出一种纯洁和天真的感觉，与故事主线本身形成了鲜明的对比。

小琼：欧洲歌剧中使用童声合唱的传统可以追溯到19世纪末。尽管最早使用大型童声合唱的作品之一是赫克托·柏辽兹的《浮士德的诅咒》，作曲家将其描述为“戏剧传奇”；但我们大多数人记得的是《波希米亚人》中的平安夜，孩子们聚集在莫墨斯咖啡馆外的玩具小店里的场景。事实上，再往前推20年，比才的《卡门》第一幕（第二场）中，就有儿童出现在卷烟厂外！

小薇：到了20世纪初的《托斯卡》，教堂的场景里出现了童声合唱团。显然，普契尼保持着在歌剧中使用童声合唱的传统。

小琼：正如你所想象的，大多数歌剧院都无法维持院内童声合唱团的运作，因为成本费用高得令人望而却步。为了这次制作的《厄尔尼诺》，大都会歌剧院邀请了一个非常成熟的团体——纽约市青年合唱团。30多年来，我一直是这个合唱团的粉丝。艺术总监弗朗西斯科·努涅斯是一位杰出的音乐教育家，他创立了这个团体，明确表示希望促进文化多样性。事实上，参与合唱团的孩子们反映出纽约市的种族构成，这对于一部讲述黑人和拉丁美洲文化的歌剧来说非常关键。青年合唱团还进行过多次国际巡演，包括中国！我听说他们将在今年下半年前往中国。

小薇：我能够想象得出舞台上的孩子们正在享受着在歌剧院演出的成就感，并将他们的所学付诸实践。多么了不起！

小琼：我们甚至还没有谈到歌剧中的儿童独唱演员，这类演员有很多（有些扮演天使）。我们将在下期继续！

Joan： I just saw the Metropolitan Operas new production of John Adamss El Ni？o， a modern retelling of the Nativity story. Apart from being so impressed by conductor Marin Alsop and the leading cast—Julia Bullock， Jnai Bridges， Davóne Tines—there was also the Mets adult chorus as well as a guest appearance by an amazing childrens chorus.

Valery： Childrens choruses in opera are always entrancing. We all remember hearing “Jasmine Flower” as the children enter the main square early in Puccinis Turandot. When they enter， Puccinis orchestration also casts some magic in depicting the rising moon. And the way they sing—without vibrato， in unison—conveys a sense of purity and innocence， providing much contrast to the main storyline itself.

Joan： We can trace the tradition of childrens choruses in European opera to the late 19th century， though one of the earliest use of a large childrens chorus was in Hector Berliozs Damnation of Faust， which the composer described as a “dramatic legend.” But most of us remember Christmas Eve in La bohème， when children crowd around the toy seller outside Café Momus！ Actually， two decades before that， Bizets Carmen featured children appearing in the first act （in the second scene） outside the cigarette factory！

Valery： By the early 20th century， we have Tosca， with the childrens chorus in church. Clearly， Puccini holds the record regarding childrens choruses in opera.

Joan： As you can imagine， most opera houses cannot maintain a childrens chorus， because it is prohibitively expensive. For El Ni？o， the Metropolitan Opera actually engaged a very well-established group， the Young Peoples Chorus of New York City. Ive been a fan of this ensemble for a couple of decades. Artistic Director Francisco J. Nú？ez， a distinguished music educator， founded the group with the expressed hope of promoting diversity. The kids， in fact， mirror the racial makeup of New York City， which is very key for an opera referencing Black and Latin American culture. The Young Peoples Chorus has also made multiple international tours， including going to China！ I hear they are returning later this year.

Valery： I can just imagine the children on stage relishing the experience of appearing in an opera house and putting what they practice into use. What an amazing accomplishment！

Joan： And were not even talking about child soloists in opera， of which there are many （some playing angels）. Well discuss that later！