About Phantom of the Opera 谈我喜欢的一部音乐剧：《歌剧魅影》
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Phantom of the Opera was an Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical&adapted from Gaston Leroux's novel&Le Fant?me de l'Opéra, was first on stage in London in 1986 with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman as leading actor and actress, and&won 7 Tony Awards in 1988, is one of the most successful musicals in history. So far there are 16 versions of this musical worldwide, and it was also adapted into a film.
《歌剧魅影》是一部安德鲁·劳埃德·韦伯作曲的百老汇音乐剧。改编自加斯通·勒鲁的侦探惊悚小说《歌剧幽灵》。1986年首演，于1988年获得七项托尼奖，是史上最成功的音乐剧之一。1986年伦敦的首演由麦克尔o克劳福德和莎拉o布莱特曼担任男女主角，至今全球已有16个制作版本，也被改编成同名电影上映。
The musical has made the "Phantom" an immortal icon in stage art history. Phantom was born in an aristocratic&family with an extremely&scary and&distorted face, as a result, a mask was the first "clothes" he had since he came to this world. He was rejected everywhere, received no respect or love, was always treated as a curiosity or an abomination, and even was once beat&and&locked in a cage by a circus as the "child of the demon" on exhibition. However, the ugly and the beautiful, the fortunate and the unfortunate were&like twins dwelling in his body. Phantom was born noble&and was a talented tenor and&composer, an ingenious architect and magician. Although abandoned by the world, Phantom still preserved the love for all the beautiful&things, which was shown in the delicate music box he made by himself. Later Phantom strangled the circus&guard on his negligence&and escaped to the dungeon of the Paris Opera House with the help of Madame Giry, the concierge and box keeper.
音乐剧成功塑造了魅影这个形象，使之成为音乐史上的不朽符号。魅影出生于贵族家庭，但天生面容狰狞，面具是他来到这个世界以后穿的第一件衣裳。仅仅是因为他的容貌，他被繁华光鲜的世界排斥了，没有尊重、没有关爱，在任何地方都被当作别人猎奇的目标，甚至一度沦为马戏团铁笼中的小丑，被称为“撒旦之子”，每天被毒打还要让游客围观。然而丑与美、幸运与不幸在魅影身上仿佛是孪生姐妹，魅影拥有与生俱来的贵族气质和天马行空的艺术造诣，他是才华横溢的演唱家、作曲家，心灵手巧的建筑师和魔术师。尽管受到全世界的抛弃和鄙夷，魅影仍保留着对美好事物的热爱，这股热爱倾注在亲手制作八音盒上面。后来，魅影趁马戏团看管疏忽将其勒死，在剧院吉丽夫人的帮助下逃到了巴黎歌剧院的地下。
The Paris Opera House in the 1800's was the pinnacle of the world's performing art&and had many machines and equipment to achieve all kinds of breathtaking&stage effects. Phantom who had reclaimed freedom took the Opera House as the playground of his childhood. Under the motive of evading people and the inborn&curiosity, Phantom managed to master the art of machinery&designs, and transformed the dungeon into his "underground palace" with fabulous stage machines stolen from the Opera House as furnitures and guarded his dwelling by various traps he made himself. Phantom&had seldom left the Opera House since then, as&it was the only sanctuary&for the broken-hearted. He became the scary ghost in the Opera House, and enjoyed writing&threatening&letters with seals of a skull to ask&for rewriting&the script, changing&an actor or actress, reserving the Box No.5 for him, and paying his monthly&"salary"&because otherwise, he would sabotage the performance. Besides all these mischiefs, Phantom wanted no more from the world, until Christine came into his life as a drop of sunshine into the dungeon.
19世纪的巴黎歌剧院是整个世界艺术的巅峰，而歌剧院为了达到各种舞台效果，往往设有很多机关，重获自由的魅影把歌剧院当作了他童年的游乐场，在躲避世人和好奇的动机下，魅影掌握了剧院的所有机械设计，并亲手改造了剧院的地下空间，用各种剧场道具建造了自己的宫殿，并用重重机关将想到地下一探究竟的人拒之门外。从此伤痕累累的心就再也没有离开过剧院，剧院已然成为了他的避风港湾。除了出于对艺术的热爱而装神弄鬼要求剧院改写剧本、更换演员、为他保留第五号包厢，以及每月写鬼信向剧院老板索要生活费之外，魅影对世界再无所求，直到克莉丝汀的出现才让魅影再一次对生活燃起了希望与激情。
Christine was the only&child of the late Swedish violist Daae, became an orphan at a very young age and was took in by Madame Giry.&Out of sympathy, Phantom often pretended himself&as the "Angel of Music" promised by Christine's father to console the sorrowful heart of young Christine, and taught her the skills of a soprano singer. Nine years passed, Christine had&become a gloriously beautiful young girl, talented in singing art. There is an ancient Chinese saying: love will gradually come in time. Even a frozen heart is afraid of one thing: devotion. Nine-year unconditional devotion had opened an almost undetectable crack in the Phantom's frozen heart. A strange feeling stealthily took root in that crack&and grew stronger every day. Christine was more than just a pitiful orphan or&a good student, but his only audience and loyal companion. To him, She was everything beautiful in this world. But that feeling was not love yet. Christine was more like&Phantom's masterpiece&that allowed no one to touch. In other words, as what they sang in this&musical, Christine was the mask Phantom wore, and&it was in fact Phantom's voice they heard. Phantom's talent and Christine's beauty became a strange duet. For Phantom, Christine was his avatar, was himself. So he did everything to clean off all the people&who stood in the way in&Christine's career&and made Christine famous over a night. At the same time, Phantom's talent through her voice&overcame entire Paris.
克莉丝汀是瑞典小提琴家戴伊的独生女，很早就成了孤儿，魅影最初出于怜悯，常常假扮克莉丝汀父亲允诺的音乐天使，隔着墙壁给克莉丝汀幼小的心灵以安慰，并教她歌唱的技巧，就这样不知不觉9年过去了，克莉丝汀已经长成了一个亭亭玉立的少女，歌唱艺术也颇有造诣。中国有句古话叫做日久生情，再冷酷的心灵也怕一件事情，那就是付出，9年的付出足以让魅影闭锁的心打开一个缝隙，一种异样的情愫在缝隙里生根发芽。克莉丝汀在魅影心中不只是一个可怜的孤儿、好学的徒弟，更是他唯一的听众和忠实的陪伴，是世界一切美好事物的寄托；此时的魅影对克莉丝汀还谈不上爱，克莉丝汀对于他来说更多的是自己精心雕琢的艺术品，不许任何人染指的艺术品，或者就像魅影在其著名的唱段中所唱的那样，克莉丝汀是他的面具，当众人被克莉丝汀美妙的歌喉所倾倒时，听到的其实是魅影的声音，魅影的才华和克莉丝汀的声音组成了奇特的“二重唱”，在魅影看来，克莉丝汀就是自己的化身；为了她，也为了自己，魅影使用种种手段，把所有妨碍克莉丝汀歌唱事业的人一一除掉，终于让克莉丝汀一举成名，魅影的才华也透过克莉丝汀的歌喉征服了整个巴黎。
Things went sweetly and smoothly for Phantom until Raoul appeared, who was the childhood friend of Christine. At the moment when Christine shining on stage, Raoul recognised Christine and went after her fervently. Christine accepted Raoul and loved him back&unquenchably. Phantom suddenly realised that Christine was not his private property, and the little helpless girl nine years ago had already grown up&and started to dream about her own love story. Maybe out of jealousy, or afraid of losing his only audience, the overwhelming possessiveness finally emerged from Phantom's subconscious, and morphed under Raoul's stimulation&into a malformed, freakish "love". So Phantom started a series of killings, first the scene shifter, then the leading actor Piangi in the Opera Don Juan, and then after Christine tore off his mask in public, he broke&the chain of the grand pendant crystal lamp, which crashed on the audience's seats. In madness,&Phantom lost all the good&in his heart, and he had only one purpose: to break up Raoul and Christine and keep Christine to him forever.
劳尔的出现打破了原本平静美好的生活。劳尔是克莉丝汀年幼的玩伴，在克莉丝汀像女神一样在舞台上大放异彩后，劳尔认出了克莉丝汀，并热烈地向克莉丝汀展开追求，克莉丝汀接受了劳尔，两人坠入爱河。此时的魅影才发现克莉丝汀并不是自己的私人财产，9年前的小女孩已然长大，并开始期许自己的感情生活。也许是出于嫉妒，也许是担心失去唯一听众的恐惧，魅影潜意识中对克莉丝汀强烈的占有欲终于浮出水面，并在劳尔的刺激下催生了一种畸形的“爱”。于是魅影大开杀戒，先是吊死舞台师，又杀死《唐璜》的男主演皮昂吉，被克莉丝汀当众扯下面具后，又砍断舞台大吊灯的铁链，让整座华丽的水晶灯砰然粉碎在观众席上。在一次又一次的疯狂中，魅影丧失了全部良知，其目的只有一个，就是拆散劳尔和克莉丝汀，把克莉丝汀永远地留在自己身边。
&But aged people often say: you cannot force someone to love you, just as you cannot stop sand running away from your hand by tightening your grip.
然而父辈常说，感情这种事儿不能强求，就像手里一捧沙子，攥得越紧流失得越快。
A horrifying love story was about to begin. As the female in this romantic entanglement, Christine had a fatal weakness in her character that many times nearly destroyed her. Because she lost her father at a young age and she was extremely sensitive to music, Christine was a very vulnerable young woman who was so easy&to fall into the snare&of imagination, or put it&more accurately,&hallucination. The feeling she had towards Phantom was more like the&sense of&dependency, caused by the yearning of paternal love that she had so little. However, this dependency was not love, not even close. But Phantom made use of this weakness&consciously or unconsciously, and happened to be able to give this paternal care she needed. So they had nine years together, giving the comfort to each other who were in desperate need of. After Phantom started killing people, Christine's sense of dependency gradually changed into fear and a kind of loathing that she didn't want to admit. So Christine and Raoul contrived to make Phantom appear in public to stop his crime. That is why we see&the scene where Christine tore off Phantom's mask after he killed Piangi&and took his place in the Opera Don Juan, singing the famous, predestined aria&"pass the point of no return".
一场惊心动魄的爱情故事即将拉开帷幕，作为这场感情纠葛的女性，克莉丝汀拥有一种致命的性格，而这种性格几次几乎毁掉了克莉丝汀。由于幼年丧父以及对音乐天生的敏锐，克莉丝汀是个幻想丰富、神经十分敏感脆弱的女性，很容易受到音乐的催眠而产生幻觉，她对于魅影的感觉最初更多地是一种依赖，一种对缺失的父爱的渴望，这种依赖与渴望绝不是爱情；而魅影利用了克莉丝汀性格上的弱点，又恰好能够给予、并且自觉不自觉地利用了这种父爱般的关怀，使得两人在彼此都缺少陪伴的9年里“相濡以沫”。魅影展开疯狂杀戮之后，克莉丝汀对魅影的感觉逐渐从依赖转为了恐惧和一种不忍承认的发自内心的厌恶，于是克莉丝汀与劳尔为了阻止魅影的暴行，设计让魅影现身，因此有了上文提到的在魅影杀死皮昂吉亲自出演《唐璜》时，在“跨出不可回头的那一步”的宿命意义浓厚的唱段中，克莉丝汀当众摘下他的面具的一幕。
The mask had tremendous importance to Phantom. Wearing a mask was the only way he could face the world. The mask was his dignity and decency. Complicated feelings flooded his heart when showing his face unexpectedly. Shame burst&first, and then came humiliation, which finally turned into fury. It was not only the mask he lost&but also the last defence of heart and sanity.&Phantom&became totally mad. He chopped down the pendant crystal&lamp and kidnapped Christine in chaos to his underground palace. Raoul followed anxiously, trying to save Christine, but was caught by Phantom with a rope&on his neck. Phantom gave Christine two choices, to accept Phantom's proposal and save Raoul, or to refuse Phantom and see Raoul strangled. A last hope remained in Phantom's heart: if Christine refused him, then apparently she didn't love Phantom, but not Raoul either, and at least he mana but if Christine chose to accept his proposal, then in the surface he won Christine but in fact he lost everything, because that would show Christine's heart was Raoul's not his, and she would do anything she&detested to do to save Raoul's life. Phantom put all the counters he had on the gambling table, a gamble that had passed the point of no return.
对于魅影来说，面具有着非同寻常的意义，面具是他唯一可以面对世界的方式，面具代表了他的体面与尊严，此时以真面目示人的魅影百感交集——被埋在心底的羞愧像洪水一般绝了堤，然而羞愧带来屈辱，屈辱产生恐惧，恐惧转化为愤怒，魅影被摘掉的不只是面具，还有心灵的最后一道防线，自此魅影丧失了最后一丝理性，完全陷入了疯狂。因此魅影砍断吊灯趁乱掳走了克莉丝汀，逃到了自己的地下宫殿。劳尔心急如焚地尾随其后，试图营救克莉丝汀，却被魅影抓住，并用绳索勒紧了劳尔的脖子。魅影给克莉丝汀两个选择：要么答应魅影的求婚，让劳尔活命；要么拒绝魅影的求婚，但劳尔必须死。此时的魅影心中仍存着一丝希望，如果克莉丝汀拒绝了魅影的求婚，只是表示还不爱魅影，但也不爱劳尔，至少魅影将两人成功拆散；如果克莉丝汀为救劳尔接受了魅影的求婚，表面上魅影赢得了克莉丝汀，但实际上却输掉了一切：克莉丝汀在意劳尔的安危表明她的心早已不属于魅影。魅影如他所唱地终于跨出了“不可回头的那一步”——这是一场豪赌，魅影在赌局上押下了所有的筹码。
&Christine was near a breakdown, and the loathing towards Phantom had become hatred. But we know there is always some subtle connections between strong love and strong hate, underneath the overwhelming hatred, some pure pity and gratefulness surfaced in Christine's heart. After sorrow, anger&and disappointment, Christine accepted Phantom's proposal without hesitation, and kissed his distorted face with the heart of an angel, hoping to save Raoul's life, and perhaps Phantom's soul.
此时的克莉丝汀几近崩溃，对魅影的感情由厌恶转为了憎恨。然而自古大爱大恨始终存在着一种微妙的联系，恨之深深爱之深深，克莉丝汀对魅影的憎恨之中又带着一丝纯粹的怜爱和感激。悲恸、仇恨、失望过后，克莉丝汀毫不犹豫地答应了魅影的求婚，并以天使般的心亲吻魅影扭曲的脸颊，希望以此可以拯救劳尔，或者还有魅影残缺的心灵。
The power of that kiss was so strong. We all know&kisses are important in a plot, but there are no other kisses so heart-shaken as this one. This kiss disarmed all the contriving of Phantom&and dissipated all his&hatred and fury. For Phantom, it was the first time when someone cared about him, recognised him, and even "loved" him from the&heart. He found that although&disappointment and dissatisfaction to the world filled in his heart, he still wanted to be accepted, so much. And the society which he hated to the bone, still had good things like Christine's kiss. Since the moment he swore to broke up Christine and Raoul, revenge had always been the purpose and&driving force of his long-term insanity and bigotry, of his insignificant pathetic life, but suddenly Christine's kiss had made him lost. Phantom' body froze to a statue, and a drop of water slowly, gently, vibrantly, unconsciously fell from the ceiling of the dungeon&onto Phantom's heart. The statue collapsed, into infinite dust, flowing to the void along with the water, or to everywhere in this world. Phantom laughed, for the joy of acceptance,&and then cried,&for the desperation of losing everything, even himself. On the brink of the abyss of absolute depravity and madness, Phantom found again&the goodness that he had long forgotten, and returned to s at the very moment, he truly fell in&love with Christine. This love was like the ocean, ferocious and serene at the same time, sweeping away his greedy possessiveness and shallow jealousy. However, this love once unleashed was doomed to be fruitless, and what was worse, unforgettable. Maybe that&was&the so-called "carved on the heart". Phantom let Christine go with Raoul, and decided to left his underground palace, which was then as lonely as he was, and the music box that symbolised the beginning of his legend. After struggling to sing "Masquerade! hide your face so the world will never find you" with all the strength left, Phantom picked up a most exquisite candlestick&and smashed mirrors one after another. Giving the world one final look of regret and reluctance, he went into the frame of the last mirror tragically, and disappeared in the cries of people who was about to&arrest him, in the sound of water flowing sadly in his palace, in the sight of Christine and Raoul rowing a boat together to the end of the world. Just as he came from the mirror to Christine for the first time, he disappeared like a shadow or reflection, back into the mirror, so stealthily and mysteriously, that none of them seemed real. Life was like a dream to him, and only the mask he wore,&lying on the table sadly and beautifully,&gave an expression of a seemingly smile.
这一吻的能量非同小可。在艺术作品中，吻常常在谋篇布局中有着特别的意义，然而从没有一个吻是如此的惊心动魄。这一吻卸掉了魅影所有的谋划与算计，让所有的仇恨与愤懑都烟消云散——对于魅影来说，第一次有人发自内心地去关心他、认可他、甚至奢望可能去“爱”他；魅影突然发现尽管自己对世界充满了失望与不满，竟还是那么地需要被接纳的感觉，而自己一直仇视的社会，仍然存在着许多美好，比如克莉丝汀的吻。自从发誓拆散克莉丝汀与劳尔之后，复仇一直是支撑自己长久疯狂与偏执的原动力，而克莉丝汀的吻却使自己的生命突然失去了重心与原点。魅影的身形仿佛凝固成一尊石膏雕像，昏暗潮湿的地牢滴下一个水滴，缓缓地、轻柔地、颤抖着飘荡而下，无意识地落在魅影的心上，石膏雕像轰然爆裂，碎成无数细碎的粉屑，化成一抹浮尘，随着流水散向虚无，或者化身亿万，存在于世界的每一个角落。魅影大笑，进而恸哭，笑的是被接纳的喜悦，哭的是输掉一切甚至自己的绝望。在彻底沉沦与疯狂的边缘，魅影找回了内心遗失已久的美好，恢复了理智与良知；在这一刻，魅影真真正正地爱上了克莉丝汀，这种爱仿佛狂暴又平静的大海，势不可挡地扫尽了原本贪婪的占有欲和肤浅的嫉妒感，然而这种爱一经释放就注定得不到、收不回，也许这就是所谓的刻骨铭心吧。魅影放走了克莉丝汀，让她与劳尔携手天涯；而自己则抛下了如他一般寂寞的地下宫殿和代表着自己一切的起点的八音盒，在挣扎着拚尽全力哼唱完“假面游行，戴上你的面具，让世界找不到你”之后，拾起一个精美绝伦的烛台，砸碎了一面又一面的镜子，然后带着一丝遗憾与无奈地回头望了一眼整个世界，然后悲壮地走进最后一个镜框，消失在众人抓捕的喊叫声中，消失在地下宫殿幽怨的流水声中，消失在劳尔与克莉丝汀相互搀扶地撑船远走天涯的背影之中，正如他第一次从镜中现身一样飘逸而诡秘——如是来，又如是去，干干净净，人生于我不过一场梦幻；似笑非笑的面具静静地躺在梳妆台上，显得是那么的凄美与悲凉。
Did Raoul love Christine? To me, Raoul's love was more based on the romantic imagination to the childhood friend.&It looked&more like another version of the&fairytale of&Cinderella in the sense that the&playwright&depicted&their love so thin, that it would make people speculate that Christine chose to be with Raoul only because of his wealth. Anyway, Raoul's love to Christine was not as deep, let alone "carved to the heart", save that in the last scene where&Raoul risked his life to the dungeon for Christine. In the end, Raoul couldn't be happier. He defeated the super villain in the fairytale, won the heart of the beauty, and lived happily with Christine ever after.&Phantom disappeared like air while various plays were put on stage as usual in the Opera House year after&year. And maybe he had placed countless giant&locks on the crack of his frozen&heart opened by Christine&and buried all the happiness and sorrow underneath the deepest memory. Only the scar hurt from time to time. Of course in the river of ever-elapsing&time, love and hate are only ephemeral spindrift,&but some might have a chance to transcend time. When&Raoul in his old age kneeled and sobbed before the gravestone of Christine, he found a most tender rose lying in an inconspicuous corner, with an exquisite ring attached by a black ribbon. A shudder passed Raoul's aged body. Oh&Phantom, were you really a ghost that was everywhere and almighty? Or had you get rid of all the burdens of living pain and sorrow, and become a soul roaming alone in this world, but entangled by another? On seeing this,&I felt deeply confused.
劳尔爱克莉丝汀么？在我看来，劳尔对克里斯汀的爱，更多的是基于对年少玩伴的浪漫幻想，让人感到只是一个灰姑娘遇见王子的童话；或者说，歌剧在对他们两人爱情的刻画上刻意显得有些单薄，甚至让人认为克里斯汀是因为劳尔的贵族身份和财富才选择跟他在一起——不管怎样，劳尔对克莉丝汀的爱远远谈不上深刻，更不要说刻骨铭心。但在最后一幕劳尔为了救克莉丝汀而甘心冒险一闯地牢还是让人看到了爱情的认真与执着。不管怎样，劳尔幸福得无法再幸福了：战胜了童话中的无恶不作的大坏蛋，赢得了美人，从此与克莉丝汀过上了幸福美满的日子，一直白头到老；而魅影则像空气一样消失了，歌剧院里依然歌舞升平，上演着一幕幕的人间喜剧，或许魅影紧闭的心中仅有的一道缝隙也加上了一把又一把的大锁，曾经的快乐与悲伤都被厚厚尘封，深深地埋在记忆的最深处，只有疤痕累累的伤口偶尔会无缘由地隐隐作痛……时光荏苒，鸿雁爪泥，爱恨情仇不过是匆匆过客，一些或许可以历久弥坚，当年迈的劳尔在子女的搀扶下跪倒在克莉丝汀的墓前失声痛哭时，却发现在墓碑的一个不引人注意的角落有一支鲜艳的玫瑰，阴郁的黑色丝带捆绑着一枚精巧的戒指，一阵颤抖轻轻掠过劳尔年迈的身躯——魅影啊，魅影，难道你真的是无所不在、无所不能的幽灵鬼魅？抑或你最终摆脱了生的痛苦与悲哀的羁绊，成为了一个在这个世界孤单游荡、却又始终被另一个灵魂所拉扯牵引的魂魄？看到这里，我无可救药地陷入了深深的迷茫。
How do we appreciate the artistic character&Phantom? I always have so many to write when picking up my pen, but again I believe&no matter what I am going to write, it would be too powerless compared to Phantom itself. I think that is the unique charm of the musical Phantom of the Opera. Twenty-five years have passed since this musical was first put on stage, modified by many gifted artists into a variety of versions. Curtain rises and curtain falls, with&applauses and tears. One thing unchanged is that audiences are always been deeply moved, down to the soul, by the beautiful but sad love story and the shining brilliance of humanity.
如何去面对魅影这一艺术形象？提起笔总有千言万语，却又感觉不管写出什么对于魅影本身来说都太过苍白无力，或许这就是《歌剧魅影》独特的魅力。自从《魅影》登上舞台，已经过去了整整25年，25年来虽然几经改编，一次次的登台与谢幕，一次次的掌声与泪水，始终不变的是那种固执的感动，感动于那一段令人心碎的凄美爱情以及闪亮的人性的光辉。
This essay was written during my study at&the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in 2011, as an assignment.
本文作于笔者2011年上海财经大学学习期间，是音乐艺术欣赏这门课的作业。
The lecturer was a former tenor.
那个老师是个充满忧郁气质的前男高音 =.=
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