经济学人下载:阿曼马斯喀特皇家歌剧院(2)

Oil has fuelled the opera boom, but Western expertise has helped. Jasper Hope, formerly of the Royal Albert Hall in London and now chief executive of Dubai Opera, has introduced a spin-off from the bbc Proms. Umberto Fanni, the well-connected director of the rohm, has attracted prestigious artists to Oman. Plácido Domingo has sung there; a new production of “Rigoletto” by Franco Zeffirelli, a legendary director, is due to open in Muscat next year.
石油推动了歌剧的繁荣，但西方的专业知识也有所帮助。贾斯珀•霍普曾在伦敦皇家阿尔伯特音乐厅工作，现任迪拜歌剧院首席执行官。乌姆贝托•范尼是罗姆画廊人脉广泛的总监，他吸引了许多知名艺术家来到阿曼。普拉西多·多明戈曾在那里演唱过；传奇导演佛朗哥·泽菲雷利的新作《里戈莱托》将于明年在马斯喀特上演。

Still, adapting a mannered—and often bawdy—European art form to local tastes is a challenge. “The risk is that you disorientate audiences,” says Farid Rahi, ceo of Opera Lebanon (itself founded in 2015). “You need a very simple theatrical language.” Sex and religion cause particular problems.“When we staged ‘La Traviata’ [Verdi’s opera about a Parisian courtesan], we had water instead of wine,” Mr Fanni recalls. The production in Muscat emphasised the heroine’s “dignified journey to death rather than her libertine lifestyle.”
尽管如此，要让一种欧洲艺术形式适应当地的品味仍然是一项挑战。“风险在于你会让观众迷失方向，”黎巴嫩歌剧院(成立于2015年)的首席执行官法里德•拉希如此表示。“你需要一种非常简单的戏剧语言。”性和宗教造成了特殊的问题。“当我们上演威尔第的歌剧《茶花女》时，我们喝的是水而不是酒，”范尼先生回忆道。在马斯喀特的制作强调了女主人公“有尊严的死亡之旅，而不是她放荡的生活方式。”

As well as European classics, the ROHM offers works from the Middle East, such as “Antar and Abla”, an Arabic opera commissioned by Opera Lebanon. Mr Fanni’s ultimate aim is to replace the imported shows that have hitherto dominated the repertoire with in-house productions. The Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa provided the chorus and musicians for “Lakmé”, but the ROHM made the sets. Mr Fanni hopes soon to mix Omani musicians with the foreign players who occupy the orchestra pit now.
除了欧洲经典作品，马斯喀特皇家歌剧院还演绎来自中东的作品，比如黎巴嫩歌剧院委托创作的阿拉伯歌剧《安塔和阿布拉的冒险》。范尼的最终目标是用国内制作的节目取代迄今主导曲目的进口节目。热那亚的卡洛·费利斯为《拉克美》提供了合唱和音乐家，但由马斯喀特皇家歌剧院制作布景。范尼先生希望不久就能把阿曼音乐家和现在占据乐池的外国乐手结合起来。

The complexion of the audience is also changing—slowly. When the ROHM was inaugurated during the Arab spring, protesters decried the project’s profligacy. Local interest in opera has risen; but even now, only around 15% of punters are Omani.
观众的群体也在慢慢改变。当马斯喀特皇家歌剧院在“阿拉伯之春”期间落成时，抗议者谴责该项目的挥霍无度。当地对歌剧的兴趣上升了；但即使是现在，也只有15%左右的观众是阿曼人。