One Minute World Arts- Probing Gender and Identity: The Royal Opera House’s Double Bill

In May 2022, as part of the celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of its Jette Parker Young Artists program, the Royal Opera House in London presented an unusual double bill, including Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire and Igor Stravinsky’s Mavra, at its own Linbury Theatre, a refurbished performance venue aiming to serve a wider range of audiences.

 

Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, delivered in a unique singing-speaking style, has been regarded as an important work of modernism ever since its 1912 Berlin premiere; meanwhile, Stravinsky’s one-act comic opera is based on a narrative poem by Pushkin, centering upon a young hussar, Vassili, who disguises himself as Mavra, a maid-servant, in an attempt to spend more time with his lover Parasha. Although the two stories seem to be quite irrelevant to each other, they both touch on the notions of gender, identity, and role-play, which are skillfully handled by the director Anthony Almeida in this production, with gaudily papered walls and an enormous light hanging from the ceiling, to reach an aesthetic coherence in them.

 

皇家歌劇院好戲連台的「雙組合」

 

今年5月,英國皇家歌劇院(Royal Opera House)為了慶祝「傑特帕克青年藝術家計畫」(Jette Parker Young Artists20週年,在自家內部重新整建落成的林布里劇院(Linbury Theatre)裡,推出風格迥異於以往的「雙組合」(double bill),讓觀眾可以一次享受兩部作品:荀貝格(Arnold Schoenberg)的《醉月的小丑》(Pierrot Lunaire),以及斯特拉溫斯基(Igor Stravinsky)的喜歌劇《梅芙拉》(Mavra)。

 

《醉月的小丑》為一唱唸風格獨特的名作,自1912年於柏林首演後,就被視為是現代主義的重要作品之一;而獨幕喜歌劇《梅芙拉》則改編自普希金(Pushkin)的敘事詩,內容講述輕騎兵瓦希禮 偽裝成女僕梅芙拉,混入情人帕拉莎家中共度歡愛時光的故事。乍看之下,這兩齣戲之間似乎沒什麼關聯,但實際上它們的情節都觸及了性別、身份與扮演等意旨。此外,導演安東尼・奧梅達(Anthony Almeida)也採用了壁飾華麗的舞台設計和一盞巨大的吊燈,來串組這兩部作品,效果十分吸睛。

 

 

Photo Credit © Helen Murray

Sources:

https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/mavra-pierrot-lunaire-stravinsky-schoenberg-royal-opera-review

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/may/13/mavra-pierrot-lunaire-review-inbury-stravinsky-schoenberg