從Gaîté Lyrique到Arts NOVA
今日的巴黎花都樣貌，其實在19世紀才奠基。1862 年，法國拿破崙三世和奧斯曼男爵進行巴黎大改造期間，將位於聖殿大道上的劇院Théâtre de la Gaîté拆除，遷址重蓋了一座有1800個座位、雄偉大廳、裝飾華麗的新劇院La Gaîté Lyrique，很快就成為巴黎文化界閃耀的新星。
1873年，輕歌劇大師奧芬巴哈短暫出任劇院的總監，他以康康舞名曲聞名後世的作品《天堂與地獄》改編版，曾在此首演；法國文豪雨果也曾在劇院歡慶他的70大壽；1923年，史特拉汶斯基的芭蕾舞劇《婚禮》也在此首演。
二戰期間巴黎被佔領、劇院被洗劫一空，奧芬巴哈裝上的大吊燈一度失蹤；戰後劇院曾恢復榮景，上演了很多成功的戲劇作品，直到1980年初，大廳的宏偉圓頂被判定有倒塌危險，被改造成「魔法星球」遊樂園，但不久就破產倒閉，被批評為低科技版的迪士尼樂園。
1990年後，法國重新思考宗教、藝文空間的利用，因應新媒介興起，政策不斷調整，將許多舊空間重新改造；La Gaîté Lyrique也歷經10年整修，恢復了原本的立面、入口和前廳，2011年重新對外開放，成為最前衛與實驗性的科技藝術中心。
「Le futur est maintenant！」他們說當下即是未來，希望La Gaîté Lyrique成為了解虛擬時代的空間，對流行文化和新興藝術形式進行批判性及另類的研究；沒有傳統的黑盒子劇場，取而代之的是用鈦金屬做牆面，四面都可以被投影幕包覆的新劇場。
臺中國家歌劇院在2016年落成，要不是疫情，從沒有想像過劇場有天會沒有鏡框式舞台，新的劇場都先將線上串流技術考量在內，這會不會就是未來劇場的型態呢？
我覺得不盡然。劇場是把大家聚在一起的地方，人跟人沒有接觸，就不是社會了，疫情這兩年，大家最想念的是人跟人的接觸；數位科技是協助讓現場表演藝術能夠有更豐富的內容而存在，不會取代人跟人在劇場裡相遇的功能，但時代有新的風向轉變，我們不能忽視。
NOVA，泛指一切新的事物，是耀眼的新星、新的事情、新的世界、新的想像。「NTT Arts NOVA 」維持原本3大系列的主軸，一樣貼合季節做企劃概念，希望找到春天節目新的定錨：以新氣象、新物件、新眼光、新眼界、新觀點、新媒體來切入。
歌劇院有公共性，不能只做大眾化節目，不能只做廣大古典音樂觀眾會喜歡的節目；有些小眾的作品有精緻度，劇場表現性也不錯，它的有趣會讓帶有好奇心的人有興趣，小眾也有機會拓展，讓更大的大眾也可以進來。
2023年春天的歌劇院，有舊作重製演出，像是《薪傳》，將在雲門舞集50週年的時候，由新世代的舞者接替上演；《仍⋯息在零地》是我們對音樂認知的翻轉，當代音樂不見得是「音樂」，而做「聲響」，舞台上發出聲音的，可能不是我們熟悉的樂器；有些作品把過去熟知的題材再次翻轉，像打破第四面牆的《櫻桃園》，跟「遇見巨人」系列從經典出發的角度有一點不同，表現的形式更新。
去年春天的花，今年會開得一樣嗎？NOVA是一種探索，不管在什麼年紀，期待大家像孩子用好奇的眼睛看世界，用一種愉悅迎接春天的心情，希望新的定位能讓大家更勇敢，更能夠擁抱新的事物！
—— 臺中國家歌劇院 藝術總監 邱瑗
From Gaîté Lyrique to Arts NOVA
The city of Paris we know today had its foundations laid only in the 19th century. In 1862, Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann embarked on a monumental urban modernization project. The Théâtre de la Gaîté on the Boulevard du Temple was dismantled and a different site chosen for a new 1800-seat theater with a grand lobby and extravagant décor. La Gaîté Lyrique soon rose to become the city’s most celebrated destination among cultural circles.
In 1873, Jacques Offenbach became Director of La Gaîté Lyrique, although his tenure was short-lived. His popular operetta Orphée aux enfers, most renowned for the ubiquitous Can-Can, appeared on that stage. Victor Hugo was fêted there on his 70th birthday, and in 1923 Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Les Noces had its premiere.
When Paris was occupied during the Second World War, the theater was looted and the chandelier installed by Offenbach vanished. After the venue returned to life in 1945, many successful theatrical productions graced its stage. By the early 1980s, however, the dome of the main lobby was condemned and in danger of collapse. The venue was transformed into an amusement park. Planète magique, widely criticized as a low-tech Disneyland, went bankrupt soon after opening.
After 1990, the French government pondered anew how to utilize existing religious and cultural sites. With the rise of new media, bureaucrats adjusted their policies to repurpose such venues. After a decade of refurbishments, La Gaîté Lyrique’s façade, entrance and foyer were restored. In 2011, it reopened to the public as a cutting-edge experimental center for technology and art.
“Le futur est maintenant!” The future is now, and La Gaîté Lyrique is established in hopes of becoming a space where people learn about our virtualized era, applying a critical eye to pop culture and emergent artistic practices, and conducting alternative research. There is no black box theater inside the venue. Instead, the space has four large titanium walls for projections, enabling totally immersive experiences.
The National Taichung Theater was completed in 2016. If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, we would never imagine that a theater could rid itself of the proscenium stage and new works created to incorporate online streaming. Let’s ponder this question: Will all this be the harbinger of theater’s future?
I don’t have a definite answer yet, the theater is a place where people gather. Without physical interaction, society cannot function. Looking back at the past two years of the pandemic, we have all craved human contact. Though digital technology enhances and enriches live performance, it cannot replace the magic of human encounter in a theatrical space. But the winds are indeed changing, and we cannot ignore them.
NOVA denotes anything that is new: a new star, a new happening, a new world, a new inspiration. “NTT Arts NOVA” operates as an integral part of the theater’s three annual series, befitting the seasons in curation and programming, finding a new anchor for the arrival of spring by introducing a new atmosphere, new ideas, new visions, new insights, new perspectives and new media.
The NTT is a venue for the public: it should neither restrict itself to popular programs nor simply present well-loved classical compositions already familiar to music fans. Certain intimate productions may appeal only to a niche audience, but their sense of theatricality can pique the curiosity of others, thus welcoming more people into the theater.
For spring 2023, the NTT brings back classics with new twists, such as Legacy, presented in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan with a new generation of dancers taking the helm. Keep Breathing at Zero turns conventional musical knowledge on its head. Contemporary music might “sound” less like music and more like “sounds,” and the means and ways these “sounds” are made may not come from familiar musical instruments. Productions such as La Cerisaie deliberately subvert our preconceptions, breaking down the fourth wall in an approach that differs from “NTT Fall for Great Souls,” where the classics provide the impetus, but performance practices are all the more innovative.
Will flowers that bloomed last year thrive exactly the same way this year? NOVA is a journey of discovery. Age is only a number, observe the world with a child’s wide-eyed wonder, open your heart with joy to welcome spring. We hope this new endeavor will provide us all with the courage and daring to embrace new adventures!
—— Joyce Chiou, General and Artistic Director
