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The Four Tenors 四大男高音

简介

GIST

主持人:Lo King-man & Jimmy Shiu 卢景文及萧树胜

2021年是卡罗素 (Enrico Caruso) 逝世百周年,也是兰沙 (Mario Lanza)、哥拉利(Franco Corelli) 和狄 玮 史提芬奴(Giuseppe di Stefano) 的百岁诞辰纪念,第四台特别请来卢景文为这四大男高音主持特辑。早前,萧树胜有机会跟这位香港歌剧教父来个相关访谈。

萧:萧树胜 / 卢:卢景文

萧:可以先讲讲四位星级演唱家的歌唱风格吗?
卢:卡罗素生于十九世纪,幸好他是最早出唱片的歌唱家之一。 虽然百多年前的录音方法比较原始,例如他要对着一个像大 雪糕筒的装置唱歌。然而,今天我们仍能听得出他那沉厚 的音色。他早年的高音有点限制,所以当浦契尼写《波希 米亚的生涯》时,就安排另一位男高音去饰演要唱至高音 C 的主角鲁道夫。后来,他为卡罗素度身订造《西域女郎》中 庄逊一角,就没有写高音 C。 兰沙一生只唱过几次歌剧,这或许也是他的心结。离世前, 他正在罗马准备演出整出《丑角》,可惜最终未能成事。然 而,就算是流行曲或音乐剧风格的歌曲,他总以纯正的意大 利歌剧唱腔热情地唱出,大家也很受落。

萧:有说他不懂读谱,真的吗?这又会否影响他学整出歌剧?
卢:就算他真的不懂读谱,以他的地位,总可请专人助他学习,懂不懂看谱不是关键。

萧:提到兰沙,电影是他事业成功的跳板噢!
卢:在歌剧院中,观众与台上有一定距离,但在银幕上,近镜头能展现出他细致的表情,感染力更强。不单止是那些超卖座的电影,他的成功亦与唱片有关。举例说,他为《歌王艳史》所录的歌唱部份,比在片中出现的更多,剩余的录音发行在唱片之后,大家可以听到他更多的精彩演出,进一步感受他的魅力所在。

萧:对乐迷来说,狄‧史提芬奴似乎又有另一份魅力。
卢:狄‧ 史提芬奴是我最爱的男高音。1952 年我首张收藏的歌剧唱片,就是由他演唱。他条件特别好,能在高音C 上,从最大声收细到最小声,中间全无痕迹,令人惊叹!狄‧史提芬奴最初唱流行曲,那当然是自学。后来,虽然他也跟过老师,但他的唱法仍是崇尚自然,喉咙打得很开,别树一格。虽不是意大利的美声传统,却迷人极了。哥拉利都曾与我分享狄‧ 史提芬奴的歌声如何漂亮。

萧:说起来,是你一手把哥拉利和狄‧邦第(Renata Tebaldi) 邀请来港献技。
卢:那是1973 年,我认识的一位朋友有份安排他们在菲律宾演出,经她介绍,我飞到日本跟两位商讨,结果他们愿意顺道路经香港,在陆佑堂演唱一场,由年轻本地钢琴家苏孝良担任伴奏。那是为筹建香港艺术中心而演出,两位天王巨星所收取的演出费用也特别优惠。

萧:听说哥拉利性子不小,你与他相处过,感觉如何?
卢:六十年代,我在拿玻里看过他演出《游唱诗人》。有位观众恶意向他喝倒采,他竟在中场跑上观众席,撞开厢房门,幸好有人拉住他,否则或会大打出手。当他痛骂完那位观众后,回来演唱著名的〈看那柴堆上烈火熊熊〉时,那高音还是一样澎湃。他曾提过早年有一位老师毁了他的高音。经自己多番研究之后,他选择了保持低喉头位置的唱法,发声方法与戏剧性男高音狄.蒙拿哥(Mario Del Monaco)相近,都是力量非凡。
虽提及以上小故事,但当与他见面,我发觉他总是彬彬有礼,一点艺术家脾气都没有。可能还有另一个原因,是他的英语一般。在港时,单单只有我用意大利文与他倾谈( 笑)。谈到情绪,他出台前压力特别大。当天晚上8 时演出,他早在3 时已到达会场,在休息室中,与一瓶威士己作伴,慢慢平服自己。

萧:不如我们谈谈曲目。意大利歌曲和歌剧,是四位歌唱家的主打,兰沙更唱更过不少电影歌曲,其他三位又擅长唱什么呢?
卢:三位都唱过多出完整的歌剧,当中主要是意大利作品,也有法国歌剧。狄‧史提芬奴曾经以德语演唱利夏的轻歌剧《笑乡》,大受欢迎。他演唱家乡西西里的民歌更是拿手。卡罗素生于意大利浪漫歌剧的巅峰期,当中有不少作曲家都认识他,熟悉他的嗓音,也有为他谱曲。哥拉利是抒情兼戏剧男高音,声音雄亮,带金属味道,所以擅长戏剧性作品,因此亦自然成为卡拉丝演绎《诺玛》时的「强力」拍挡。

萧:最后是题外话。1921 年出生的著名男高音,至少还有威尔斯的薛甘比 (Harry Secombe),你觉得他唱功如何?
卢:他很优秀,唱意大利咏叹调声音响亮。不过由于他集演员、谐星、音乐剧歌手等于一身,所以我们没有包括他在特辑中。听众有兴趣可以寻找这「沧海遗珠」的录音。
整理:林欣乐

2021 sees the 100th anniversary of the death of Enrico Caruso and the centenaries of the births of Mario Lanza, Franco Corelli, and Giuseppe di Stefano. We remember these great tenors each with a two-hour programme. Here are programme host Lo King-man’s impressions of the “fantastic four”.

Caruso had a deep tenor voice. He was admired not only by many audiences but also by his many composer friends including Puccini, Cilea, and Mascagni. They knew his spectacular voice well and Caruso gave the first performances of some of their works.

Mario Lanza had only sung a few complete operas. However, he sang with an unmatched verve, making him a sought-after artist beyond opera theatres. Hollywood success brought him widespread popularity among music and movie lovers. He sang mostly opera excerpts and film songs with his rich bel canto voice. One of those who attended his live performances was Queen Elizabeth II.

Franco Corelli was the only one among the four to have enrolled in a conservatory. Yet, like the other three, he was more self-taught. His singing style was to keep the larynx low, producing a big and somewhat metallic sound. Naturally, with this “lyric-spinto” voice, he was in demand for the heavier roles including Pollione, and found himself collaborating with the one and only Maria Callas in the title role of Norma.

Giuseppe di Stefano sang unreservedly with his unique “open” voice even when reaching the high notes. He had such a vocal gift. At his prime, he could sing a challenging high-C in full voice, then gradually and seamlessly transforming into a well-supported and ethereal pianissimo. He was famous also for his interpretation of Neapolitan songs. While the four tenors all specialised mainly in the Italian (and a bit of French) operatic repertoire, di Stefano was the only one to have recorded a complete stage work in German, and that’s Lehár’s The Land of Smiles to critical acclaim.
Find out more about the lives and art of these glorious voices in The Four Tenors.
~transcribed by Yan Lam

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