Isaac
Chun Hai Fung
Newsletter
2002 Issue 07
Central
European Highlights D
Medieval
Tournament Show and
Dear
friends,
Hello!
How are you? In the past three newsletters, I tried to write to you in a way
similar to columns in newspaper. (It's just an attempt. Please feel free to
give me some advice.) This time I resort to a more personal way of writing.
Anyway, hope that you enjoy reading my newsletters. It is a pity that I am not
able to show you any photos (electronically) at the moment.
Last
Saturday, I went to see a Medieval Knight Tournament Show in
This
annual tournament show was founded by Prince Luitpold
of
In the
tournament, fully armoured "knights" on mount performed various types
of fights as if it were in the Middle Ages. This year,
some creative minds introduce a new programme. They give the show a story. The
story tells that a Spanish princess came to
Besides
the tournament, there was a big market in the open space surrounding the
castle. It was actually a fun fair or a carnival. They were lots of different
stalls selling different local souvenirs and there are many different
performances. For instance, there were performances of medieval dances and
music, acrobats and puppets. What impressed me most was that the actors,
actresses, and stall-keepers all dressed up in costumes of the Middle Ages or
Renaissance.
The
whole purpose of the Ritterturnier seemed to me an
entertainment of a day out for the whole family. Many parents brought their
children along to the show. As far as I noticed, there were very few
international tourists. Most of the visitors were German. This was obvious as
the commentary of the whole tournament was in German. Nonetheless, it really
gave me a taste of the past. It was great to see that even some visitors
dressed themselves up in traditional Bavarian costumes as well.
The
next evening, I went to the National Theatre in
The
opera house is really grand. Though it is a reconstruction after the WWII, it
shows the splendour of the 19th century middle-class culture. It is
exactly the type of opera theatre I have in my mind ― circled by several rings
with a richly decorated ceiling. I was surprised to find that even for standing
tickets, they marked where you were supposed to stand. Then there would be no
quarrels for the best place available.
The production
itself was of international standard. As the libretto, i.e. the text, was in Italian, German translation was shown on a
large screen hung above the stage. Thus I could really concentrate at the music
and actions, as I did not understand what they were singing!
The
most interesting and creative part of the production is the use of the big
screen and the video-cameramen. There were several cameramen, some at the back,
some on the stage and one in the orchestral pit. They took close shots of the orchestra
and singers, and simultaneously broadcast them onto the big screen. This really
helped a lot. It minimised the difference between a 100-Euro seat at the front
of the hall, and the 4.50-Euro standing place up on the rings at the back. I
could appreciate the whole performance without the help of a pair of
binoculars. Furthermore, it was not just a live broadcasting. It was actually
part of the opera production, designed by the producer. Sometimes it formed
part of the background. Sometimes the images taken there actually went into the
plot. Somehow it carries a bit of a taste of film production. (I found it
difficult to convey what I experienced in words, provided with my limitation of
English vocabulary.) It was really a fantastic idea.
The
production was one of the 15 or 20 opera productions in this year's Munich
Opera Festival. Perhaps this gives me one more reason to be fond of
OK.
Next week, I will probably continue with my Central European Highlight's
series. Thank you for your patience to read my long newsletter(s).
Your
friend,
Isaac
Minor
changes were made on 1st and
Table of Contents of ‘Central European Highlights’
馮儁熙
通訊二零零二年第七號
二零零二年七月二十三日
中歐拔萃 丁
中世紀武士馬上比武大會表演與拜仁州立歌劇團
親愛的朋友們：
哈囉！你好嗎？在之前三封通訊裡，我嘗試採用報紙專欄的方式寫給你們看。（畢竟只是嘗試而已，請大家多多指教。）這次，我會寫得個人化一些。無論如何希望你享受閱讀我的通訊。遺憾的是，我現在暫時無法（通過電子媒介）讓你們看到我的照片。
上週六，我去卡爾滕堡城堡（Schloss Kaltenburg）去看一個中世紀武士馬上比武大會表演。（德文是 “das Kaltenburger Ritterturnier”：〔譯注：das是中性定冠詞；-er把Kaltenburg轉變成形容詞：卡爾滕堡的；Ritter是騎士（knight）；而Turnier則是馬上比武大會（tournament）〕。它是現時德國的幾個馬上比武大會表演中最大的一個。我在那裡很開心。如果你在七月頭三個週末身在拜仁的話，我誠意推薦你去看看。
這個一年一度的馬上比武大會表演是由拜仁的Luitpold親王在他的城堡創辦的。（注：今日的德國是一個共和國。在第一次世界大戰結束後，德意志皇帝退位，連帶他的貴族也失去了一切的統治權力與特權。但是，他們仍一代一代的保持著他們的世襲爵位。一定程度上，今日的德國人還是給他們高度的尊重，也一如歐洲其他皇室一樣，他們是名星。）
在比武大會裡，穿上全套盔甲的「騎士」在馬上表演各種武打動作猶如在中世紀一樣。今年，一些有創意的腦袋為大會加入了一些新元素。他們加入了一個故事，故事大意是說有一個西班牙公主在隨從的護送下到拜仁去嫁給當地的王子。但是他們中了埋伏，那個叛亂頭目──黑王子要娶公主為娶。為了迎救他的未婚妻，拜仁王子同意與他的敵人在一場馬上比武大會上一決勝負，誰贏了就可以娶公主為妻。因此就有了這場馬上比武大會．．．．．．
除了比武以外，在城堡四周的空地上還有一個大市集，更準確的說是遊藝會或嘉年華會。那兒有很多不同的攤位販賣各式各樣當地的紀念品，也有多采多姿的表演。例如，有中世紀的舞蹈與音樂、雜技與木偶。最令我印象深刻的是那些演員和攤販全都穿上中世紀或文藝復興的服飾。
我看這場馬上比武大會的意義在於給一家大小一個一日遊的機會，很多父母帶著孩子來看表演。以我所見，這裡很少國際旅客，絕大部份都是德國人。很明顯的，全場比武大會都是用德語旁述。然而，它讓我一睹古風。更棒的是，連一些遊客也穿上了他們拜仁的傳統服飾。
次日晚上，我去慕尼黑國立劇院觀賞由拜仁州立歌劇團（Bayerische Staatsoper）上演的莫札特的《狄多王的仁慈》（La Clemenza di
Tito）。你可能會有點兒驚訝，這是我第一次在劇院裡看歌劇。（你知道啦，在香港我們一年只有一齣歌劇上演，而且票價昂貴。）我在開場前一小時去排隊買即場的票。叫我吃驚的是，我竟然可以以四塊半歐元（相當於港幣三十二元）買到學生站位票！
歌劇院的裝潢很華麗，雖是二次大戰後重建的，它卻展現出一派十九世紀中產階級文化的輝煌。它的確就是我腦海中的那種歌劇院──有好幾個環形看台和一個裝飾得美輪美奐的天花。叫我覺得出奇的是，連站位票也有劃位的，好叫大家莫為爭好位子而爭吵。
整個製作本身屬國際水平。由於歌詞是意大利文，德文翻譯就投射在舞台上方的銀幕上。我就專注在音樂和動作上，因為我聽不懂他們在唱什麼！
整個製作中最有趣和最有創意的部份，是大銀幕和錄影攝影師（video-cameraman）的運用。那裡有幾個攝影師，有的在後面，有的在舞台上，有一個在管弦樂團池裡。他們拍下管弦樂團和歌手的近鏡，又同時播放在大銀幕上。這做法真有用，它縮短了正廳前面一百歐元的座位和後面樓廳上的四塊半歐元的站位的差距。我不用雙筒望遠鏡，也可以欣賞整場演出。再者，它不單是現場轉播，更在監製的設計下成為歌劇製作的一部份。有時候它成了背景的一部份，有時候它的影像走進故事情節裡。總之，它帶有點電影製作的味道。（由於我的英文詞彙不足，我覺得很難將我的經驗以文字表達。）這真是一個好主意。
它是今年慕尼黑歌劇節十五二十個製作中的其中一個。也許它給我多一個原因喜歡歐洲──在哪裡，有一個城市，在一個月裡，可以上演二十齣歌劇？！
好了。下週我可能會接著寫我的中歐拔萃系列。多謝你們忍耐，閱讀我那長長的通訊。
你的朋友，
Isaac
原著為英文，中譯本完成於二零零六年五月三日
有關卡爾滕堡城堡中世紀武士馬上比武大會表演（Kaltenberger Ritterturnier）的資料，請參考http://www.ritterturnier.de（德文）；http://195.30.246.254/（英文）。
2006年的比武大會表演將會在七月7,8,9,14,15,16,21,22,23日舉行。
卡爾滕堡距離慕尼黑五十公里。如欲前往，可以從慕尼黑中央火車站乘市郊火車（S-Bahn）S4線，在Geltendorf下車，再轉乘接駁巴士。需時約兩小時。