From left to right: Mariusz Kwiecien, Polish baritone; Maija Kovalevska, Latvian soprano; Rolando Villazón, Mexican tenor; Nathan Gunn, American baritone; Danielle de Niese, Australian-born soprano; Erwin Schrott, Uruguayan bass; Anna Netrebko, Russian soprano. Photograph by Wayne Maser; styled by Sarajane Hoare. Enlarge this photo. High C in High-Def
Meet seven international opera stars who are putting to rest the “fat lady sings” cliché, via live broadcasts to movie theaters.
by Damian Fowler May 2009
Opera is ready for its close-up, Mr. DeMille. Or, rather, Mr. Gelb, for Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb is responsible for bringing this high art to the silver screen. Since 2006, when the Met first broadcast live in high definition to selected movie theaters—now up to about 850 screens in 36 countries—audiences have been able to feel on intimate terms with world-class singers. “It’s like seeing somebody eye to eye,” says the Australian-born soprano Danielle de Niese, whose performance this past January in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice was beamed out to far-flung aficionados. Given the new craze, it’s a pleasure to have artists who are as easy on the eye as on the ear. A clear leader is Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, whose vocal and physical charms will be staged and screened in the Met’s new production of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann in December, opposite Rolando Villazón, the dashing Mexican tenor. Offstage, her fiancé is the Uruguayan bass Erwin Schrott, who this winter was seducing audiences and maidens alike as Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Another leading man fond of the unbuttoned shirt is American baritone Nathan Gunn, who will be flexing his voice in the upcoming Met season as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Joining him in the lower registers, Polish baritone Mariusz Kwiecien will portray the toreador Escamillo in the Met’s new production of Carmen, opening on New Year’s Eve. He’ll be teamed later with Maija Kovalevska, the Latvian soprano, whose high cheekbones and shimmering voice in the role of Micaëla will no doubt cause swooning in cineplexes around the world. Popcorn and Bizet? Why not?
這是新一期「浮華世界雜誌」（Vanity Fair）上刊登的一篇文章，介紹當今最受矚目的新生代聲樂家進軍大螢幕，以拉近與觀眾的距離。報導的攝影畫面相當的美觀，質感頗佳，破除了一般人對聲樂家總是一副大腹便便的印象。報導內容如下：
歌劇的鏡頭即將拉近放大，大都會歌劇院的總經理蓋伯先生（Mr. Gelb）負責將這項高度複雜的藝術形式帶往電影螢幕發展。從2006年開始，大都會歌劇院選定了數個電影院現場直播高解析度的演出實況。發展至今已經在36個國家，850個劇院的螢幕上播放過。觀眾們得以與世界一流個歌唱家近距離的親密接觸。「這彷彿是眼對眼的直接接觸」，澳洲出生的女高音迪．妮絲（Danielle de Niese）如此表示。2009年一月份她所演出的葛路克《奧菲歐與尤麗蒂切》便是透過這種方式傳遞給遠方的歌迷。由於能夠輕易地見到並聽到演出，因而造成這樣的新風潮。引領風潮的正是俄國女高音聶翠柯（Anna Netrebko），她那美妙的歌聲與優美的肢體將於2009年底由大都會歌劇院製作的奧芬巴哈《霍夫曼的故事》中盡情展現。圖片中站在她對面的是意氣正風發的墨西哥男高音維拉松（Rolando Villazón）。她的未婚夫烏拉圭藉的男低音許洛特（Erwin Schrott）今年冬天將首度獻唱莫札特的《唐．喬萬尼》。另一個引領風潮的人物是圖片中敞開胸口的美國男中音納森．甘（Nathan Gunn），他將在大都會歌劇院下一個樂季中演出莫札特《魔笛》中的捕鳥人。與他同樣演唱較低音域的是波蘭男中音奎獻（Mariusz Kwiecien），他將在大都會歌劇院為2010新年前夕所全新製作的歌劇《卡門》中演唱鬥牛士艾斯卡蜜羅。稍後他將與拉托維亞女高音柯娃勒夫絲卡（Maija Kovalevska）一起合作。柯娃勒夫絲顴骨高，聲音清亮，飾唱《卡門》中的蜜凱拉一角肯定能在世界各地的電影院裡造成風潮。爆米花配《卡門》，有何不可？
照片中的歌唱家，從左至右：波蘭男中音奎獻、拉托維亞女高音柯娃勒夫絲卡、墨西哥男高音維拉松、美國男中音納森．甘、澳洲出生的女高音迪．妮絲、烏拉圭男低音許洛特、俄國女高音聶翠柯
