美国国家公共电台 NPR Franco Zeffirelli, Creator Of Lavish Productions On Screen And Stage, Dies At 96

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Franco Zeffirelli has died. He was one of the 20th century's most famous directors of opera. He also directed film adaptations of Bible stories and of Shakespeare, including "Romeo And Juliet" and "The Taming Of The Shrew." His death in Rome today came after a long illness, according to an announcement on his foundation's website. Franco Zeffirelli was 96 years old. NPR's Neda Ulaby has this look back on his work and a life that began with a birth out of wedlock¹.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE²: Franco Zeffirelli born into a rigid³, Italian society that viewed indiscretions sternly. As a little boy, Zeffirelli was teased for not knowing his father's real last name - his was made up.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ZEFFIRETTI LUSINGHIERI - EI STESSO VIEN. OH DEI (LIVE)")

SYLVIA MCNAIR: (Singing in foreign language).

ULABY: Zeffirelli was taken from a Mozart aria⁴ by his mother. It means little breezes and was wrongly transcribed⁵ as Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli's mother died when he was 6, and he lived briefly⁶ in an orphanage⁷ before relatives took him in. He credited his artistic⁸ growth to a British expatriate whose circle of friends he enshrined in the 1999 semi-autobiographical film "Tea With Mussolini."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "TEA WITH MUSSOLINI")

JUDI DENCH: (As Arabella) Florence isn't just shiny cars and ice creams as little boys think. It's the human form divine. The body beautiful. And you - yes, you - could be part of that world to make, to create.

ULABY: Zeffirelli told NPR in 1986 that he was nourished in a sense by his hometown's aesthetic⁹ glory.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI: I always used to play football in the cloister¹⁰ San Marco, you know, (speaking Italian). We were brought up with this kind of familiarity with the beauty of art.

ULABY: Zeffirelli became a sought-after set designer and opera director after World War II. He worked with leading figures like Luchino Visconti and Maria Callas. But Zeffirelli said, at the beginning, the music meant less to him than the spectacle.

ZEFFIRELLI: First of all, the visuals attracted me in opera. Then later when I matured, I found that the emotion is not only visual, but it's so complex and so complete like no other medium. You have everything there. You have the magic of everything, the best of everything.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA BOHEME: ACT I: O SOAVE FANCIULLA")

LUCIANO FANCIULLA: (Singing in foreign language).

ULABY: Even his critics admired Zeffirelli's sumptuously¹¹ visualized¹² operas, which often resembled Renaissance¹³ paintings come to life. A production of "La Boheme" in the early '60s reportedly caused gasps¹⁴ of awe¹⁵ so loud it drowned out the music. Zeffirelli also filmed the opera.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA BOHEME: ACT I: O SOAVE FANCIULLA")

FANCIULLA: (Singing in foreign language).

ULABY: Zeffirelli's fame surged after he directed celebrity¹⁶ couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the 1967 film "The Taming Of The Shrew." They encouraged him to follow it with "Romeo And Juliet." Zeffirelli daringly casted two unknown teenagers.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ROMEO AND JULIET")

LEONARD WHITING: (As Romeo Montague) I am afeard being in night. All this is but a dream. Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.

OLIVIA HUSSEY: (As Juliet Capulet) Three words, dear Romeo and good night indeed. If that thy bent¹⁷ of love be honorable...

WHITING: (As Romeo Montague) Yes.

HUSSEY: (As Juliet Capulet) ...Thy purpose marriage. Send me word tomorrow by one that I'll procure¹⁸ to come to thee.

ULABY: "Romeo And Juliet" was a massive international success and helped rescue then-faltering Paramount¹⁹ Pictures. In 1981, Zeffirelli was irritated when his less successful film "Endless Love" suffered in comparison.

ZEFFIRELLI: The story of "Romeo And Juliet," which has been one blessing²⁰ and curse of my entire career, whenever you touch the adolescent love, automatically, even a child says, well, that's "Romeo And Juliet."

ULABY: "Romeo And Juliet" would haunt severally in other ways. The young actor who played Benvolio later said Zeffirelli sexually assaulted him. Bruce Robinson grew up to become a well-known screenwriter. He wrote "The Killing²¹ Fields" and a 1987 film called "Withnail And I." It features a lecherous²² old man supposedly modeled on Zeffirelli. Zeffirelli never responded to those allegations, but the director created scandal on his own.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: In Italy, a storm of protest is raging over the inclusion of director Martin Scorsese's film "The Last Temptation Of Christ" at the Venice Film Festival.

ULABY: In that 1988 NPR broadcast, Sylvia Poggioli reported on Zeffirelli's response to "The Last Temptation Of Christ."

(SOUNDBITE ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

SYLVIA POGGIOLI, BYLINE: He described it as a product of, quote, "that Jewish cultural scum of Los Angeles which is always spoiling for a chance to attack the Christian²³ world."

ULABY: Zeffirelli was a deeply conservative Roman Catholic. He shared the Vatican's views on abortion²⁴ and gay rights. For a few terms, he represented a right-wing party in the Italian Senate. In 2006, he sparked a minor²⁵ controversy²⁶ when he told a newspaper he felt he'd suffered no harm as a child after being molested²⁷ by a priest.

Wayne Koestenbaum is a professor at CUNY New York who says in many ways Zeffirelli was a relic²⁸. Even his opulent operas stuffed with hundreds of extras and live animals have for years been critically mocked.

WAYNE KOESTENBAUM: Whatever. I think that if you want to have a sense of what grand opera means, you need to have seen at least one Zeffirelli production.

ULABY: Koestenbaum says Zeffirelli made that easy. He brought grand opera and Shakespeare up close. His productions dazzled, and they beat with an old-fashioned heart.

Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 wedlock   

n.婚姻，已婚状态

参考例句：

• My wife likes our wedlock.我妻子喜欢我们的婚姻生活。
• The Fawleys were not made for wedlock.范立家的人就跟结婚没有缘。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

4 aria   

n.独唱曲，咏叹调

参考例句：

• This song takes off from a famous aria.这首歌仿效一首著名的咏叹调。
• The opera was marred by an awkward aria.整部歌剧毁在咏叹调部分的不够熟练。

5 transcribed   

（用不同的录音手段）转录( transcribe的过去式和过去分词 )； 改编（乐曲）（以适应他种乐器或声部）； 抄写； 用音标标出（声音）

参考例句：

• He transcribed two paragraphs from the book into his notebook. 他把书中的两段抄在笔记本上。
• Every telephone conversation will be recorded and transcribed. 所有电话交谈都将被录音并作全文转写。

6 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

7 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

8 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

9 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

10 cloister   

n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝

参考例句：

• They went out into the stil,shadowy cloister garden.他们出了房间，走到那个寂静阴沉的修道院的园子里去。
• The ancient cloister was a structure of red brick picked out with white stone.古老的修道院是一座白石衬托着的红砖建筑物。

11 sumptuously   

奢侈地，豪华地

参考例句：

• The hall was sumptuously decorated. 大厅装饰得富丽堂皇。
• This government building is sumptuously appointed. 这座政府办公大楼布置得极为豪华。

12 visualized   

直观的，直视的

参考例句：

• I had visualized scientists as bearded old men. 我曾经把科学家想像成长满胡子的老人。
• "I visualized mangled and inadequate branches for my fires. 我想像中出现了砍得乱七八糟的树枝子，供不上壁炉烧的。 来自名作英译部分

13 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

14 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

16 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

17 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

18 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。

19 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

20 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

21 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

22 lecherous   

adj.好色的；淫邪的

参考例句：

• Her husband was described in court as a lecherous scoundrel.她的丈夫在法庭上被描绘成一个好色的无赖。
• Men enjoy all the beautiful bones,but do not mistake him lecherous.男人骨子里全都喜欢美女，但千万别误以为他好色。

23 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

24 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

25 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

26 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

27 molested   

v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵

参考例句：

• The bigger children in the neighborhood molested the younger ones. 邻居家的大孩子欺负小孩子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He molested children and was sent to jail. 他猥亵儿童，进了监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

28 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。