VOA慢速英语2012 AMERICAN MOSAIC - 'Fallujah' the Opera; Songs of Summer

 

AMERICAN MOSAIC¹ - 'Fallujah' the Opera; Songs of Summer

JUNE SIMMS: Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

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I’m June Simms. This week, our report on the first opera ever to explore a soldier’s experiences in the Iraq War …

And we play some favorite seasonal² music: songs about summer.

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"Fallujah" the Opera

JUNE SIMMS: The suffering of war is not an unusual subject for books, movies and plays. But it is less common as a theme, or subject, for musicals. Now, the production “Fallujah” becomes the first opera about the Iraq war. Christopher Cruise has our story.

CHRISYOPHER CRUISE: The opera “Fallujah” is based on the experience of an American Marine³. Christian⁴ Ellis was a machinegunner in Iraq. His back was broken during one of the deadliest series of clashes of that war: the battle for the city of Fallujah. He was one of the few survivors⁵ in an attack on his platoon.

When Christian Ellis returned from Iraq his spirit was broken, too. He had lost more than twenty friends to the war. He suffered from post-traumatic stress. He attempted suicide four times. But he rediscovered a joy that may have saved his life: singing.

“Fallujah” covers a seventy-two-hour period in the life of a Marine remembering his time in Iraq. The opera can be seen in parts on the Internet site explore.org. Its founder⁶, Charlie Annenberg Weingarten, led the effort to turn the war story into an opera.

CHARLIE ANNENBERG WEINGARTEN: “Fallujah is based on one of America’s most deadly battles and the chaos⁷ that ensues when a soldier one day is friends with this young Muslim man, but on the next day, when he sees him, will have to kill him.”

Explore.org is an aid organization. It is known for supporting media projects.

Canada’s City Opera Vancouver is producing the show. Heather Raffo, an Iraqi American, wrote the words. The music is from composer Tobin Stokes.

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Christian Ellis says the story is based on what he experienced in Fallujah in two thousand four.

CHRISTIAN ELLIS: “I took a lot of my own personal experiences that dealt with suicide, that dealt with a lot of dark moments, and turned it into a way that people could understand.”

The former sergeant⁸ grew up listening to opera. He says using that music to tell his story was healing.

CHRISTIAN ELLIS: “It’s helped me so much that I wish that this type of therapy was more readily available to veterans -music, expression.”

Mr. Weingarten says the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan raise questions.

CHARLES ANNENBERG WEINGARTEN: “As the wars wind down, the new war is going to be, how do we deal with the personnel that is coming home? It’s a very serious issue. And so it fits all the beats of traditional opera.”

Christian Ellis says for him and his fellow Marines, the war on the ground may be over. But, he says, he is still fighting a battle that goes on in his head.

That inner battle is set to music in “Fallujah.” Its producers hope it will also be performed in the United States.

Summer Songs

JUNE SIMMS: It is the middle of summer in the northern hemisphere. Today we play songs in recognition of the season.

Many call this middle period the “dead of summer.” It is very hot and dry in much of the United States right now. In fact, this week, American officials said more than sixty percent of the continental⁹ United States was in a moderate to severe drought. They declared a natural disaster in parts of more than twenty-six states.

So, this nineteen eighty-three song from Bananarama, “Cruel Summer” seems just about right.

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Ten years before “Cruel Summer” came a much more hopeful seasonal message from the group Seals and Crofts. The men sing sweet days of summer, jasmine’s in bloom / July is dressed up and playing her tune¹⁰.

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Surf music was very popular in the nineteen-sixties. The Beach Boys had many songs about summer fun in the ocean, like “Surfin’ Safari,” from nineteen sixty-one.

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Surfing, swimming and sunning seem to define the typical summer day. But romantic desires fill “Summer Nights” as sung by Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in the nineteen seventy-eight movie, “Grease.”

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More recently, Justin Timberlake explored the idea of seasonal romance in his song, “Summer Love.” But Timberlake sings that the love discovered in the warm months will last beyond the summer.

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The former rock band X put out a sad summer song in nineteen eighty-seven. John Doe and Exene Cervenka sing about love gone wrong in “4th of July.”

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Country star Keith Urban sings about a “Long Hot Summer” in a recording¹¹ released in two thousand ten.

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Hip-Hop artist Nelly is on our summer list for his steamy hit from two thousand-two, “Hot in Herre.”

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We leave you with a summer classic from nineteen sixty-three. Martha and the Vandellas perform “Heat Wave.”

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JUNE SIMMS: Is there a summer song you love but did not hear today? Let us know what it is. Send an e-mail to [email protected]. Maybe we’ll play your favorite in a future American Mosaic.

I’m June Simms. This program was written and produced by Caty Weaver¹². Mike O’Sullivan provided additional reporting.

Join us again next week for music and more on AMERICAN MOSAIC in VOA Special English.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 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。

5 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

8 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

9 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

10 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

11 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

12 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。