在乌拉尔山上歌唱莫扎特

AS IT IS 2015-06-29 Recording¹ Mozart in Russia’s Ural Mountains 在乌拉尔山上歌唱莫扎特

Russia’s political relations with Western countries have worsened because of the situation in Ukraine. Some observers are looking to cultural cooperation to help ease tensions. Take the story of Teodor Currentzis, a Greek-born orchestra conductor. He is now leading a group of musicians and singers from around the world in the Ural Mountains of Russia. Their goal is to record the perfect operatic work of the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Teodor Currentzis is just 42 years old. He was born in Greece, but is now a Russian citizen. He moved to Russia after leaving Western Europe in the 1990s. Mr. Currentzis formerly² worked in the famous opera houses of Moscow and St. Petersburg. But he decided³ to go to Perm, a city near the Ural Mountains. For many Russians, Perm is best known for its prison camps from the time of the former Soviet⁴ Union.

Mr. Currentzis says he likes how quiet the area seems compared to big cities.

“It’s like a monastery⁵. Perm for me is the place that I can isolate⁶ myself from the unimportant part of the career and create the most important thing that I can create, like an artist.”

Mr. Currentzis is busy recording the operas Mozart wrote with the opera librettist⁷ and poet Lorenzo Da Ponte. Sony Classical Records released his orchestra’s recording of Nozze di Figaro, or The Marriage of Figaro, in 2014. Many music critics liked what they heard. This year Sony released Cosi Fan Tutte. The third and final recording, Don Giovanni, will be released later this year.

Mr. Currentzis says his recordings⁸ let people hear Mozart as the composer wanted his works to be heard. He says other recordings have not shown the power of Mozart’s works.

“What is our mission? To make music for a restaurant or a bathtub? Or to serve the composer? And it is really difficult to achieve this result. And I tell you in regular recordings they compromise. One of the first three takes will be, ‘uh, that’s fine. We’re finished!’”

Last year, singers and musicians from around the world gathered at the Perm Opera House to record Don Giovanni.

The recording sessions were sometimes 10, 12 or even 14 hours long. Mr. Currentzis asked German singer Simone Kermes to sing one small part of the opera 50 times. She was not happy about that.

“Of course, Mozart is difficult to record and what Teodor wants it’s like over what a human being can do if you’re not a computer. He has no respect of the singer!”

Mr. Currentzis’ Russian orchestra is called MusicAeterna. He chose its members. They are known for their dedication⁹ to the music.

Afanasy Chupin is the group’s first violinist.

“Oh, for me it’s very simple. I wake up every morning, I come to the theater and I spend all my life here.”

When Mr. Currentzis arrived in Perm in 2010, he and the area’s governor reached a deal: the governor would support the orchestra if Mr. Currentzis would help Perm become well-known for its music. But the official was later dismissed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. And now local officials are threatening to reduce the city’s support. They also want to have the power to approve the works to be performed. Last year, the Ministry¹⁰ of Culture even released a policy paper that said “Russia is not Europe.” Mr. Currentzis rejects the policy.

“I don’t think that there is a country that can exist without the influence of the East and without the influence of the West. It’s one world with one electricity.”

Words in This Story

opera – n. a kind of performance in which actors sing all or most of the words of a play, with music performed by an orchestra

monastery – n. a place where religious workers live and work together

isolate – v. to put or keep (someone or something) in a place or situation that is separate from others

librettist – n. a person who writes a libretto¹¹ (the words of an opera or musical)

composer – n. a person who writes music

mission – n. a job that you consider to be a very important duty

session – n. a period of time that is used to do a particular activity

dedication – n. a feeling of strong support for or loyalty to someone or something; the quality or state of being dedicated to a person, group or cause

1 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。

2 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

5 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

6 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

7 librettist   

n.(歌剧、音乐剧等的)歌词作者

参考例句：

• The musician and the librettist were collaborators. 音乐家与剧作者通力合作。
• Italian-born American composer and librettist whose operas include The Medium(1946) and The Consul(1950). 梅诺蒂，吉安卡洛生于1911意大利裔美国作曲家和歌剧词作者，其歌剧作品包括女巫（1946年）及领事（1950年）

8 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

9 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 libretto   

n.歌剧剧本，歌曲歌词

参考例句：

• The printed libretto was handsomely got up.这本印刷的歌剧剧本装帧得很美观。
• On the other hand,perhaps there is something to be said for the convenience of downloading a libretto in one's own home rather than looking for it in a library or book store.但是反过来看，或许尤为重要的是如果网