VOA慢速英语2021--黎巴嫩陷入危机,乐团继续演奏

Lebanon's Orchestra¹ Keeps Playing as Country Sinks into Crisis²

The National Symphony³ Orchestra of Lebanon is feeling the effects of the financial crisis in the country. The crisis has left many people in Lebanon suffering from poverty and struggling to meet simple needs.

The crisis worsened because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The August 2020 Beirut explosion also worsened the crisis. The explosion killed more than 215 people and damaged parts of the city, including the building where the orchestra meets.

As the value of Lebanese money fell, the 100 or so musicians in the orchestra watched the value of their pay fall from $3,000 to around $200.

Most foreign musicians left the orchestra and the country.

It is not clear how long the orchestra can keep going.

Cultural loss

Lubnan Baalbaki is the conductor of the orchestra, someone who leads the musicians as they are playing.

"We used to do very big productions that would cover the entire classical repertoire⁴. Now it's very difficult," Baalbaki said.

The pay of those who remain now covers little more than the price of fuel to drive to weekly practices. This has forced Baalbaki to reduce the number of shows from around 30 a year to just a few.

This follows a wider loss of Lebanon's cultural place and activities due to the crisis and the pandemic. One of those loses is summer holiday cultural events. They were seen as a guiding light of the arts in the area. They included famous musicians and Arab celebrities⁵.

Mona Kusta Semaan is a musician who has been with the orchestra since it was re-founded in 2000 after it closed during Lebanon's 1975-90 Civil War. She has warm memories of playing with Spanish singer Placido Domingo at the Roman ruins in Baalbeck, Lebanon in the early 2000s.

Now, she said she became emotional when she saw an orchestra on the television.

"I hope now that things get better, and Lebanon gets back on its feet, and they [foreign musicians] come back," she said. "We became a family."

Sectarianism

Even before the crisis, the orchestra had been nearly destroyed for 10 years by Lebanon's sectarian appointment-sharing system. In Lebanon, top positions at public establishments are given to politicians who generally appoint loyalists, with little thought given to skill.

When the orchestra head Walid Gholmieh, a Greek Orthodox⁶ Christian⁷, died in 2011, a permanent head was not found for seven years. Instead, two acting⁸ heads were appointed.

The first was a government official with no professional musical skill. The second had the skill, but was not permanently⁹ appointed because he was Catholic¹⁰ rather than an Orthodox Christian.

Lebanese musician Bassam Saba finally took over in 2018 after returning from the United States. But he died from COVID-19 related problems last year. Baalbaki fears it could take years before another head is appointed.

"We are hostages," Baalbaki said. "The fate of art and music in Lebanon is taken hostage¹¹ in this country because of the political class..." who, he added, demand on keeping the sectarian system.

He said the musicians would keep going.

He said, "We were born in this country and this is our fate, to find solutions..." and create new possibilities."

Words in This Story

orchestra – n. a group of musicians who play usually classical music together and who are led by a conductor

classical – adj. relating to music in a European tradition that includes opera and symphony and that is generally considered more serious than other kinds of music

repertoire – n. all the plays, songs, or dances that a performer or group of performers knows and can perform

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

celebrity¹² – n. a person who is famous

sectarian – adj. relating to religious or political sects¹³ and the differences between them

fate – n. the things that will happen to a person or thing: the future that someone or something will have

1 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

2 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

3 symphony   

n.交响乐（曲），（色彩等的）和谐

参考例句：

• The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is a famous one.贝多芬的第九交响乐非常有名。
• They play over the whole symphony.他们把整个交响乐重新演奏了一遍。

4 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

5 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

6 orthodox   

adj.正统的，传统的，惯常的

参考例句：

• They are orthodox Jews.他们是正统的犹太教徒。
• His ideas are very orthodox.他的思想非常合乎规范。

7 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。

8 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

10 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

11 hostage   

n.人质，抵押品

参考例句：

• One group claimed to have executed the American hostage.一个组织声称已经处决了那名美国人质。
• Have you read the article about the rescue of the hostage?你看了关于营救人质的文章了吗？

12 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。

13 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句