2006年VOA标准英语-Dylan, Picasso Top New York's Cultural Season

By Barbara Schoetzau
New York
05 October 2006

Every October New York renews its cultural life after the sleepy days of summer.  This season an exceptionally varied¹ mix of classical and contemporary works will be on stage, in concert halls and on museum walls.  Two twentieth century legends, songwriter Bob Dylan and artist Pablo Picasso, seem omnipresent as the season kicks off.

Broadway producers are mounting a wide-ranging variety of plays and musicals, hoping to capitalize on the boom New York theater has experienced in the last few seasons. Performances of plays by Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw are already under way. Contemporary British playwright² Tom Stoppard is causing a stir - and long lines at the box office - with his trilogy of plays focusing on three centuries of Russian life and history.  A new and much anticipated production of Stephen Sondheim's beloved musical Company opens in November.

Two other musical megahits, Les Miserables and A Chorus Line are also being revived. Early in the new  year, the team that brought Les Miz and Ms. Saigon to Broadway will present its latest bid for blockbuster status, The Pirate Queen.
 
A stage version of the popular movie Mary Poppins is one of the hottest tickets of the season.  The show does not officially open until mid-November but tickets are already on sale through next April.

Political figures from Machiavelli to Richard Nixon are being portrayed³ in dramas off-Broadway, along with a drama about Rachel Corrie, a young American who died as an activist⁴ in Gaza. The play made headlines earlier when the initial producer decided⁵ not to stage the production. Now it has been scheduled by a smaller theater group.

Just three years after choreographer⁶ Twyla Tharp's directed her first Broadway show set to the music of Billy Joel, she is back again, this time setting a show to the music of songwriter Bob Dylan. The show, The Times, They Are A-Changin', takes its title from one of Dylan's best-known songs.

 
 
The times appear to be Dylan's time. He is everywhere in New York this season: in concert at a huge arena⁷, as the subject of two movies, and as the star of a new exhibition at the venerable Morgan Library, better known for Rembrandt and Mozart manuscripts than rock idols⁸. The impact of the music Dylan wrote between 1956 and 1966, curator Jasen Emmons says, makes Dylan worthy⁹ of the company he is keeping at the Morgan.

"The power of his songs has always been this ability to transcend¹⁰ the personal and reach the universal. It is a great period of Dylan's career. It is probably the most creative and prolific," he said.
 
 
Pablo Picasso's 'Three Musicians, 1921' (l) is displayed next to Stuart Davis' 'Colonial Cubism, 1954' (r) in  exhibition 'Picasso and American Art,'  Sept. 26, 2006, at Whitney Museum 
The other larger-than-life artist who is being toasted all over the town is Pablo Picasso.  His influence on American painters is the subject of a new show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, aptly titled "Picasso and American Art."  Curator Michael Fitzgerald says Americans bolstered¹¹ Picasso's reputation.

"To a certain extend it does have to do with American wealth, that Americans could acquire the major pictures, but also that they wanted to spend the money that way," he said. "And much of it has to do with the Museum of Modern Art that was founded in 1929."

The Metropolitan¹² Museum of Art is exhibiting a collection of works once owned by the dealer¹³ who helped spread Picasso's reputation. The Metropolitan Museum will also present an exhibit  focusing on the influence of Paris on American artists and another one on German artists in the Weimar Republic.

Carnegie Hall is hosting orchestras and musicians from across the globe, including a Ravi Shankar festival. And rock fans can look forward to a visit from the Rolling Stones.

1 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

2 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

3 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

5 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。

6 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

7 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

8 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

11 bolstered   

v.支持( bolster的过去式和过去分词 )；支撑；给予必要的支持；援助

参考例句：

• He bolstered his plea with new evidence. 他举出新的证据来支持他的抗辩。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The data must be bolstered by inferences and indirect estimates of varying degrees of reliability. 这些资料必须借助于推理及可靠程度不同的间接估计。 来自辞典例句

12 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

13 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。