精英体育：当运动员的故事登上舞台.pdf

知音行天下FREQUENT FLYERCRITIC精英体育：当运动员的故事登上舞台High-Performance Sports:When athletics make it to the stage飞a文：司马勤（KenSmith）编译：李正欣周前，我在曼哈顿戏剧俱乐部（ManhattanTheatre Club）的剧场里看了詹姆斯王（KingESMABUATNTHEATRECLUTEJames）的“早鸟”试演场次。这个故事没有任何宗OUPSPANYKING JAMESRAJIVJOSEPHSRURKENNYLEONGLENNDAVISOCHRISPERFETTIAPARELLIOTISSKELIYBLLESPEEEFISXNES52 OPERA 2023/6教色彩，除非你的信仰是篮球。事实上，这出话剧的两位演员正是追随篮球的虔诚信徒。有趣的是，剧作家拉吉夫约瑟夫（RajivJoseph）坚定地说，这部作品实际上不是关于篮球运动的。两天后，我在大都会歌剧院观看了冠军（C h a mp i o n），那是作曲家、格莱美奖爵士音乐奖得主，声名显赫的传奇人物特伦斯布兰查德（TerenceBlanchard）的首部歌剧。冠军创作于2 0 1 3 年，把埃米尔格里菲斯（EmileGriffith）的一生带上舞台，从多方面打破了大众对于这项体育运动的刻板印象。可是，布兰查德也同样坚定地说，这部作品事实上并不是关于拳击运动的。所以，如果詹姆斯王与篮球无关一一剧名指的是勒布朗詹姆斯（LeBronJames），当今篮球界天王；冠军与拳击无关一歌剧院的宣传海报以赤裸上身的莱恩斯比多格林（RyanSpeedoGreen）为主视觉，并在文案中强调了这位男中音BMELBURNSMICHAELBOEEN为了演好角色是如何艰苦锻炼的。那这两部作品究竟是说什么的？知音行天下FREQUENTFLYERCRITICPARETVS.GRIFFITH左页：詹姆斯王的海报上：大都会歌剧院制作的冠军剧照20世纪8 0 年代，雷蒙德卡佛（RaymondCarver）发表了一篇短篇小说，名为“我们谈恋爱时候所聊的话题（WhatWeTalkAboutWhenWeTalkAboutLove），故事中两对恋人开了第二瓶金酒之后，讨论就偏离了主题，开始毫无顾忌地深究男女之间的微妙关系。除了开金酒之外，詹姆斯王与冠军的叙事模式基本上跟这部小说如出一辙，毫无避忌地深究体育项目。差不多每一篇詹姆斯王的剧评都在提醒大家：你不需要深入了解篮球世界就可以欣赏这部话剧。你未必会留意到故事覆盖的1 2 年时间的跨度刚好被分成四“节”就像篮球赛一样每一节聚焦的正是勒布朗职业生涯的某个重要时刻。你也可能会错过约瑟夫既精彩又精简、却绘声绘色叙述的2 0 1 6 年美国职业篮球联赛（NBA）冠军总决赛的紧张赛情。那场比赛正是勒布朗带领克利夫兰骑士队（ClevelandCavaliers）52 年来首次荣登冠军宝座的荣耀时刻。说真的，你只要明白什么东西会令男人着迷，其他细节都会自然到位。实际上，这些细节通常与竞技体育没有很大的关系，而是关于人与人之间如何建立友情。树立公民自豪感的最好工具就是一支球队一一有时候，球队或城市处境越困难，市民就更会投入其中。没有人会把克利夫兰与纽约或洛杉矶混淆，篮球迷们对于骑士队（Cavaliers）、尼克斯队（Knicks）与湖人队（Lakers）也都是划清界限、泾渭分明。如果你想理解美国国家的政治两极化，看看拥护自家球队的粉丝是多么积极并恶意笑其他队伍就可想而知。这种染力，就算在小小的舞台上也同样强大。约瑟夫剧中的两个人一一位白人，一位黑人一会辩论勒布朗究竟是当红明星还是名副其实的“山羊”（GOAT，即GreatestofAllTime缩写，意为“史上最伟大”），也会讨论勒布离开克利夫兰朗转职到洛杉矶发展的行为是英雄还是叛徒。这些争论都让两个朋友走得更近一一大部分时候朋友就是这样。你知道吗？在美国讨论体育，很有可能会引发另一种具有争议性的话题。自认为自己是“黑人”种族的人口数量，在美国人口调查中仅略高于12%；相比之下，在美国职业篮球这个行业里，黑人队员比例超过8 0%。由于球迷几乎是百分之百认同这些黑人球星，整件事情就变得有点尴尬。比如说，白人粉丝会用上他们拥护的黑人球员的方言与习惯，或者白人粉丝也会批评黑人球员的操守等。在詹姆斯王中，关于球员应该对自己的球队以2023/6 OPERA 53知音行天下FREQUENTFLYERCRITICCRAIG SCTHWARTZ PHOTOGRAPHY及本地粉丝心存感激，还是可以自由制定自己的发展路线，到外面闯闯？两位演员的讨论变得严肃而深沉，语气越发尖酸刻薄（因为剧中的那个黑人角色跟勒布朗一样，打算离开克利夫兰到西海岸发展，于是两人的争论越发激烈）。在大都会歌剧院的舞台上，冠军恰巧走向了相反的方向。我们可以找到詹姆斯王与冠军的一些共通点：两部戏都是美国中西部孕育出来的，首演后才移师至东西两岸。冠军在圣路易斯诞生（由圣路易斯歌剧院与圣路易斯爵士协会联合委约），在旧金山平衡歌剧院（OperaParallele）呈献新制作首演后，才移师东岸。詹姆斯王由芝加哥荒原狼剧院（SteppenwolfTheatre）制作并首演，又在洛杉矶演出后才来到曼哈顿戏剧俱乐部。有一些剧评人甚至认为有必要花时间和精力解释剧目在其他城市演出的一些细节，包括当地球队的背景等。然而，除此之外，两部戏的规模与动机都截然不同。詹姆斯王只用了两位演员，这种戏剧形式可以追溯至戏剧艺术的开端（历史上唯一更悠久的形式是古典希腊合唱团跟一位主角互动）。对手戏（又称双人剧）十分普遍，以致田纳西威廉斯（T e n n e s s e e Wi l l i a m s）编写了一出名为对手戏的双人戏。詹姆斯王要是加上一两位演员（但保留原名）或会更引起大众的兴趣。你看看维吉尔汤姆森（VirgilThomson）与格特鲁德斯泰因（GertrudeStein）的歌剧三幕剧中四圣人（FourSaintsinThreeActs），那是个四幕剧，里面起码有六个圣人。对不起，我离题了。冠军的情况则不一样：除了台上演员阵容豪华，还有不止两位演员分担同一个角色。在詹姆斯王的剧中，勒布朗的精神到处都是，但这一具体人物从来都没有出现；在冠军里，埃米尔格里菲斯除了他那参与拳击、年青气壮的模样，也有童年（童声男高音）与老年（低男中音）版本。同样的音乐与戏剧性处理手法也运用在布兰查德的第二部歌剧骨子里的烈火（FireShutUpinMyBones）中，那正是大都会歌剧院于上个演出季搬演的热门作品。尽管詹姆斯王的音乐成分只限于一位打碟师（虽然她的名字出现在演员表，但她并不是剧中人物），冠军则利用了整个歌剧院的管弦乐团兼爵士小组。宣传资料描述这部作品为“爵士乐中的歌剧（an opera in jazz），并非“爵士歌剧（ja z z o p e r a），但这部作品偶尔也投入正统歌剧的怀54OPERA 2023/6知音行天下FREQUENTFLYERCRITIC抱一一特别是那些深情的独唱段落，以及重唱中每个人都在表达不同观点。在大多数情况下，冠军展示了一个喧闹而辉煌的盛会。如果乐团没有那么庞大，演唱者不使用那么多的美声歌剧唱法，大可以想象冠军是一出百老汇戏码。关于两部戏的区别，我还有很多见解，但最终这些差异归结为运动员自身以及体育项目的关键性分歧。勒布朗今年年初打破美国职业篮球联赛个人总得分最高纪录之后名声大噪，他不需要现身都已经是大众焦点。埃米尔还未成为职业拳击手前，在美属维尔京群岛（VirginIslands）是个安静的双性向女帽工匠（可想而知，以上的描述颠覆了很多人看待职业拳击的某些成见），在老家参加次重量级拳击薪露头角，然后跑到纽约闯天下。他毕生的遗憾就是在比赛中曾打死过一名对手，那种悔意阴魂不散，蒙绕他的余生。埃米尔十年前悄然离世，除了那些真正的拳击粉丝以外，他已经被人们遗忘了。不少人抱怨勒布朗当年离开克利夫兰是自私的行为，但是也有很多人认同当年他选择离开，因为他有理想，想加入更强大的队伍。到了话剧的最后一场，勒布朗回归克利夫兰，不仅团结了当地市民（在市中心举行万人空巷的庆功集会），也让两个老朋友复合，并即兴举行废纸篓投球比拼，这成为这部话剧最恒久的隐喻。格里菲斯参与的体育门类与团队合作刚好相反。虽然有母亲、经纪人、妻子和情人一一还有数千粉丝围绕着他一一但他的工作非常孤独。也许只有斗牛这项运动要比拳击更孤独。到了歌剧末段，他脑部功能退化，整天都被过去职业生涯的幽灵困扰，格里菲斯要面对过去的冤魂就像面对年青时代的对手一样：在拳击台上，他最终唯一可以依赖的人只有他自己。左页：詹姆斯王剧照下：大都会歌剧院制作的冠军剧照2023/6OPERA55知音行天下FREQUENTFLYERCRITICA few weeks ago,I was at the Manhattan Theatre Clubto see an early preview of King James.Nothing terriblyreligious there,unless you happen to worship basket-ball And actually,the two characters in the play prettymuch did.The funny thing is,playwright Rajiv Josephinsists that his play isnt really about basketball.Two days later,I found myself at the MetropolitanOpera to see Champion,the 2013 debut opera bycomposer and Grammy-winning jazz legend TerenceBlanchard.Champion brought to the stage the true-life story of boxer Emile Grffith,who in several waysshatters stereotypes usually associated with his sport.But Blanchard had also been quick to say that his op-era isnt really about boxing.So if King James-whose title refers to LeBronJames,basketbals current deity-isnt about basket-o CRAIG SCHWAKTZ.HIOTOGRAPHYball,and Champion-where promotional materialsfeature a shirtless Ryan Speedo Green and extensivedescriptions of how the baritone went into physicaltraining for the role-isnt about boxing,what exactlyare these shows about?Back in the 1980s,Raymond Carver wrote a storycalledWhat We Talk About When We Talk AboutLove,where two couples start discussing the finerpoints of relationships but after opening their secondbottle of gin rather stray from the topic.Except for thegin,King James and Champion essentially follow thesame game plan regarding sports.Nearly every review of King James has made noteof the fact that you dont really need to know muchabout basketball to appreciate the play.You might notnotice that its 12-year timespan is broken up into four56OPERA2023/6知音行天下FREQUENTFLYERCRITIC左页：詹姆斯王剧照上：大都会歌剧院制作的冠军剧照“quarters-like a basketball game-marking significant moments in LeBrons career.Youd also miss Josephsbrilliant concision in recounting specific details from the2016 NBA Championship game,when LeBron led theCleveland Cavaliers to their first title victory in 52 years.But really,all you need to follow are patterns of maleobsession and let the details take care of themselves.Those details,in fact,are usually less about sportsthan they are about establishing camaraderie.Nothingbuilds civic pride like a sports team-and sometimesthe worse the team,or the city,the deeper the devo-tion.And just as no one would confuse Cleveland withNew York or Los Angeles,fans draw often harsh distinc-tion between the Cavaliers,the Knicks and the Lakers.If you want to follow the trajectory of Americas politi-cal polarization,take a look at the way fans now followthe city of their choice and deride the others.The effect,though,can be just as strong on asmaller scale.Nomatter howmuch Josephs twocharacters-one white,the other black-argue aboutwhether LeBron is merely the star of the moment orthe genuine GOAT(Greatest of All Time),or whetherhes a hero for moving to bigger horizons in Los An-geles or a traitor for leaving Cleveland,the disagree-ments mostly bring them closer together.Mostly.You see,any discussion of sports in America is alsolikely to trigger another dynamic.The number ofAmericans who identify as racially Black is a barelymore than 12 percent.By contrast,in the ranks ofprofessional basketbal,Black players number morethan 80 percent.And since the number of sports fanswho identify with their star players is pretty close to2023/6OPERA 57知音行天下FREQUENTFLYERCRITIC100 percent,the whole thing can become rather awk-ward whenever,say,White fans adapt the language orhabits of their Black players,or criticize those playersbehavior.One exchange in King James turns dark overthe question of whether sports figures are beholden totheir team and local fan base,or if theyre free to charttheir own course.(The debate becomes all the moreheated because Josephs Black character,like LeBron,is planning to leave Cleveland for his own professionalopportunities on the West Coast.)Over at the Met,however,Champion took its sportingexperience in a different direction entirely.One coulddraw a few parallels with King James,not least becauseboth shows were developed in the Midwest before mov-ing to the coasts.Champion first saw life in St.Louis(jointly commissioned by the Opera Theater of St.Louisand Jazz St.Louis)and received a second productionat San Franciscos Opera Parallele before traveling east-58OPERA 2023/6ward;King James was developed at the Chicago-basedSteppenwolf Theatre,with a later run in Los Angeles,before coming to MTC.Some reviewers,in fact,felt theneed to explain details of other cities along with thecontext of their shows respective sports.Other than that,however,the shows were entirelydifferent both in scope and intent.King James,havingonly two characters,fits into a theatrical form nearly asold as the theatre itself(only the classical Greek cho-rus with a single soloist is older).So common are two-character plays(often called“two-handers)that Ten-nessee Williams actually entitled one of his works TheTwo-Character Play.It probably wouldve been moreinteresting if hed kept the title and added a characteror two,rather like Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Steinsopera Four Saints in Three Acts,which is in four actswith at least six saints.But I digress.Champion,in contrast,not only had far more than知音行天下FREQUENT FLYER CRITIC左页、上：大都会歌剧院制作的冠军剧照two characters but also more than two actors playingthe same person.As opposed to LeBron James,whosespirit was everywhere in King James while his actualpresence was not,Emile Grffith is portrayed not just inhis fighting prime but also at younger and older agesby a child treble and a deeper baritone(a musical-dramatic approach Blanchard would use again in hissecond opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones,which came tothe Met last season).While the musical input in King James was limitedto a DJ(who was not an actual character,despite be-ing credited on the programs title page),Championused the full forces of an opera orchestra embellishedby a jazz ensemble.Billed not as a jazz opera butratheran opera in jazz,”it did occasionally embracetrue operatic form-particularly solo moments of deepemotional depth and scenes with multiple singers si-multaneously conveying different sentiments.But forthe most part,Champion unfolded as a glorious,rau-cous pageant.If the instrumental forces were smaller,and the vocalism a bit less operatically stylized,onecould easily imagine the show playing on Broadway.I could go on about the differences,but ultimatelythose contrasts come down to keydivergences in both the sportsmenand the sport itself.LeBron,particu-larly after becoming the NBAs all-time leading scorer earlier this year,is sofamous he doesnt even haveto show up to be the center of atten-tion.Emile,a quiet bisexual makerof womens hats from the VirginIslands(to upturn just a couple ofpreconceptions most people prob-ably have about professional boxing)had a good run professionally aswelterweight boxer after moving toNew York,but was haunted for the rest of his life afteressentially killing a man in the ring.He died in 2013,thesame year Champion had its world premiere,relativelyforgotten except to true obsessives of the sport.Despite complaints about LeBrons selfishness forleaving Cleveland,the prevailing counterpoint wasthat he left to be part of a bigger team.By the end ofthe play,his return to the Cavaliers brings together notonly the citys residents in a downtown rally,but alsothe plays central characters in a spontaneous game ofwastebasket one-on-one that becomes the plays last-ing metaphor.Grffith,for his part,embodies a sport that personi-fies the exact opposite of teamwork.Despite being sur-rounded by his coach,agent,wife and sexual partners-not to mention thousands of fans-Grffiths task wassupremely lonely.Perhaps only bulfighting offers amore solitary confrontation in the ring.By the end ofthe opera,now mentally addled and haunted by his for-mer professional life,Grifith has to confront the ghostsof his past much as he did his opponents in his youth,when all he ultimately had to rely on in the ring washimself.2023/6OPERA59