2014-12-28

【Aiden in English】

        Vienna is a capital city of Austria, which is famous for its lavish music concert. “Salute to Vienna＂brings the joyful waltzes to the New Year and becomes so popular that it has affected people all around the globe. This performance is being done everywhere during the holiday season as a gala goes on like it was back to 1899 in Vienna. Today, Salute to Vienna is taking place on its grand stage at the Verizon Hall of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. Mom and I are determined to see it. 

        Salute to Vienna is usually cheerful and happy with the music of “Waltz King” Johann Strauss Jr. as ballet dancers glide across the stage to the sounds of “The Blue Danube”. We were on the Tier 2 floor and the air was buzzing. The spirit of the holiday season was here and it gave me a big first impression. As we got situated, the lights dimmed and on came the Philly Pops Orchestra. When the shiny trombones led the sleek clarinets and the glamorous violins, the cellists slowly took their seats on the other side. More and more instruments entered the stage. Finally, the conductor, András Deák who dressed in a black suit walked onto his podium with his baton and the audience hushed. Without any waiting, the orchestra lunched into a quick and fast piece, Overture to Countess Maritza by Emmerich Kálmán, to open up the concert. It featured loudness and softness, forte and piano. The dynamics increased and decreased the tempo like a wave crushing against the shore. It stunned the audience with a dazzling performance. 

        Followed by “Heia in Den Bergen” from Gypsy Princess by by Emmerich Kálmán, a soprano, Sera Gösche, sang it well especially with her beautiful staccato. It sounded like a blue jay’s chirps.

        Then the ballet dancers articulated their classical walk in the Pointe shoes. As the next song began it was all too obvious for a Johann Strauss’ Waltz. They moved with a three-beat rhythm and executed some spins and twirls as Kiss Waltz played. The waltz comprised melodies and the orchestra picked up the pace. Around and around they went gracefully until the song stopped. 

        Soon came on a tenor, Michael Heim who reminded me about Andrea Bocelli’s vocal. He could really change movement quickly, which always sounded a good quality for all musicians. 

        Just like this, the performers rotated singing, dancing, dancing, singing, and all the way to the end. Mom asked me to listen to the last piece for its tradition. It was called Radetzky March by Johann Strauss. The song initiated with a fast, enthusiastic, and upbeat tone. The conductor then began clapping to the best motioning for the audience to do so, too. We clapped along with him. At the end, he faked a clap, which threw the audience off beat and we laughed loudly. 

        Salute to Vienna was absolutely a cool year-end show. It started off awesome and ended on a perfect note, musically and literally.

【紅霞譯文】

        奧地利首都維也納素以華美的音樂演唱著稱，“向維也納致敬”以其歡快的華爾茲舞曲將新年禮讚帶入千家萬戶。每逢元旦到來之際，世界各地的人們仿佛看到了1899年時維也納宮廷所舉行的賀歲盛典。今天，“向維也納致敬”來到費城金梅爾表演藝術中心威瑞森大廳，我和媽媽定要一飽眼福。

        “向維也納致敬”通常都以圓舞曲之王──小約翰•施特勞斯明快甜美的華爾茲和波爾卡舞曲貫穿節目始末，芭蕾舞演員在樂曲“藍色多瑙河”的伴奏下翩翩起舞。我們登上二樓，熱烈的場面以及喜悅的氣氛首先給我留下深刻的印象。等到我們就座以後，燈光漸暗，費城通俗樂團隆重登場。長號鋥光，單簧管黑亮，小提琴搶眼，大提琴手慢慢站到對面，其他成員也各就各位，最後走上舞台的是身着黑色西裝手拿指揮棒的樂隊指揮安德拉斯•迪克，這時大廳安靜得鴉雀無聲。樂團即刻奏起快速的《卡爾曼•馬里查伯爵夫人》“序曲”，剛中有柔，柔中有剛，輕重緩急拿捏得十分得體，音樂旋律高潮迭起，宛若波浪衝擊海岸，深深打動了觀眾。

        接着女高音賽若•蓋佘送上《卡爾曼•吉卜賽公主》中一首抒情片段“山中告別”，我覺得她把斷音部分處理得不錯，聽起來像只藍喜鵲引吭高歌。

        芭蕾舞演員腳穿足尖鞋，昂頭挺胸優雅地登台。不用多說，這回准要表演約翰•施特勞斯的圓舞曲。當樂隊奏出“吻之舞”時，他們聞歌起舞，隨着優美的旋律跳起節奏感強情緒飽滿的三拍子華爾茲，扭呀扭，轉啊轉，浪漫地勾勒出一幅幅令人陶醉的圖畫，直到音樂結束。

        不久，男高音邁克•海姆向觀眾獻唱，其歌聲讓我情不自禁地想起意大利歌唱家安德烈•波切利。邁克能自如地掌控音區的變化，這對達到一定水平的歌唱家來說非常重要。

        再往後的節目均由藝術家們輪番出台，唱完了跳，跳完了唱。媽媽提醒我注意最後一首保留曲目，即約翰•施特勞斯“拉德斯基進行曲”。這首樂曲引子鈧鏹有力，節奏激昂，旋律豐富。其間，指揮安德拉斯帶領觀眾隨力度的強弱和節奏的快慢來一起鼓掌打拍子，我們積極互動，臨結束時，他有意將手懸在半空不動，結果大家無法控制自己的節奏而搶拍了一下，逗得全場觀眾放聲大笑。

        “向維也納致敬”稱得上年終難得的娛樂演出。無論從音樂角度還是字面意義上說，它自始自終帶給人美的享受。