Pandemic Woes Lead Met Opera to Tap Endowment and Embrace New Work 疫情重創 大都會歌劇院動用老本 轉攻當代歌劇


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讀紐時學英文
2023/03/10 第423期 訂閱/退訂看歷史報份
 
 
紐時周報精選 Pandemic Woes Lead Met Opera to Tap Endowment and Embrace New Work 疫情重創 大都會歌劇院動用老本 轉攻當代歌劇
Defenses Carved Into the Earth 深掘地表之下的防禦工事
紐時周報精選
 
Pandemic Woes Lead Met Opera to Tap Endowment and Embrace New Work 疫情重創 大都會歌劇院動用老本 轉攻當代歌劇
文/Javier C. Hernández
譯/陳曉慈

疫情重創 大都會歌劇院動用老本 轉攻當代歌劇

Hit hard by a cash shortfall and lackluster ticket sales as it tries to lure audiences back amid the pandemic, the Metropolitan Opera said that it would withdraw up to $30 million from its endowment, give fewer performances next season and accelerate its embrace of contemporary works, which, in a shift, have been outselling the classics.

疫情期間,美國大都會歌劇院試圖喚回觀眾,卻面臨現金短缺與票房慘澹的雙重打擊,如今表示將從捐款基金提領3000萬美元、減少下一季演出,並加速推出票房已逐漸超越經典歌劇的當代作品。

The dramatic financial and artistic moves show the extent to which the pandemic and its aftermath continue to roil the Met, the premier opera company in the United States.

財政與演出內容上的重大轉變,顯示疫情及其後果持續撼動這座美國頂尖的歌劇機構。

"The challenges are greater than ever," said Peter Gelb, the Met's general manager. "The only path forward is reinvention."

大都會歌劇院總經理蓋爾伯表示:「我們正面臨前所未有的巨大挑戰,前進的唯一途徑是改造。」

Nonprofit organizations try to dip into their endowments only as a last resort, since the funds are meant to grow over time while producing a steady source of investment income. The Met's endowment, which was valued at $306 million, was considered small for an institution of its size. This season it is turning to the endowment to cover operating expenses, and to help offset weak ticket sales and a cash shortfall that emerged as some donors were reluctant to accelerate pledged gifts amid the stock market downturn. As more cash gifts materialize, the company hopes to replenish the endowment.

非政府組織通常將動用捐款基金當成最後手段,因為這類基金是為了隨著時間成長,成為投資收入的穩定來源。大都會歌劇院的捐款資金價值約3億600萬美元,就這個組職的規模而言算少。大都會歌劇院決定在這一季提領捐款基金支付行政開銷、彌補慘澹票房,及應對股市下跌期間部分捐款人無意加速認捐導致的現金短缺。歌劇院期許在捐款逐漸落實後,捐款基金能獲得補充。

To further cut costs, the company, which is giving 215 performances this season, is planning to reduce the number of performances next season by close to 10%.

大都會歌劇院這季共推出215場表演,為了進一步撙節開支,計畫下一季將減少近10%場次。

The Met's decision to stage significantly more contemporary operas is a remarkable turnabout for the company, which largely avoided newer works for many decades because its conservative audience base seemed to prefer war horses like Giacomo Puccini's "La Bohème," Giuseppe Verdi's "Aida" and Georges Bizet's "Carmen."

大幅增加當代劇碼是大都會歌劇院一大政策改變。數十年來,大都會歌劇院極少上演當代作品,這是因為保守的主要觀眾群似乎較偏愛經典劇碼,如普契尼的「波西米亞人」、威爾第的「阿伊達」與比才的「卡門」。

But as the Met staged more new work in recent years, that dynamic has begun to shift, a change that has grown more pronounced since the pandemic: While attendance has been generally anemic, contemporary works including Terence Blanchard's "Fire Shut Up in My Bones" last season and Kevin Puts' "The Hours" this season drew sellout crowds.

但近年來,隨著大都會歌劇院推出更多當代歌劇,情況已有所轉變,疫情以來變化更加顯著:儘管總體票房欠佳,幾齣當代歌劇的門票卻銷售一空,包括上一季布蘭查德的「焚燒的火困在我骨中」與這一季普茲的「時時刻刻」。

From now on, Gelb said, the Met will open each season with a new production of a contemporary work.

蓋爾伯指出,從今以後,大都會歌劇院每季演出都會以一檔新的當代歌劇製作揭開序幕。

Gelb said that the company's change in strategy was possible in part because major stars are increasingly interested in performing music by living composers.

蓋爾伯表示,歌劇院改變政策,部分原因可能在於大明星們愈來愈有意願演出在世作曲家的音樂。

 

 
Defenses Carved Into the Earth 深掘地表之下的防禦工事
文/Marco Hernandez、Josh Holder
譯/陳曉慈

深掘地表之下的防禦工事

Near one of the deadliest front lines of the war in Ukraine, a vast complex of trenches, traps and other obstacles has sprung up in recent months.

在俄烏戰爭其中一條最致命的前線附近,由壕溝、陷阱與其他防禦工事構成的綜合設施,近幾個月如雨後春筍般出現。

The fortifications were built by Russia to slow Ukraine from trying to take Popasna, a town Russia captured in May. They are just a tiny part of an immense Russian defensive network spreading across Ukraine, a New York Times analysis of satellite radar data shows.

這是俄國建造的防禦系統,意在延緩烏克蘭收復波巴斯納,這是俄國去年五月占領的城鎮。紐約時報對衛星雷達資料的一項分析顯示,這不過是俄國遍及烏克蘭全境廣大防禦網的一小部分。

These structures could buy Russia crucial time to mobilize and train additional troops to regain momentum in the war. But Ukraine may test Russia's ability to hold these positions over the winter.

這些工事能為俄國爭取寶貴時間,動員並訓練更多部隊以重振戰場上的氣勢。但今年冬天,烏克蘭也許將考驗俄軍是否有能力守住這些陣地。

Trenches are not new to Ukraine. Trench warfare has long been a feature of the battle in eastern Ukraine for the Donbas region. Ukrainians fight from their own trenches on their side of the line near Popasna, where Russians are waging an intense campaign to dislodge Ukrainian troops from the city of Bakhmut.

壕溝對烏克蘭不是新鮮事。在烏克蘭東部頓巴斯地區,壕溝戰長久以來都是戰鬥的特點。在接近波巴斯納的防線,烏克蘭人在己方的壕溝中作戰,俄羅斯人則持續發動強烈攻勢,試圖將烏軍驅離巴赫姆特。

But the pace and the scale of Russian construction over the past couple of months is unmatched.

然而俄軍過去幾個月所建構的戰壕系統,建構速度與規模都與之前大不相同。

The fortifications show how Russia's military is trying to set up more robust, defensible positions against Ukrainian pressure, often with the help of natural obstacles like rivers.

這些防禦系統顯示,俄軍為了應付烏軍壓力,正試圖構築更堅固、防禦力更高的陣地,且經常借助於如河川等天然屏障之力。

Last November, Ukraine recaptured a large amount of territory in the south, including the regional capital of Kherson, pushing Russian forces across the Dnieper River. The river serves as a natural barrier, and Russia has built an enormous series of defensive obstacles south of the river to discourage Ukraine from crossing it.

去年11月,烏克蘭在南部收復了包括地區首府赫松市在內的大面積領土,迫使俄軍退至第聶伯河彼岸。俄軍以河流作為天然屏障,於河川以南建造了大量連串防禦工事,防止烏軍渡河。

Among the defenses are miles-long rows of concrete pyramids known as dragon's teeth and deep ditches called tank traps. Both are designed to slow Ukrainian vehicles and force them into preset positions where Russian forces can target them.

其中包括數列長達數英里、外號龍齒的巨大混凝土錐,以及名為戰車陷阱的深層壕溝。兩者皆是為了遲滯烏克蘭戰鬥車,迫使他們移動至俄軍能瞄準的特定位置。

Russia is also building miles of trenches, and pillboxes — small structures for their troops to shoot from.

俄國也正在建造長達數英里的壕溝以及碉堡,這是一種小型建築物,讓俄軍能躲藏射擊。

The fortifications could slow Ukraine's army — but they are effective only if manned correctly.

這些工事的確可能拖延烏軍,但只有在正確操作下,才能發揮功用。

If the positions are unmanned, they are useful only if there is an orderly Russian retreat, one of the most difficult tactical operations to conduct, said Philip Wasielewski, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

美國智庫外交政策研究所研究員瓦謝萊夫斯基指出,若無人駐守,這些工事唯有在俄軍有組織撤退時才派上用場,而這是最難執行戰術行動之一。

 

 
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