剧情介绍
Pacific Overtures is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a libretto by John Weidman, and additional material by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is set in 1853 Japan and follows the difficult Westernization of Japan, through the lives of two friends caught in the change. The title of the work is ironic, nodding toward "overture" as a musical form, noting that the initiatives of the Western powers for commercial exploitation of the Pacific nation were anything but "pacific" (or peaceable) overtures. Built around a quasi-Japanese pentatonic scale, the music contrasts Japanese contemplation ("There is No Other Way") with Western ingenuousness ("Please Hello," "Pretty Lady").
The original Broadway production of Pacific Overtures in 1976 was presented in Kabuki style, with men playing women's parts and set changes made in full view of the audience by people dressed in black. It opened to mixed reviews and closed after six months, nevertheless being nominated for ten Tony Awards. According to Steven Suskin, the score is "uniformly interesting" and contains "some of Sondheim's finest writing".
Set in 1853 Japan, Pacific Overtures follows the Westernization of Japan, mainly through the story of Kayama, a samurai, and Manjiro, a fisherman. The lives of both men are radically changed by the coming of American ships to Japan.
读到review说这剧act1非常好,act2是在失败地重复act1的情绪,不但没抬起来还垮了,也有道理,但不影响喜欢。太真诚了,身为东亚人感到有点畏惧(。万次郎和香山串起一盘沙的形式有点follies,不过分散得多。最喜欢也是前几首,reciter哑砺声音打进耳中磨得生疼,たまて的舞踩在叙述者的歌声里空空荡荡。桑为什么这样懂得这些纠葛情愫与美?连他们,或者说我们自己都不一定懂啊。桑说这是在“试着讲一个没有角色、仅仅关于概念的故事”,其实还是达到目的了的。
桑爷的[太平洋序曲]也许是不东不西的那些作品里最好的一个。它的目的是展现历史在突然向前跃进时会有多粗暴和残忍,而它做到了一大半。第一幕尚做到了优雅而形式感,而第二幕却并没为整个西化过程找到一条持久性的叙述体。最终当传统被现代逼进舞台角落时,我们并未在声声Next中追问历史与未来的关系。
分了三次终于补完了 masterpiece
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Best version.