“崑劇傳統”在當代的意義：以《牡丹亭》“重構本”為例的探討

「傳統與創新」是當代戲曲的重要課題，但是，對於「傳統」的界義與內涵，卻似乎缺乏具體的論述。就崑劇而言，在悠久的歷史發展中，已然從全本戲逐漸提煉出折子戲，形成崑劇表演的「乾、嘉傳統」。當代「重構全本」演出時，究竟要如何對待這些乾、嘉折子，其實就涉及對待「傳統」的態度與方法，也直接影響了劇作的展演風貌。筆者以為，乾、嘉時期所形成的定式折子，雖是「崑劇傳統」的基礎，卻非絕對不可更動，亦非全部都是「經典」折子。在重構全本時，對於這些折子的內容與表演，或微調精修，或挪移刪節，或重新捏塑，其編創基準應建立在對折子核心精義的認識上。本文即以《牡丹亭》為例，嘗試從宏觀與微觀的角度來盱衡全局，思考如何在當代重構一部兼具思想內蘊與藝術價值的全本戲。

關鍵字

崑劇；當代戲曲；牡丹亭；折子；全本戲

並列摘要

Tradition and Innovation are significant issues in contemporary musical theatres. ”Innovation rooted in tradition” was a well-known slogan in the last decade. However, there are few discourses on the definition and connotation of so-called ”tradition”. Che Tzu (extracts refined out of the complete set of a play), for example, had become formalized and evolved into the ”Chien-Jia Tradition” of the Kungu Opera for centuries. On the other hand, theaters nowadays have reconstructed the traditional Chinese opera in a creative and innovative way. In terms of Kungu Opera, there were more than a dozen of formalized extracts and reconstructed editions to perform The Peony Pavilion. Therefore, the adapters and performers' manners and attitudes toward tradition had direct impact on the styles and features of their presentations. In my opinion, there exist fine adjustments and modifications to reconstruct a contemporary meaning of Kungu Opera. Take The Peony Pavilion for example, many popular extracts such as Quest for the Garden Saunter and the Interrupted Dream, Finding the Portrait and Calling to the Portrait are too classic to make significant modifications. The tedious and superfluous parts in some unimportant extracts, such as The Schoolroom, Infernal judgment, Encouraging Agriculture, and Asking for Directions may be deleted. Some of the missing extracts such as Painting a Portrait and The Soul Departs can be regenerated based on the traditional performance style. As long as the purport of intense sentiment and true love is well managed, and the conflict of sense and sensibility is plotted, we would expect a reconstructed edition of The Peony Pavilion that embraces meaningful connotations and artistic values.