Benjamin Britten歌劇作品《Peter Grimes》的英格蘭特質

Englishness in the Opera 《Peter Grimes》 by Lord Benjamin Britten

陳威仰(Wei-Yang Chen)

《關渡音樂學刊》 7期 (2007/12) Pp. 131-150

https://doi.org/10.29873/GMJ.200712.0004

摘要

20世紀上半葉當歐洲如火如荼開創出藝術的德奧式表現主義風格時，布列頓(Benjamin Britten)的《Peter Grimes》帶出了令人震撼的英國式歌劇，使得歐陸的音樂學者開始注意到英國音樂藝術的變化，並感受到英國風格正逐漸與歐陸藝術展開不同的競逐。英國學者Dale Harris形容該部歌劇為「人民歌劇」正是因為該歌劇正好反映了當代英格蘭人民的國民性格，刻畫真實的社會傳統。因此作曲家布列頓(Britten)之名幾乎可與「Britain」（大不列顛）劃上等號。本文主要探討布列頓的當代歌劇《Peter Grimes》的「英格蘭特質」，該部歌劇在歷史上真有劃時代的意義，使英國歌劇走入了新的里程碑，而布列頓也被稱為英國自Purcell以來的偉大作曲家。本文就原著、劇作與音樂三部分探討該部歌劇的「英格蘭特質」。原著詩作《自治市》以細膩的新古典主義文學手法表現英格蘭自然與人文特質，劇作者則根據詩文改編，以符合二十世紀英國社會的現象；而布列頓以音樂詮釋劇本，將Peter Grimes轉化成一位時代下的悲劇英雄。無論音樂、戲劇、或音樂方面來看，《Peter Grimes》都反映了鮮明的英格蘭特質。

關鍵字

布列頓 ； 彼得格林 ； 斯萊特 ； 克雷普 ； 英格蘭特質

並列摘要

In the 20th century, European composers made intensely the progressive expressionism in music on the stage, while the appearance of the Opera ”Peter Grimes” composed by Lord Benjamin Britten was convulsing the musicologists in the Continent. And further, they commenced to observe the change of music performance in Britain, in the meanwhile, to experience the competing for the divergences in the styles between the Continent and 8ritain. Therefore the very name ”Britten” is almost the equivalent of ”Britain”. This article mainly explores the ”Englishness” of the contemporary opera ”Peter Grimes” composed by Britten, which has an epoch-making meaning in British history of modem music, and for which Britten has come to the great position after Purcell. This text also examines such a distinguishing characteristic from the aspects of the poems, libretto and music in the opera. The original poems reveal the natural and humane idiosyncrasy with the exquisite strokes by neoclassicism literature. The 1ibrettist adapts the poems for the opera in order to accord with the phenomena of the 8ritish society in 20th century. Britten has transformed the character ”Peter Grimes” into a tragic hero in that period.

並列關鍵字

Britten ； Peter Grimes ； Slater ； Crabbe ； Englishness

參考文獻

Britten, Benjamin(1964).On Receiving the First Aspen Award.London:Faber and Faber.

Britten, Benjamin. “Introduction”, Peter Grimes. Eric Crozier (ed.), Sadler's Wells Opera Books, no. 3. (London,John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945)

Britten, Benjamin,Imogen(1958).The Story of Music.London:Rathbone Books.

Burnet, John. Early Greek Philosophy. 4th ed. (New York, Macmillan, 1930), pp. 132~41

Clarke, Eric O.(2005).The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature.Oxford University Press.