[2005第二期]悉尼歌剧院的悲欢曲


www.zjol.com.cn　 2005年07月28日 　浙江在线新闻网站

　　古往今来，人世间大凡尽善至美的事物都难以一帆风顺，名闻遐迩的悉尼歌剧院建造过程便是如此。去年8月，笔者游览澳大利亚，绕着这座歌剧院盘桓三日，获悉这个歌剧院在建造中的一段鲜为人知的悲欢故事。

 废纸篓里拣出惊世之作

　　18世纪的澳大利亚曾为英帝国流放犯人的殖民地，1850年发现金矿之后人口才逐渐增多，工牧业也随之发展，1901年澳大利亚成立了联邦。二战后由于其特殊的地理位置和温暖气候，澳大利亚经济迅速繁荣，其东南方向的悉尼港崛起为国际闻名的大都市，文化、音乐等也有了迅猛发展。 澳大利亚新南威尔士州政府花去2万吨钢材用七年时间建成单拱长达503米的“创世界第一”的悉尼海港大桥，文化事业也有了长足发展，光是悉尼交响乐团就从 70人发展到近200人。1948年春，乐团指挥Evgene Goossens耐心说服新南威尔士州政府要员，希望悉尼作为州政府的首府，能像维也纳、巴黎、米兰、纽约等国际大都市一样建设著名的歌剧院以吸引成千上万的各国上流人士来旅游，并希望悉尼市能建造一座大型艺术表演中心! 经过长达七年的游说和听证，新南威尔士州政府在1956年3月终于决定在悉尼港建造“国家歌剧院”，并通过文告和各类媒体向国际建筑设计大师招标。政府认为要建，就建世界一流的。 1956年5月的一天，北欧丹麦年仅35岁的建筑设计师J·乌特松(Joem Vtzon)正在咖啡馆里一边品着饮料一边翻着建筑史料，当抬头看到澳洲政府向海外征集悉尼歌剧院设计方案的广告时，竟然加快了心跳。他卷起资料就往家跑，嘴里嘟囔着：“我要试试，我要试试!” 设计这个大型歌剧院谈何容易。J·乌特松年纪轻，资历浅，几年来他一直充当别人的设计助手，只搞一些小建筑；再说他也甚少出门，对远在南半球的澳洲悉尼情况一无所知。想当年著名建筑设计师贝聿铭设计巴黎卢浮宫的玻璃金字塔广场大门，曾在巴黎整整踏勘、考察了三个月，可J·乌特松从未在澳洲踩上一步。不过天缘凑合，三天后J·乌特松去首都哥本哈根图书馆查找歌剧院建筑史料，在咖啡馆遇到了五位来参加奥林匹克马术赛的悉尼姑娘。J·乌特松急切地向她们询问悉尼市情况，五位热心的姑娘便七嘴八舌地向他描述了悉尼港独特的风情和美丽的景观。 具有诗人气质的设计师被姑娘们描述的美景陶醉了。他掏钱请姑娘们吃橘子，喝橘子水，创作灵感如闪电般从心底涌起。他找地图、查史料、量比例、画轮廓，经过几个日夜，终于搞出设计图案，并赶在截稿日期之前邮到悉尼。入冬，悉尼歌剧院设计图案评委会共收到来自32个国家的233份应征设计稿。专家们经过认真筛选后，最后确定三份他们认为有可能入选的作品，而J·乌特松的作品由于构图出格及线条粗黑，早被一名评委丢到废纸篓里。然而谁知道后期到达悉尼的特聘评委--芬兰籍著名美国建筑设计师依洛·沙尔兰个性独具，他看了大家挑选的三份作品后沉吟不语，接着便要求审阅全部设计图纸，现有的图纸看了，他仍然摇头，表示不满意。他问主持人是否还有其他作品?一位评委说：“有一份粗俗出格的，我扔了。”依格·沙尔兰执意要看，便自己动手从废纸篓里找出了这份图纸。这一看，他的眼睛倏然一亮，直直惊呼：“这才是艺术珍品!”之后，依洛·沙尔兰以他那独特的慧眼，科学的根据，雄辩的口才，力挽狂澜，勇排众议，坚定而反复地向每个评委游说甚至论战，最后赢得多数评委的支持，于是他终于从废纸篓里拣出了20世纪世界建筑史上的一个奇迹! 1957年1月29日，J·乌特松的设计方案被通过，他击败了来自世界各国的 232个竞争对手，并领得5000英镑奖金，一夜间扬名世界。

两党争权设计师含悲离澳

　　 设计图案确定后，“国家歌剧院”筹建委员会正式由议会通过任命，J·乌特松被聘任为总建筑师。 歌剧院选址悉尼海港大铁桥东边，面对浩淼的大洋，前头需要抛巨石填海，艰苦准备两年，终于在1959年3月间正式破土动工。700万澳元的建设资金主要靠澳政府发行歌剧院的六合彩来筹集，澳洲民众热情高涨，认购极踊跃，百姓们说：“悉尼港将高耸起超过美国百老汇的更亮丽的歌剧院!” 由于物价及劳动力的迅速上涨，更加上J·乌特松追求质量、追求完美的执著，四年后的1963年才完工三个大平台，政府支付的700万澳元已全部用尽。当时是工党政府执政，在野的反对党自由党为获取民众的选票，便抓住悉尼歌剧院工程所谓“耗费巨额民脂民膏”大加指责，于是工程几次断奶断粮，急得J·乌特松坐立不安，焦急异常。 1965年8月工党政府下台，自由党上台执政。几年来攻击“歌剧院工程太超前，糜费纳税人的钱财”的一位铁杆自由党人当上了公共建筑工程部部长。他上任伊始立即下令停止向歌剧院工程拨款，一部分国内外著名的建筑工程公司便撒手而去。J·乌特松心急如焚，几次上书，但终因自己是一个无根基的欧洲人，尽管他满腹经纶，一腔热血，但无论如何都无法扭转局面，反对派甚至辛辣地讥讽：“你不过是借此扬名而已，焉知我们纳税人的艰辛?如果建成一座毫无用处的躯壳，你J先生一介书生赔得起吗?” J·乌特松被卷入了政党之争的漩涡中，他心爱的天才之作终于中途停工。1966年4月28日，他满含悲怆带上夫人和三个孩子愤然登机离开澳大利亚。临行，媒体记者追踪采访，J ·乌特松潸然下泪，缄口不语。 J·乌特松回到丹麦身心俱疲，不久举家迁到西班牙的CAWARIB岛闭门谢客，过起了隐居生活，这一住就是36年。 

举国欢腾 J·乌特松垂老荣归

　　 两年后，由于新南威尔士州政府人事更替，同时国内外建筑界、演艺界对J·乌特松设计的工程评价也越来越高，悉尼歌剧院于是又重新依原设计方案动工。不过此时的J·乌特松负气拒聘，州政府十分无奈，只得任命原J·乌特松的助手与朋友——悉尼建筑设计师Peter Hall、Lionei Todd和David Littiemore三人负责指挥施工。他们忠实地按J·乌特松壳型设计图纸，在三面环海的3万平方凸出块上，年复一年地建造起距海面60米高的共9万平方米的宏伟建筑。这座建筑白天太阳映照，衬着蓝天碧波光耀四射，雄伟壮丽；晚上万灯齐明，映着月色帆影和豪华装饰，显得金碧辉煌。此时不管国内国外，凡是看到歌剧院外形的，无不啧啧称奇。 更令人吃惊的是装潢之后的歌剧院内部结构：她内高如20层大楼，上下左右分隔有歌剧厅、话剧厅、艺术厅、电影厅、展览馆、咖啡馆、排练场、化妆室、游泳池等等大小900多间。高科技的电子灯光、现代化的音响与溢彩流光的布景，显得非同凡响。歌剧院耗资1．02亿澳元，工期整整14年。 1973年10月20日，20多万人围拥着悉尼港，为悉尼歌剧院启用举行庆祝会。大会由远道而来的英国女王伊丽莎白二世亲自剪彩，当晚歌舞厅首场演出是澳洲歌剧团精心排练的托尔斯泰名著《战争与和平》。演出绝佳，音响曼妙，气氛浓烈，许多观众在歌剧院里把手掌都拍红拍肿了。但遗憾的是隐居CAWARIB岛的天才设计师J·乌特松不肯出席剪彩仪式。伊丽莎白女王非常欣赏这座建筑，但也有一个大疑问：从海洋上远远看去，这白色弧形的歌剧院仿佛一扇扇满风的白帆；近看或从高处俯视，她又像太平洋几种乳白亮艳的贝壳；仔细考究起来，她又似多种艳丽的热带花瓣。她说：“好多臣民问我，她究竟像什么？我无法回答。这世上恐怕只有 J·乌特松先生自己才有答案。” 悉尼歌剧院启用之后，每年来参观的游客以20%的速度递增，1991年达到1500 万人。它每年举行三千多场演出和庆祝活动，每天晚上都有5000多名观众前往欣赏歌剧、话剧、音乐、芭蕾舞、马戏、现代舞蹈及其他各种艺术创新表现。悉尼歌剧院声名远播，成为悉尼市的标志和澳大利亚的骄傲! 悉尼歌剧院取得巨大的成功。1978年10月20日，州政府为剧院启用5周年举办庆祝活动。这次政府再次热情邀请J·乌特松出席，但他仍然拒绝；1983年10月20 日10周年院庆，声势更加浩大，J·乌特松还是不来；1988年10月20日15周年院庆，J·乌特松离岛度假，避而不见专程来请的使节；1993年10月20日20周年院庆，国内外三十多万音乐迷围集悉尼港举行各种表演和联欢，J·乌特松仍没有来澳。年已72岁的他接受了《澳洲报》与《泰晤士报》的采访，只是简短地说：“感谢澳大利亚人民和悉尼市各界朋友对我与我家人的关怀与盛情邀请。我也衷心祝愿澳大利亚如日东升，更加富足昌明!” 直到2003年10月20日悉尼歌剧院举办30周年院庆，全国民众关注着82岁的 J·乌特松能否驾临?澳洲元首与悉尼市政府先后派出专机与三批特使专程邀请，这次终于感动了年事已高的J·乌特松夫妇！当他们的专机在悉尼降落之时，全澳洲一片欢腾，悉尼港二百万人彩旗飞舞，人们像欢迎英国女王一样欢迎他!啊，世界上有哪一位发明家、设计师能像他这样荣耀千古留芳世间呢? 庆典高潮之时，当电视直播主持人问他：“歌剧院十二瓣弧形或圆形的建筑外壳，你究竟从什么东西得到启发?或者在你心中象征什么?”不料J·乌特松抚着满头银发微微而笑：“那就是普通的橘子呀。 47年前，我看到歌剧院征求设计方案广告，碰巧从五位悉尼姑娘嘴里问到了一些悉尼市容市情，心有触动，便请她们吃橘子，喝橘子水。那橘子剥开后一瓣瓣鲜嫩嫩、亮晶晶、甜蜜蜜的，于是触发我对悉尼歌剧院的造型构想。如果你还不相信，可以乘坐飞机距离500至2000米往下看。” J·乌特松沉稳的答语播出，在全澳洲回荡，引起全国民众的强烈感应。从那以后，悉尼市又推出一个“悉尼天上游——观看悉尼港，欣赏歌剧院”旅游项目。如今每天游客如织，笔者还挤不上队呢……

Drama of Sydney Opera House Story and Photographs by Zhang Yi Last August I spent three days wandering in and out of the Sydney Opera House during my stay in Sydney. I was fascinated. I also learned the dramatic story of the world-famous opera house. Australia grew up as a colony. It boomed after World War II and became quite prosperous. The Sydney Harbor Bridge, among other things, testified to the country's new fortune during that time. It was built with 20,000 tons of steel. With a 503-meter-long bridge span, it is the longest single-arch bridge in the world. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra, originally a small group of 70-odd players, grew to have nearly 200 players. In the spring of 1948, Eugene Goossens (1893-1962), director of the orchestra, began lobbying the local government to build an opera house that could match the grand ones in Europe and America. After seven years?lobbying and numerous hearings, the New South Wales state government finally decided in March 1956 to build a State Opera House at the Sydney Harbor. The invitation for the best design was sent out to architects around the globe. Jorn Utzon, a Denmark architect at age 37 then, heard the competition in May 1956. He was in a café sipping coffee and thumbing through some architectural history when he saw an advertisement for the best design for the proposed Sydney Opera House. His heartbeat quickened. He decided to have a try. Utzon was relatively young as an architect and his track record had not been impressive. He had worked as an assistant architect and had never been to Australia. Three days after learning about the competition, he went to a library in Copenhagen for references on opera houses. He ran into five girls from Australia in a caf? They came to participate in a sports event. Utzon asked them about Sydney. It turned out that they came from Sydney. The warm-hearted girls described their hometown vividly to the young architect. Utzon was fascinated and inspired. He treated the girls with oranges and orange juice. After working busily for several days and nights, he finally sent the design to Sydney before the deadline. The competition received 233 entries from 32 countries. Three designs were on the final short list. Utzon's design had been thrown into a wastebasket. The Finnish-American Eero Saarinen was to review the final designs before a decision could be made. Unsatisfied with the three designs, he asked to see all the entries. After reviewing all the designs presented, he was still not satisfied. Then he asked whether there was any entry he had not seen. Utzon's design was retrieved from the wastebasket. What was retrieved turned out to be a miracle in the history of the 20th century world architecture. It was announced on January 28, 1957 that Jorn Utzon won the competition and a 5,000-pound prize. He was appointed the chief architect of the project. Building started in March 1959 after two years?busy preparations. As labor cost and building materials costs rocketed, the 7 million Australia dollars, originally planned for the project, had been spent by 1963 and only three large platforms were built. Politics stepped in and the project was interrupted several times. Utzon was extremely worried. In 1965 a new political party came into power and stopped allotting funds to the project. Some building contractors left. Brokenhearted, Utzon left Australia with his wife and three children on April 28, 1966. After back to Denmark, Utzon and his family moved to Spain. Two years later, the Sydney Opera House was back on the agenda as the political weather changed for better. As Utzon refused to come back, his three assistants were appointed to take charge. They faithfully carried out Utzon's design and had the epic house built. After 14 years and 102 million Australian dollars, the house came into being officially on October 20, 1973. More than 200,000 people came to the Sydney Harbor to celebrate. Queen Elizabeth cut the ribbon for the grand architectural miracle. The grand Sydney Opera House attracted visitors. Tourists who came to see the iconic house grew by 20 percent a year. In 1991, 15 million people visited it. Nowadays it is the venue for over 3,000 shows and celebrations a year. On October 20, 1978, the New South Wales government again sent Utzon an invitation asking him to attend the activities in celebration of the fifth anniversary of his architectural masterpiece. Utzon declined the invitation. He declined again in 1983 and 1988. In 1993, over 300,000 people came to celebrate the opera house's 20th anniversary. Utzon was 72 years old that year and agreed only to appear in a brief interview at home in Spain. He expressed his gratitude to the invitation and wish Australia prosperity. It was not until October 2003 Utzon and his wife came back to Australia. He was 82 years old. The Australian government had sent three special groups to invite him back. When the chartered plane landed in Sydney, 2 million people came out to welcome the Denmark architect who helped make Australia famous all over the world. In an interview during his stay in Sydney, Utzon was asked to explain where his inspiration of the house?shape came from. Utzon replied that the idea had come from the ordinary oranges he bought for the five girls from Sydney 47 years before. According to Utzon, if one looks down at the opera house from the sky, one can appreciate the orange pattern much better. So I tried hard to get an aerial view of the Opera House, but too many tourists had the same idea. I was not able to get onto a plane and hover over the harbor. (Translated by David)

图说文字：

瑰丽的悉尼歌剧院 Stately Sydney Opera House

 

 悉尼港的大小餐厅里中国游客真不少 Chinese tourists are a common sight in restaurants around the harbor.

 

歌剧院音乐厅举行一场又一场高水准音乐会 The concert hall of the Sydney Opera House holds world-class concerts.

 

从飞机上俯瞰繁华美丽的悉尼港 A bird's eye view of the Sydney Harbor

 

蓝天碧水映照着悉尼歌剧院 Stately Sydney Opera House

 

歌剧院西边的海港大桥，单拱长503米，居世界第一 The harbor bridge, located west of the opera house, has a bridge span of 503 meters, which stands as a world record.

来源： 浙江在线 　作者： 云 飞