在美国加州圣马力诺亨廷顿图书馆，人们聚集到中国园林里，等待一场别开生面的音乐会开场。

这是全美最大的私人图书馆，收藏有莎士比亚早期作品、华盛顿签署的文件、雪莱的手稿等稀世珍品。它同时拥有一个庞大的植物园，收藏着风格迥异的10多座园林，被称为“世界园林”。其中，就有一个“空降”的苏州园林，一石一瓦都从中国江南空运而来，由苏州工匠亲自打造。

这一天，这座风味纯正的中国园林，迎来了一批来自中国江南的艺术家——浙江音乐学院赴美巡演团。

对加州当地的主流社会而言，这是一场规格极高的文化交流盛事。首演当晚，财团老板、银行家、企业家们穿着正装出席，就像去大都会欣赏歌剧一样。

还有几位着长衫、戴礼帽、穿旗袍的华裔，他们在满场金发碧眼的观众席里十分显眼，仿佛从民国穿越而来。

“我们感受到了美国观众对东方艺术的一种敬畏。”浙音声歌系副主任张建化说。

江南音乐家走进美国主流社会

这次赴美巡演，浙江音乐学院艺术团受驻美国洛杉矶总领馆和美国“魅力中国”电视台的邀请，一行39人于1月28日至2月5日进行了为期9天的交流演出。演出活动集民族器乐演奏、越剧、舞蹈、爵士等各种艺术形式为一体，中西合璧。

9天中，巡演团从加州州立大学、亨廷顿图书馆到南加州亚太博物馆、驻洛杉矶总领事馆、道尼剧院（Downey Theatre）、南海岸广场，每天都在奔波中。9天中吸引了上万观众观看演出，并同时通过“魅力中国”电视台进行全球直播，当地媒体全程纪实跟拍。

由于演出的时段恰逢中国春节，来自杭州的艺术家们发现，中国的春节文化已经在美国盛行。

不论是亨廷顿图书馆的银行家们，还是加州最大购物中心南海岸广场的普通民众，都对中国春节的各种习俗耳熟能详。

“90%的观众，是美国人。”张建化说，“我们走入的是真正的美国主流人群。”

随后，艺术团受邀来到驻洛杉矶总领馆。中国驻洛杉矶总领馆总领事张平及其夫人、美国国会众议员、加州众议员和参议员等，以及南加州近600多位中美各界人士观看了演出。

演出在充满中国江南韵味的民乐合奏《采茶舞曲》中拉开帷幕。江南丝竹优雅华丽、流畅委婉的音色和旋律，把杭州西子湖畔的春风带到了招待会的现场。随后《敦煌新语》的旋律响起，透过悠扬琴声，全场仿佛置身茫茫大漠，远处的驼铃声声，缓缓讲述着“一带一路”新的辉煌。

民乐作品之后，艺术团还带去为本次赴美文化交流专门创作改编的爵士乐《茉莉花》，把中国流传最广的民间曲调和美国本土的爵士乐节奏完美结合，相融交织，交响辉映。

演职人员富有中国特色的服装，以及节目中熟悉的民间曲调，让现场观众感受到纯正的中国风和浓郁的中国年味。

演出的几天时逢大雨，但并未阻挡美国观众的热情。在亨廷顿图书馆的3场演出，500座音乐厅座无虚席。

演出由亨廷顿图书馆中国园林馆长Phillip Bloom博士主持。这位博士是个中国通，他认真地向观众解释每一个表演节目涉及到的中国历史和文化。

“他的博学让我印象深刻。”张建化说，“我注意到他讲解的内容，远远超过了我们事先提供给他的材料。在表演《梁祝》的时候，他把整个戏剧性的故事都为观众讲了一遍。”

Bloom博士则说，亨廷顿图书馆举办的有关中国文化的系列活动中，浙江音乐学院艺术团的演出是“重中之重”，他对艺术团的中西合璧及具有浙江地方特色的表演给予了高度评价。

音乐老师带整班学生来看演出

很久以来，外国人对“中国歌剧”的了解仅限于京剧。所以，当讲述梁山伯和祝英台故事的《十八相送》出现在美国舞台上的时候，它勾起了大量观众的好奇心。每次演出结束，媒体都会饶有兴致地围着那两个越剧演员。

“两位演员都是女性，然而祝英台是女性，梁山伯是男性，那么为什么他们穿的衣服款式却一样呢？”显然，不少老外被这个女扮男装的复杂戏曲剧情搞晕了。

但细心的观众还是看出了两位演员的不同，祝英台的服装是粉色的，她的唱腔也更婉转娇嫩，她的动作似乎也更女性化。

“其实这里还有更多的门道，祝英台面对梁山伯的时候是男儿态，背过身去就是女儿态。当然，第一次看越剧的外国人，是很难体会到的。”张建化说，“但他们依然能感受到这种艺术的魅力，比如两人在一个虚拟的桥上来回走，表达出依依不舍的情感，观众都能体会得到。”

“我们带去了纯正的中国音乐，并且是中国江南丝竹。”张建化说，“如今的美国人对中国的了解早已超过从前，他们在本地也能听到中国音乐。所以，当中国的艺术家来到美国，需要给他们提供更有特色的东西。”

在加州州立大学北岭分校音乐系进行交流演出的时候，一位教世界音乐的老师，干脆带着一整个班的学生跑来看演出。这场中国音乐会，成了学生们最生动的课堂。

要说最“水土不服”的，居然是演奏家的乐器们。

中国的江南气候湿润，美国加州太干燥，有一次，一位演奏家的琵琶竟然在演出前断了琴颈。

“琴弦的拉力很大，琵琶忽然遇到干燥天气，裂了。”张建化说，“后来我们用502胶粘上，拿电吹风吹干。演出全程都很紧张，生怕琵琶在台上断掉。所幸，一切顺利。”

除了乐器“水土不服”，演奏家们还要适应不同场地的演出。“平时大家都在设备高档的标准音乐厅里表演，去美国的时候却要面对一些声学环境并不理想的场所，例如购物中心，甚至露天。有的场地没有反听，我们准备的一些节目就无法演出。每到一个新的地方，我们都需要临时调整演出曲目，这对我们的考验很大。”

但这次短暂的美国巡演，让浙音艺术团的师生们感到充实和喜悦。

“7天9场演出，来不及倒时差，甚至来不及多走一遍台，却为美国观众及远在海外的祖国同胞带去了来自祖国的问候。有的观众甚至全程跟随艺术团，每场不落。每次演过过后，听到观众的欢呼，看到数次谢幕也久久不肯离开的观众，心中的感动与喜悦早将演出的疲惫、时差不适一扫而光。”张建化说。

ZJCM Student Artists Tour California in Celebration of Chinese New Year

At the invitation of Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles and Charming China IPTV, a delegation of 39 musicians, Yueju Opera performers, and dancers from Zhejiang Conservatory of Music visited California, United States from January 28 to February 5, 2019. The group mounted performances in celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year, which fell on February 5 this year. All the performances were broadcast live on Charming China IPTV. 

The first show was held on January 29 at the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles. VIPs present at the show were Chinese officials of the consulate, senators at state and county levels, local government officials, and business leaders.

Three performances were given at the 500-seat concert hall at the Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanic Gardens in San Marino in southern California. The library is the largest private library in the United States. Its collections boast some very precious historical documents such as the early works of Williams Shakespeare and manuscripts of Percy Bysshe Shelley, a document signed by George Washington. The botanic gardens are amazing. The Chinese Garden, one of the 15 gardens there, was built by artisans from Suzhou, China. They spent about six months constructing the first phase of the 12-acre garden, with all the building materials shipped from China.

The three shows at the Chinese Garden were all emceed by Dr. Phillip Bloom, curator of the Chinese Garden and Director of the Center for East Asian Garden Studies at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. “I am deeply impressed by his erudition,” recalls Zhang Jianhua, vice director of the Vocal Arts and Opera Department of ZJCM. “I noticed what he said to the audience at the performances were much more than the information we had given him in advance. He actually gave a relatively full account of the tragic romance of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.”

The student artists in this delegation were from different departments of ZJCM, including dancers, jazz musicians, Yueju Opera performers, and traditional Chinese instrumentalists. This arrangement was designed to offer a bright and delightful insight into Chinese culture in general and Zhejiang in particular.

The show started with Tealeaf Picking, a traditional Chinese music composition by Zhou Dafeng (1923-2015), a celebrated composer based in Zhejiang. This composition is widely considered the representative musical symbol of the province and is played in important events and activities associated with Zhejiang. A dance was especially choreographed and presented on the basis of this musical masterpiece at a stunning G20 summit night gala on the West Lake on the 4th September, 2016 to entertain the world state heads attending the summit.

The young players from the orchestral department of ZJCM played in Jazz style Jasmine Flower, a traditional folksong from the south of the Yangtze River Delta. The piece was especially adapted for this show in California.

Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai or Butterfly Lovers as best known to the west audience, was probably the most fascinating part of the show. When a show was over, audiences usually came forward to see the two young female Yueju Opera performers who interpreted the tragic romance on the stage. Some audience members wondered why two females performed a romance between a woman and a man. Explanations are in many things: the folk story which can be traced back to hundreds of years ago in Zhejiang, the Yueju Opera which originated in Zhejiang over 100 years ago, the Yueju Opera presentation of the romance, one of the most popular in the opera’s repertoire. Some audiences noticed the details that differentiate the two butterfly lovers.

This Yueju Opera showpiece is something rarely seen in the United States. That explains why it was presented on this road show. Another showpiece in this program was Jiangnan Sizhu.

“Nowadays Americans know much more about China than ever. They have access to Chinese music. We need something original and authentic to show. That’s why we brought Jiangnan Sizhu music to the United States,” explains Zhang Jianhua. Jiangnan is the traditional name for the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, and northern Zhejiang. Sizhu, literally "silk and bamboo," refers to string and wind musical instruments.

This strategy worked. When the ZJCM artists staged a show on the campus of California State University, Northridge, a scholar who taught world music brought the whole class to the performance. For these students, it was a rare opportunity to watch Chinese musicians play Chinese music.

The artists found it amazing that they needed to adapt themselves in the United States. Accidents happened. As California is relatively dry and the Jiangnan in China is relatively humid, the traditional Chinese instruments were affected by the dry weather. The neck of a pipa, a four-string pluck instrument that resembles the guitar, snapped before the show started. The neck was glued back and the glue was dried with an electric drier. The player worried all the time while playing on the stage. Fortunately, the fix worked and the pipa was okay.

Show venues varied on their road trip. They played even outdoors. Accustomed to the perfect performing environment back in China, the artists found it a little bit difficult to adjust to the different venues. But they made necessary changes in programs to create the best performance.

Altogether, the artists were happy to see their nine performances in seven days were a huge success. Some audience members followed the artists on their tour and attended all the nine shows. The student artists thought it a great joy to see audience applaud and they enjoyed standing ovations. 

(Executive Editor: Xinyu Xie)