Jun 26, 2022 3pm Komische Oper Berlin
Barrie Kosky’s All-Singing, All-Dancing Yiddish Revue
Cond: Adam Benzwi, Dir: Barrie Kosky
Dagmar Manzel, Helmut Baumann, Max Hopp, Ruth Brauer-Kvam, Katharine Mehrling, Helene Schneiderman, Barbara Spitz, Sigalit Feig,
(scroll down for English review)
Barrie Kosky告別柏林喜歌劇院的最後製作，不是一齣劇而是一個歌舞騷，語言是意地緒語，即是過去歐洲猶太人最接近是共通的語言。最初以為Kosky會把美國的猶太歌舞劇的傑出歌曲做一個雜燴，原來他的視野更闊。話說美國猶太人直至1970年代，仍被酒店業歧視，即使付得起錢也難以和一般白人一樣，去邁亞密或拉斯維加斯這種地方過暑假。於是猶太人索性自己去看度假酒店，在紐約州Catskill Mountains開了很多酒店，有酒店就自然有娛樂，酒店多也就需要把娛樂辦得好。Kosky這個歌舞騷，就是想像Catskill在1950、1960年代的最後盛世時，會有甚麼歌舞表演。
雖然歌曲仍是以過去的美國猶太輕歌劇為主，但就像前天看的《埃及妖后的珍珠》重新編曲，達至最高的百老滙水準，喜歡看音樂劇的朋友一定會很高興。但選曲不只猶太輕歌劇，因為遊客們也是美國城市人（尤其是紐約），平時接觸的是美國文化，所以也有一些金曲的意地緒語版本，例如《My Way》、《Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head》，又有純音樂的《Can’t Buy Me Love》，有一段更是四個貓王上場表演，雖然不是唱他的歌。新潮以外還有老土的，包括把《莫斯科近郊的晚上》改成猶太情懷的《特拉維夫的藍夜》，或者《多瑙河的波浪》改成《第一支圓舞曲》。勁歌熱舞，用音樂風格建構出美國猶太人的文化氛圍，還有兩段猶太不文笑話。
我就想，香港觀眾一定會喜歡，就算不到別國表演，也可以成為柏林喜歌劇院另一戲寶。可是Kosky在場刊的訪談表示，這個歌舞騷做完這輪（直至七月初）就從此不會再演，因為這是他對這間歌劇院，以及它的歌手們的真正道別。
This is Barrie Kosky’s final production for Komische Oper Berlin. Before any scenic photos or videos were released, I thought this would just be a “Greatest Hits” of Yiddish operettas. But the concept goes deeper than that. Simply put, this is a Jewish version of Las Vegas song-and-dance. Back then, despite their financial affluence, Jewish Americans were usually refused hospitality in holiday resorts. So the Jews decided to build their own hotels in Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. As competition grew among hoteliers, so did the demand for high quality entertainment. This revue put up by Kosky and conductor Adam Benzwi tried to reimagine the Catskill shows in the 1950s and 1960s.
Tunes from Jewish operettas do dominate the revue but all these were rearranged and choreographed at our current Broadway standards. In addition to that, pop songs such as My Way and Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head are sung with Yiddish lyrics. There is nostalgia as well, in particular a Yiddish version called “The Blue Nights of Tel Aviv” on the melody of Moscow Nights, or a version of Waves of the Danube. Through music Kosky explored not just the music, but also the desires and struggles of the American Jewry. Pardon my French but there are dirty Jewish jokes as well.
Fans of musicals would love it for sure. Will it become another Kommi staple, like The Pearls of Cleopatra? The answer is a flat no. Kosky made it clear that this revue shall never be revived because this is to be a real farewell from him to this house and its fabulous singers.