永恒的钦佩

小瓊：上个月，几乎全世界都在庆祝玛丽亚·卡拉斯（1923—1977）100周年诞辰。但在西班牙，我看到了一个美丽的展览，聚焦了另外两位1923年出生的杰出音乐家。

小薇：我记得曾经读过一篇新闻报道。对于全世界的音乐爱好者来说，20世纪最著名的女高音依次是：玛丽亚·卡拉斯、琼·萨瑟兰（1926—2010），然后就是维多利亚·德·洛斯·安赫莱斯（1923—2005）。

小琼：是的，这次在巴塞罗那罗伯特宫举办的展览不仅是向这位女高音致敬，也是为了纪念她一生的挚友、伟大的钢琴家艾丽西亚·拉萝佳（1923～2009）。两位女士都是巴塞罗那本地人，但她们来自不同的背景。维多利亚的父亲是巴塞罗那大学的管理员，她从小在校园的门卫室里长大。艾丽西亚的父母是地地道道的中产阶级，让孩子学习钢琴是合情合理的规划。两人第一次见面是年轻的维多利亚于1941年赢得歌唱比赛后，有机会在《波希米亚人》中扮演咪咪一角并录制专业唱片。两人首次合作录制唱片，从此开始了一生的友谊。

小薇：如果不是因为音乐，两人可能永远不会碰得上。即使是现在，你还能在网络上找到她们合作的唱片录音，包括她们在20世纪80年代一起演出的音频。

小琼：事实上，展览的名称“永恒的钦佩”，其灵感来自1989年维多利亚寄给艾丽西亚的一张贺卡；艾丽西亚当时正下榻在纽约一家酒店里。除了一束鲜花，贺卡写着以下的话：“这花束，代表我对你的艺术和意志力深深的欣赏和永恒的钦佩。”

小薇：我在网络上看到，展览展出了她们职业生涯和个人生活中的各个方面，包括她们在化妆间里使用过的物品，记录了她们参加比赛、录音以及作为巡演艺术家的经历。

小琼：1951年，维多利亚在大都会歌剧院首次亮相后，就经常出现在纽约，并在接下来的十年里参与了大都会在美国的多次巡演。那时离开她刚组建的小家庭是很艰难的。

小薇：当我阅读她们的传记时，确实有些东西引起了我的注意。两位艺术家都是西班牙音乐界的翘楚。她们为自己的民族与传统感到骄傲，并致力于同世界分享她们祖国的曲目。

Joan： Last month， almost the whole world celebrated the centenary of the birth of Maria Callas （1923–1977）. But in Spain， I saw a wonderful exhibition highlighting two other outstanding musicians born in 1923.

Valery： I once remember reading a news story. To the worldwide musical public， the most famous sopranos in the 20th century are， in order： Maria Callas， then Joan Sutherland （1926–2010）， then Victoria de losángeles （1923–2005）.

Joan： Yes， and this exhibition at Barcelonas Palau Robert celebrates not only the soprano， but also her lifelong friend， the great pianist Alicia de Larrocha （1923–2009）. Both ladies were Barcelona natives. But they came from different backgrounds. Victorias father was a custodian at the University of Barcelona， and she was born in the porters lodge on campus. Alicias parents were solidly middle-class， where piano lessons for children were expected. The two met for the first time after Victoria won a singing competition （in 1941） and was given the opportunity to play the role of Mimi in La bohème and make a professional recording. Still in their teens， they recorded together for the first time and a lifelong friendship began.

Valery： If it hadnt been for music， the two would probably never meet. You can find recordings of their collaboration online even now， including their joint recitals in the 1980s.

Joan： Indeed， the title of the exhibition （“That Eternal Admiration”） is inspired by a note that Victoria sent to Alicia at her New York hotel in 1989. Along with a bouquet of flowers are the following words： “With these flowers go my great affection and that eternal admiration for your art and your strength of will.”

Valery： I read online that exhibition includes many aspects of their professional and personal lives： items that they used in their dressing rooms， competitions， recordings and their lives as touring artists.

Joan： After making her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1951， Victoria often appeared in New York and on American tour with the company for another decade. It was hard being away from her young family then.

Valery： Something did attract my attention as I read their biographies. They were both great champions of Spanish music. They were proud of their heritage and wanted to share that repertoire with the world.