See PDF] Shortly after my first post-lockdown evening in theatre, British prime minister Boris Johnson proclaimed ‘Freedom Day’ – no more COVID restrictions, no more masks, no more social distancing, no more government responsibility – all kinds of shows, events and mass spectacles can and must go on. The numbers of COVID cases in the UK are soaring, as this editorial is being written, yet the public mood seems paradoxical – growing anxiety, fear and anger, on the one hand;on the other, a hunger to meet, congregate, huddle close to strangers in cafés, theatres, on public transport, pretending that the pandemic is over. A lively discussion ensues after the show, and later with friends on social media, and with colleagues in post-Zoom-meeting chats. Since its first performance in 1980, many of my colleagues and friends had seen Satyagraha in different years, places and productions, yet the opera quickly becomes our shared experience. In the foreground, together with the set, the performers and the orchestra – and at times even overshadowing what was taking place onstage – were other audience members: the couple seated next to me and my sense of relief at the sight of them wearing masks;and, as the newspaper sheets were shifting shape to become the giant puppets, the person in front of me whose muffled coughs seeped into Glass's meditative musical patterns.

中文翻译：

---

社论：反常态化

见 PDF] 在我在剧院的第一个封锁后的晚上后不久，英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊宣布了“自由日”——不再有 COVID 限制、不再需要口罩、不再有社会距离、不再有政府责任——各种表演、活动大众眼镜可以而且必须继续。在撰写这篇社论时，英国的 COVID 病例数量正在飙升，但公众情绪似乎自相矛盾——一方面越来越焦虑、恐惧和愤怒；另一方面，渴望见面、聚集、挤在一起在咖啡馆、剧院、公共交通工具上对陌生人假装大流行已经结束。演出结束后进行了热烈的讨论，随后在社交媒体上与朋友以及在 Zoom 会议后聊天中与同事进行了讨论。自 1980 年首次演出以来，我的许多同事和朋友在不同的年份、不同的地点和不同的作品中都看过《萨蒂亚格拉哈》，但这部歌剧很快成为我们共同的经历。在前景中，与布景一起，表演者和管弦乐队——有时甚至掩盖了舞台上正在发生的事情——是其他观众：坐在我旁边的这对夫妇，看到他们戴着面具，我感到如释重负；而且，当报纸的形状变成巨大的木偶时，我面前的那个人的咳嗽声渗入了格拉斯沉思的音乐模式。