請原諒我使用這麼強烈的字眼．這篇文章並非針對懵懂的表演者，而是針對那些為作秀而蹂躪歌劇的成人。
Please forgive my strong language. This article doesn't mean to point finger at the young innocent performers. It is, in fact, to those grown-ups who think they know "opera" but only violate it in the public media.
普契尼歌劇強尼史基基中名曲「喔！我親愛的爹地」，已經變成當今所有小女孩的「神童認證曲」．全世界的「好聲音」節目不斷地推崇各地唱得出這些音符的小女孩們．我讚揚這些小女孩們的勇氣，以及在擴音後能唱出這些音的能力．可是每次聽到嚴重的口音，以及毫無文字概念沒表情又到處亂呼吸的時候，我就有股無法抑制的衝動想把她們的「專業」老師以及毫無歌劇知識的「專業」裁判與節目製作拿來擦屁股．我很想知道義大利人看到這些節目的感想是什麼？覺得年輕人很可愛？或者他們會因為全世界輕忽他們的語言而感到被冒犯?
"O mio babbino caro" has become the "certificate" as a proof of child prodigies on talent shows around the world. I praise and admire their courage of being on stage and the ability to sing all the notes clearly through the PA system. However, it bothers me when their "professional" teachers, "professional" judges and media praise them as goddesses when they clearly show no understanding of words by making all kinds of mispronunciations starting from breaking the words with random breaths every other syllable and etc. It makes me sick, sad and angry. I wonder how Italians feel when they see these on TV. Cute perhaps? Or they may feel offended because the media around the world seems to care very little about their language?
也許會有人覺得我幹麻這麼嚴苛？我並不覺得這是嚴苛的要求而是對演出者的尊重，因為好的樂評就會從這種基本面開始仔細檢視職業歌手．相反的，若指導者的態度是年輕人怎樣都沒關係，其實是對年輕人能力不信任的差別待遇與輕視表現．事實上，我很期待能聽到成功表現出音與意的年輕人．畢竟，文字是歌劇的根基．若有人只是想炫耀高音，可以尖叫或把自己母語會唱的歌移高就好．如果有人想引歌劇之名，請尊重歌劇藝術腳踏實地準備起．
People may wonder why must I be so critical. I don't think I am being critical but respectful to any performer who claims to sing any opera. This is the least the professional music critics do when they review professional artists. On the contrary, if anyone lets the young singers have all-they-can-make mistakes because this person assumes that they are too young to understand, it just shows how ignorant this person is. And in fact, I am very looking forward to hearing young beautiful voices with full knowledge of words. After all, words are the heart of operas. If anyone wants to show how high the voice can go, just scream or just transpose any other tune he or she has known in his or her mother tongue. If anyone wants to relate himself to "opera", please have some respect to the art form by preparing from the root of the opera first.
我小時候不懂為什麼有人會說「這曲子太大了」，現在明白造成曲子太大的原因是只求會發出聲音的不求甚解．當孩子年輕時，能幫助孩子理解的其實是家長與大人．如果社會媒體師長親友不斷捧紅年紀越來越小自以為唱歌劇卻對文字完全沒有概念的歌者，讓他們以為這樣就能登天，當面臨年輕牌過期職場四處碰壁時所產生的疑惑、低潮，或更甚之負面情緒，是誰會出來為他們負責？
When I was little, I couldn't understand the sentence, "This repertoire is too big". Now I know that it means a sound making result without understanding why thoroughly. When kids are young, it's the grown-ups' duty to help them comprehend. When the society keeps praising younger and younger singers making pretty sounds without knowing what the words mean, these singers may think "it's enough" without the will to learn more. Until the day they stop being young, they may have confusion, depression, or even worse negative feelings because of the rejections from the professional stage in reality. And when the time comes, who will stand out for them?
寫到這，如果有人很想了解到底歌者對歌劇歌詞了解多寡，以下提供最基本辨識方法（已經足以打翻一船人了）：
So, if anyone wants to know how to tell if somebody understands the words in any opera, here is the easiest way,
上網找出歌詞，然後邊聽邊跟著字走．若無特殊戲劇理由，通常作曲家不會要歌手在字講到一半時換氣．因此，若有人在字中換氣，要不是英雄氣短就是對這些字毫無概念．
Find the lyrics online. Follow the words while listening to the singer. Usually, without any dramatic effect, composers don't want singers to break the phrases by taking breaths between syllables in a word. If someone does break randomly a lot, it means that his/her air capacity is not capable of singing this repertoire or he/she has no sense of words at all.
有些藝術家朋友常抱怨「普羅大眾」只會跟隨媒體附和，而不懂藝術的好到底在哪．也許媒體要付些責任，但「知者」也要有勇氣說明，才有機會讓大家免於盲從．
Some artist friends complain about that the general public only follows the media without knowing the essence of true great art. Well, the media is only partially responsible. The people who KNOW the art form also have to be brave enough to point things out from time to time. Otherwise, can anyone really blame the public for blindly following the only voice they can reach in public?
寫到最後，勉勵有才年輕人以及有才年輕人的家長們，有好聲音值得開心與鼓勵，若真對歌劇有愛，請尊重這項藝術，多花點時間好好學習它的根基．期待這些嶄露頭角潛能無限的年輕人，在未來有更傑出的表現！
At last, for the young talents and their parents, it's precious and wonderful to discover beautiful voices. If you really love "opera", please take it more seriously by spending time studying its base. I am very looking forward to applauding for more and more extraordinary performances by these young talents with infinite potential.
