VOA标准英语2013--Blue Man Group Reinvents Itself Through Classical, World Music

 

Blue Man Group Reinvents Itself Through Classical, World Music

LOS ANGELES — They are blue.  They are bald.  They are the iconic stars of Blue Man Group. Since their first show in New York more than 20 years ago, they have traveled the world, and millions of people have seen the blue men in action - beating on drums and each other, creating music and comedy.  Now the performers - in black unitards, their hands and faced painted bright blue - are on stage with an orchestra and musicians from other countries. 

More than 25 million people around the world have seen Blue Man Group...but never like this...on a stage, performing an entire show with a full orchestra. Kate Evans, who has seen the original show, brought her family to see the new one.

“Loved the different combinations of music and the different instruments they brought in the fact that they stepped back a little bit and let other people shine was wonderful too," said Evans.

Around the world, from Asia to Europe, North America to South America, Blue Man Group presents a multimedia¹ experience with a blend of percussion², rock and roll, world music - and the bald, blue men are the stars.  All in black, the blue men play music, but don’t speak. It doesn't matter to the audience - their actions create plenty of physical comedy that transcends³ words.   

Blue Man Group performs its newest show with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in Los Angeles.  Principal Guest Conductor Thomas Wilkins says in this show, the blue men learn how to play orchestral music.

“Part of the night for them is experimentation⁴. Part of the night for them is about participation⁵ and collaboration⁶ with the group. But it really is designed around the music and the orchestra.  That’s a really cool thing and that’s very different for them too," he said.

Different, because the orchestra’s music becomes the focus.

“We hired an arranger to actually create music around the rhythmic⁷ stuff that is sort of in their [Blue Man’s]  natural mode of operation," said Wilkins.

The blue men not only share the stage with the orchestra, but also a kaleidoscope of musicians from around the world, including Japanese trumpeter Natsuki Tamura playing the traditional Australian didgeridoo...and the Brazilian band, Monobloco.

Just like the original Blue Man Group show, the new blend of music and comedy will translate across cultures, says former Blue Man Philip Stanton, a co-founder of the group.

“I think Blue Man is there to help us celebrate our creativity, kind of celebrate our ability to collaborate⁸ and be a part of a group and our curiosity. That’s the other thing that Blue Man is first and foremost, so these things we consider to be essentially⁹ human worldwide. And so a blue man is kind of an expression of those things," said Stanton.

Victor Solomon watched the show with his family and says people of all ages responded to the show.

“Everybody was laughing, babies were laughing and old people were laughing it was very colorful," said Solomon.

Blue Man Group hopes this new show will lead to more shows in other cities with orchestras from around the world. 

1 multimedia   

adj.多种手段的，多媒体的；n.多媒体

参考例句：

• Multimedia is the combination of computer and video technology.多媒体是计算机和视频技术的结合。
• Adam raised the issue of multimedia applications and much useful discussion ensued.亚当提出了多媒体应用的问题，从而引发了许多有益的讨论。

2 percussion   

n.打击乐器；冲突，撞击；震动，音响

参考例句：

• In an orchestra,people who play percussion instruments sit at the back.在管弦乐队中，演奏打击乐器的人会坐在后面。
• Percussion of the abdomen is often omitted.腹部叩诊常被省略。

3 transcends   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的第三人称单数 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• The chemical dilution technique transcends most of the difficulties. 化学稀释法能克服大部分困难。
• The genius of Shakespeare transcends that of all other English poets. 莎士比亚的才华胜过所有的其他英国诗人。

4 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

5 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

6 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

7 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

8 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

9 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。