If, as I believe, art is a moral activity then a fortiori this is true of opera, which has a clear theme that (mostly) has been chosen by the composer and (necessarily) a text and narrative structure which—in addition to the music—can declare its artistic and philosophical concerns. It is clear from his very title of National Identity in Contemporary Australian Opera that Michael Halliwell has this same elevated view of opera: ‘identity’ and ‘myths’ are incontestably powerful concepts. Important ones, too: what sort of a society is it in which such questions are not seriously considered and, if not by its artists, then by whom? Neither priests nor politicians can be trusted with asking them, let alone providing answers. Furthermore, it is an intellectually and morally courageous author who ventures to analyse some Australian operatic works under such categories. Certainly, to do so at all—let alone successfully—requires a deep knowledge of the totality of Australian society (by implication, far more comprehensively than simply its opera-going moiety) over the sweep of its history and its regions, but also an insight into what can be considered tractable material for dramatization and a technical and structural grasp of the musical means which a heterogeneous clutch of composers has deployed to achieve worthwhile artistic fruit. Perhaps that last point should be considered first, because I do not think that Dr. Halliwell has touched on it. Far from being, as Dr. Johnson so glibly asserted (and has been remembered for his folly), an ‘irrational’ and ‘exotic’ entertainment, opera poses formidable emotional and intellectual challenges which few composers have managed to vanquish, notably the tripartite tensions between words, music and stage action. Consider the hundreds of thousands of operas that have been composed and the nugatory few that have entered the so-called ‘standard repertoire’, irrespective of whether that term is considered strictly or liberally. The truth is that acquiring the assured compositional technique which is a sine qua non before attempting an opera and—perhaps more importantly—achieving an authentic ‘musical voice’ is so formidable a challenge that few composers have the opportunity, or even the disposition, to learn about the theatre as well: about lighting, costume and makeup, dramatic timing, the importance of movement; about (in short) the ways in which a narrative and its ethical quiddity can be convincingly and comprehensively depicted (with engrossing waxing and waning of dramatic pace and tension) in front of a theatrical

中文翻译：

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当代澳大利亚歌剧中的民族认同：神话的重新思考

如果我相信艺术是一种道德活动，那么，话剧是正确的话，那么歌剧是对的，它有一个明确的主题，即（主要）是由作曲家选择的，（有必要的）文本和叙述结构，除了音乐-可以表达其艺术和哲学方面的关注。从他在《当代澳大利亚歌剧中的国家身份》一书中可以很清楚地看出，迈克尔·哈利韦尔（Michael Halliwell）具有同样高尚的歌剧观：“身份”和“神话”是无可争议的强大概念。同样重要的是：在什么样的社会中，没有认真考虑这些问题？如果不是艺术家，那么是谁？牧师和政客都不敢问他们，更不用说提供答案了。此外，他是一位思想和道德上勇敢的作家，他敢于分析此类类别下的一些澳大利亚歌剧作品。当然，要做到这一点（更不用说成功了），需要在其历史和地区范围内对澳大利亚社会的整体知识有深刻的了解（这意味着，其含义远比其所从事的运营部门要全面得多）。深入了解可以被视为易于处理的戏剧化材料，以及对音乐手段的技术和结构性把握，作曲家的这些异质离合器已部署以实现有价值的艺术成果。也许应该首先考虑最后一点，因为我认为哈利韦尔博士没有提到这一点。就像约翰逊博士这么断然地断定（并且因他的愚蠢而被人们所记住），这远非一种“非理性”和“异国情调”的娱乐活动，歌剧提出了巨大的情感和智力挑战，很少有作曲家能克服这些挑战，尤其是言语，音乐和舞台表演之间的三方关系。考虑一下已成百上千的歌剧，以及进入所谓的“标准曲目”的丑陋的歌剧，无论该术语是严格的还是宽松的。事实是，在尝试歌剧之前获得有保证的作曲技巧是必要的，而且也许更重要的是要获得真实的“音乐声”是一个巨大的挑战，几乎没有作曲家有机会甚至不愿意作曲。还了解剧院：照明，服装和化妆，戏剧性的时机，运动的重要性；