We begin in the Malay Archipelago, in the sixth chapter of Joseph Conrad’s debut novel, Almayer’s Folly (1895). A dashing Balinese prince is on the run from Dutch sailors and seeks refuge with Rajah Lakamba, the elderly ruler of Sambir. After some deliberation, Lakamba agrees to shelter the runaway, and the prince bows out, leaving the Rajah alone with his dogsbody, Babalatchi. The scene is rich in sonic detail: Lakamba asserts authority by calling for silence then instructs Babalatchi to strike a gong; the dialogue is shadowed throughout by thunder, wind and rain; upon the prince’s exit we hear the ‘soothing hiss [of water] over the palm-leaf roof ’. It is in this newly calmed acoustic that Lakamba arrives at a final decision: Almayer, the Dutch entrepreneur at the centre of the intrigue, ‘must die to make our secret safe. He must die quietly, Babalatchi.’ The coolness of the resolution is followed by a request to ‘fetch the box of music’ gifted to Lakamba by a Dutch captain: ‘Through the open shutter the notes of Verdi’s music floated out on the great silence over the river and forest. Lakamba listened with closed eyes and a delighted smile ... while under the unsteady hand of the statesman of Sambir the Trovatore fitfully wept, wailed, and bade good-bye to his Leonore [sic] again and again in a mournful round of tearful and endless iteration.’ There are many operatic excerpts in nineteenth-century novels, but this one seems particularly appropriate to Conrad’s colonial tale. As Verdi once wrote: ‘In the heart of Africa or the Indies you will always hear Il trovatore.’ This half-boastful, half-weary claim was reprised by Julian Budden in his biography of the composer: ‘From its première in 1853 until it was overtaken by Gounod’s Faust [Il trovatore] was the most popular opera in the entire repertoire. Parodies of it sprang up everywhere. “Ah, che la morte ognora” and “Il balen” were to be heard on every barrel organ and street piano in the world.’ Without wishing to collude in exaggeration, we might say that Verdi’s early reception was stalked by the spectre of musical ubiquity. And among the maestro’s many creations, few travelled as far or as low as Manrico’s prison tower lament. Crucially, it seems the troubadour was most mobile when taken out of context. Despite the dramatic, stylistic and spatial complexity routinely ascribed to

中文翻译：

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Manrico应该逃脱吗？威尔第，“ Miserere…啊，che la morte ognora”（莱奥诺拉，曼里科），《不法之徒》，第四幕

我们从马来群岛开始，约瑟夫·康拉德（Joseph Conrad）的处女作《阿尔玛耶的愚蠢》（1895年）第六章。一位勇敢的巴厘岛王子从荷兰水手手中逃离，并与桑比尔的年长统治者拉贾·拉坎巴（Rajah Lakamba）寻求庇护。经过一番商议，Lakamba同意庇护逃亡者，王子屈身离开，将拉贾与他的犬身Babalatchi留在了一起。现场充满了声音的细节：拉坎巴（Lakamba）呼吁保持沉默，以示威权，然后指示巴巴拉奇（Babalatchi）打锣；整个对话都被雷声，大风和雨水笼罩。在王子的出口处，我们听到“棕榈叶屋顶上的（水）舒缓的嘶嘶声”。正是在这种新近平静的声音中，Lakamba做出了最终决定：处于阴谋诡计中心的荷兰企业家阿尔玛耶（Almayer）必须为确保我们的秘密安全而死。他必须安静地死，巴巴拉奇。决议的凉爽之后是荷兰船长送给Lakamba的“取回音乐盒”的要求：“通过打开的百叶窗，威尔第的音乐音符在河流和森林上的巨大寂静中浮出水面。Lakamba闭着眼睛听着，带着愉悦的笑容……而在Sambir的政治家的不稳定的掌控下，Trovatore一次又一次地悲痛地哭泣，哭泣，并告别了他的Leonore [sic]无休止的迭代。” 十九世纪小说中有许多歌剧摘录，但这似乎特别适合康拉德的殖民故事。正如威尔第（Verdi）曾经写道：“在非洲或印度的心脏地带，您总会听到Il trovatore的声音。” 朱利安·布登（Julian Budden）在他的作曲家传记中再次否认了这种夸夸其谈，疲惫不堪的说法：“从1853年首演起，直到古努德的浮士德（Il trovatore）取代它，成为整个曲目中最受欢迎的歌剧。到处都在模仿它。“啊，che la morte ognora”和“ Il balen”将在世界上每一个桶式风琴和街头钢琴上听到。不希望夸大其词，我们可以说威尔第的早期接受是音乐普遍存在的幽灵。在艺术大师的众多作品中，很少有人像Manrico的监狱塔楼叹息一样低迷。至关重要的是，当脱离上下文时，似乎民谣是最灵活的。尽管通常归因于戏剧性，风格和空间上的复杂性 che la morte ognora”和“ Il balen”将在世界上每一个桶式风琴和街头钢琴上听到。不希望夸大其词，我们可以说威尔第的早期接受是音乐普遍存在的幽灵。在艺术大师的众多作品中，很少有人像Manrico的监狱塔楼叹息一样低迷。至关重要的是，当脱离上下文时，似乎民谣是最灵活的。尽管通常归因于戏剧性，风格和空间上的复杂性 che la morte ognora”和“ Il balen”将在世界上每一个桶式风琴和街头钢琴上听到。不希望夸大其词，我们可以说威尔第的早期接受是音乐普遍存在的幽灵。在艺术大师的众多作品中，很少有人像Manrico的监狱塔楼叹息一样低迷。至关重要的是，当脱离上下文时，似乎民谣是最灵活的。尽管通常归因于戏剧性，风格和空间上的复杂性 似乎在没有上下文的情况下，出国杂物的活动性最强。尽管通常归因于戏剧性，风格和空间上的复杂性 似乎在没有上下文的情况下，出国杂物的活动性最强。尽管通常归因于戏剧性，风格和空间上的复杂性