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How the many pairs behind 'Cyrano' made music for the movie's lovelorn couples

时间:2022-12-19 07:59:33

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(单词翻译)

How the many pairs behind 'Cyrano' made music for the movie's lovelorn couples

Transcript1

Haley Bennett stars as Roxanne and Peter Dinklage as Cyrano.

Peter Mountain/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc.

Early in the movie named after him, Cyrano de Bergerac — played by Peter Dinklage — is talking with his friend and fellow soldier. A fiddle2 player noodles something folkish in the background when Le Bret (Bashir Salahuddin) says: "May I ask you a question?"

"Anything," Cyrano replies.

"It's a little personal," Le Bret warns.

Cyrano: "I have no secrets from you."

Le Bret: "Are you in love?"

Cyrano hedges, but quickly spills his guts3. Yes – he's in love, madly, with the beautiful Roxanne. His eyes fill with longing4 and pain. He flops5 down onto the table where he's been standing6... and he starts to sing.

"Have you ever wanted something so badly you cannot breathe?" he sighs in a low bass7, harmonizing with the fiddler (Sam Amidon). "Have you ever loved someone... madly?"

The words for this love song, and all the songs in Cyrano, were written by Carin Besser and Matt Berninger.

"When they break into song, all their sort of defenses and their guard is down," says Berninger, "and it's almost like their purest inner thoughts — which aren't highly crafted. They're simple. You know, it's just like, 'I just love you so much I can't breathe.'"

"And you do really sense that time is short for them," adds Besser. "That, I think, also adds to the intensity8 and makes it feel closer to, I guess, a feeling we associate with first love, and undying love and unconsummated love."

Cyrano is a classic love triangle about a brilliant but unconventional-looking poet who loves a beautiful girl who loves a handsome soldier. This new take on the old 1897 play by Edmond Rostand subs in Dinklage's small stature9 for the usual long nose, lending it a more grounded realism. Dinklage imbues10 the part with lived-in pain and pathos11, and he dives headlong into the lovesickness and bleeding heart emotions.

Haley Bennett's Roxanne and Christian12, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr., fall in love at first sight, but in order for the inarticulate soldier to impress the somewhat haughty13 hottie, Cyrano agrees to write poetic14 love letters to Roxanne in Christian's name — expressing his own love for Roxanne in the only way he believes she'll ever accept it. In his confessional song to his friend Le Bret ("Madly"), Cyrano spells it out: "She's gonna laugh at the one that brings her love... like this," he sings, gesturing to his body.

Roxanne dreams and sings of "someone to say that they can't live without me and they'll be there forever." Cyrano pines for her in private: "Sorrow and glory and blinding euphoria — everything's there in your name." The heart of the score is "Overcome," where Cyrano sings from the shadows, pretending to be Christian and pouring out his true feelings in disguise, with Roxanne duetting from her balcony.

"What is it you're so afraid of losing?" she asks in song. "That I might lose everything," he admits, "if I lose the pain."

Everyone in the film is too proud to come clean and say what they really feel. It's the story of lovelorn couples, trying and failing to communicate — communicated in song by a bunch of couples.

Lyricists Besser and Berninger have been in love since 2003, and married since 2007. They've often co-written words for Berninger's band: The National.

"It's definitely always seamless, and always really easy," jokes Besser who, like Cyrano, is a poet. "We do spend a funny amount of time talking about the process," she says. "I think because these songs were going to be performed [by actors], it felt new to us, and that was really exciting. We had a lot of fun pretending to be these characters as we would work it out."

Cyrano is uniquely the product of couples or pairs in long-term relationships. It was first conceived in 2018 as a stage play by writer Erica Schmidt, who is married to Dinklage. It wasn't originally going to be a musical, but Schmidt — a fan of The National — reached out to Berninger to supply a few songs. As he always does, Berninger called up Bryce and Aaron Dessner, the band's composer twins.

"The original idea was that music would be continuous," says Bryce, who offered Schmidt a folder15 full of "pre-song" ideas he and Aaron had already cooked up. "I think Erica fell in love with a lot of our demos, our instrumental sketches16, and wanted music to kind of play under the dialogue and then play into the songs."

Before they knew it, the Dessner brothers were composing a full songbook with Berninger and Besser.

Joe Wright, the English director of Atonement and Pride and Prejudice (2005), adapted Schmidt's play into the new film starring Bennett — his partner. Like Bennett, Dinklage is foremost an actor, although he did sing in a rock band called Whizzy in the '90s. But Berninger liked that this was a non-traditional "musical" – featuring actors singing as opposed to singers acting17.

"Peter and I talked about this," Berninger says. "It wasn't about having this operatic voice or the technical skill of the singer. Because I don't have the kind of technical skill that most capital-S singers have, but I'm good at embodying18 a character ... so that was a good fit with Peter. He didn't have to worry so much about how hard the song was going to be to sing — he just had to be himself, and just be a great actor, and hit a few notes."

The characters in Cyrano don't burst into arias19 or showstopping showtunes. The songs — which the Dessners dramatically revised and added to for the film version — are meditative20 and rolling, like folk-rock recitative. Bryce, a classically trained composer of concert music, did ornament21 their casual melodies with orchestration inspired by the baroque architecture of Noto, Sicily, where the film was shot and some of the score was recorded. But the overall effect is an ever-flowing river that these melodized emotions bob up from organically, sweeping22 up a willing audience who might not necessarily go for capital-M musical theater.

"If you think about every rom-com with a karaoke scene," says Besser, "singing is just another way to know each other better."

In a way, Cyrano is an extension of the 20-year project Berninger has been building with The National.

"Before I met Carin, I was writing so much about my own angst," he says. "And then meeting Carin, and meeting somebody who was a poet and a writer, added a whole other sort of dimension to the way I thought of myself, and she changed the way I wrote."

"Most of what I've been writing, and we've been writing together, is the evolution of that naive23 sense of love and partnership24 and marriage and commitment and openness — and letting each other see [our] worst sides," he adds. "All of that is a slow, slow process, and the longer you're together... it never stops, the getting to know your partner. We change as time goes on. I think everybody — Erica and Peter, and Joe and Haley — knows how complicated love is, and how painful it can be in so many different types of ways. And then, also, how beautiful it can be over time."

For Cyrano, Berninger and company had to reach back into the feeling of almost a puppy love — overly romanticized, euphoric and drug-like. But he says that isn't too hard when you've got the Brothers Dessner on your team.

"They're very emotional musicians," Berninger says. "I think fans of the band are romantic, and really love to wallow in their own emotional mess. Aaron and Bryce's music... I don't know if it's because they're brothers or where it comes from, but it's so packed with romance, and emotion, and pain, and longing. It's very emotional water for me to swim around in when I'm writing. I think that's why Erica approached us. We all had that same tendency to want to just feel all those big, big dramatic emotions. We want to swim around in the lovelorn-ness of everything."

It was the first time Berninger had attempted narrative25 songwriting, although these songs don't really concern themselves with plot exposition. Like his writing for The National, they're conversational26 and interior, expressing an emotional state.

Aaron Dessner talks about the "weird27, magic connection that we have with Matt, where we can write music, and he then pulls a subject out of the air. He'll be the first to say he feels like it's already kind of speaking to him. So it was really magical to have an actual clear narrative to respond to, and to write songs for, because usually when we're writing music it's sort of like a very vague emotional feeling that we're writing toward. This was more concrete, and I think it came naturally."

Besser admits she's probably the least emo of the bunch — "yeah, maybe my natural tendency of what to share would probably be much more coded" — but the emotional register of the Cyrano team undeniably matched the material. And the fact that they're all pairs, either romantic or fraternal, turned this movie musical romance into a genuine lovefest.

"There's intense love between us, really," says Bryce Dessner. "And I think that when we write for each other, there's always a feeling of doing your best work for the people that you care about."

Cyrano was filmed during the height of the pandemic, which forced a physical separation between the members of The National family for the first time in twenty years. It was the longest Bryce and Aaron had been apart since they were born.

"No matter how long we've been doing it," Bryce says, "it never gets old to try to make something beautiful with your family.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
2 fiddle GgYzm     
n.小提琴;vi.拉提琴;不停拨弄,乱动
参考例句:
  • She plays the fiddle well.她小提琴拉得好。
  • Don't fiddle with the typewriter.不要摆弄那架打字机了。
3 guts Yraziv     
v.狼吞虎咽,贪婪地吃,飞碟游戏(比赛双方每组5人,相距15码,互相掷接飞碟);毁坏(建筑物等)的内部( gut的第三人称单数 );取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 );内脏;消化道的下段;肠
参考例句:
  • I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净,我只需烧一下即可。
  • Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 longing 98bzd     
n.(for)渴望
参考例句:
  • Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
  • His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。
5 flops 7ad47e4b5d17f79e9fda2e5861f3ae87     
n.失败( flop的名词复数 )v.(指书、戏剧等)彻底失败( flop的第三人称单数 );(因疲惫而)猛然坐下;(笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地)移动或落下;砸锅
参考例句:
  • a pair of flip-flops 一双人字拖鞋
  • HPC environments are often measured in terms of FLoating point Operations Per Second (FLOPS) . HPC环境通常以每秒浮点运算次数(FLOPS)加以度量。 来自互联网
6 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
7 bass APUyY     
n.男低音(歌手);低音乐器;低音大提琴
参考例句:
  • He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
  • The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。
8 intensity 45Ixd     
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度
参考例句:
  • I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
  • The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。
9 stature ruLw8     
n.(高度)水平,(高度)境界,身高,身材
参考例句:
  • He is five feet five inches in stature.他身高5英尺5英寸。
  • The dress models are tall of stature.时装模特儿的身材都较高。
10 imbues ac091e585acdf93211e8c67461f60fe9     
v.使(某人/某事)充满或激起(感情等)( imbue的第三人称单数 );使充满;灌输;激发(强烈感情或品质等)
参考例句:
  • Love for one's fellow creatures imbues every line of the drawing. 这张画的每一根线条都浸透着这种感情。 来自辞典例句
  • We cannot assume that merely learning a language imbues one with any kind of value system. 我们不能假定说,学习某种语文就会吸收某种价值观。 来自互联网
11 pathos dLkx2     
n.哀婉,悲怆
参考例句:
  • The pathos of the situation brought tears to our eyes.情况令人怜悯,看得我们不禁流泪。
  • There is abundant pathos in her words.她的话里富有动人哀怜的力量。
12 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
13 haughty 4dKzq     
adj.傲慢的,高傲的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a haughty look and walked away.他向我摆出傲慢的表情后走开。
  • They were displeased with her haughty airs.他们讨厌她高傲的派头。
14 poetic b2PzT     
adj.富有诗意的,有诗人气质的,善于抒情的
参考例句:
  • His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
  • His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。
15 folder KjixL     
n.纸夹,文件夹
参考例句:
  • Peter returned the plan and charts to their folder.彼得把这份计划和表格放回文件夹中。
  • He draws the document from its folder.他把文件从硬纸夹里抽出来。
16 sketches 8d492ee1b1a5d72e6468fd0914f4a701     
n.草图( sketch的名词复数 );素描;速写;梗概
参考例句:
  • The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
  • You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
18 embodying 6e759eac57252cfdb6d5d502ccc75f4b     
v.表现( embody的现在分词 );象征;包括;包含
参考例句:
  • Every instrument constitutes an independent contract embodying a payment obligation. 每张票据都构成一份独立的体现支付义务的合同。 来自口语例句
  • Fowth, The aesthetical transcendency and the beauty embodying the man's liberty. \" 第四部分:审美的超越和作为人类自由最终体现的“美”。 来自互联网
19 arias 54a9f17a5cd5c87c2c2f192e7480ccb1     
n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Can you pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage? 你能听出这段管弦乐曲里有歌剧式的咏叹调吗? 来自辞典例句
  • The actions are large and colour, there are arias and recitatives. 动作夸张而华美,有唱段也有宣叙部。 来自辞典例句
20 meditative Djpyr     
adj.沉思的,冥想的
参考例句:
  • A stupid fellow is talkative;a wise man is meditative.蠢人饶舌,智者思虑。
  • Music can induce a meditative state in the listener.音乐能够引导倾听者沉思。
21 ornament u4czn     
v.装饰,美化;n.装饰,装饰物
参考例句:
  • The flowers were put on the table for ornament.花放在桌子上做装饰用。
  • She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.她的前胸戴了一个水晶饰品。
22 sweeping ihCzZ4     
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的
参考例句:
  • The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
  • Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗?
23 naive yFVxO     
adj.幼稚的,轻信的;天真的
参考例句:
  • It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致,你未免太单纯了。
  • Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。
24 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
25 narrative CFmxS     
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的
参考例句:
  • He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
  • Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。
26 conversational SZ2yH     
adj.对话的,会话的
参考例句:
  • The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
  • She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。
27 weird bghw8     
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的
参考例句:
  • From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来,他好像有点怪。
  • His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

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