In Berlin, 50 Cent’s “All Things Fall Apart” has just had its premiere, so that soundtrack might be appropriate. Or the continent can reach back to Giuseppe Verdi, born two hundred years ago, whose penultimate, and probably greatest, operatic achievement starts on the coast of Cyprus with a storm of fantastic violence and the opening words of its hero, Otello: Esultate, rejoice!
普林斯顿——如果要为欧洲经济危机配上音乐，可以有大把选择。在柏林，美国说唱歌手50 Cent自编自演的电影《土崩瓦解》德文版刚刚上映，影片原声配乐就很应景。或者，欧洲还可以向威尔第（Giuseppe Verdi）致敬。这位诞生于200年前的意大利作曲家的倒数第二部（也许是最伟大的一部）歌剧《奥赛罗》是这样开场的：暴风骤雨的塞浦路斯岛海岸，主人公奥赛罗惊世骇俗地大呼一声“欢呼吧！我们凯旋了”。但奥赛罗的赫赫功名最终却毁于他自己的嫉妒心。