布列頓 (Benjamin Britten, 1913-1976) 的歌劇《仲夏夜之夢》(A Midsummer Night’s Dream, op. 64, 1960) 以鮮明的角色性格著稱，作曲家以不 同的音樂要素和作曲手法雕琢人物與劇情，讓這部經典喜劇的戲劇性更上一 層。作為二十世紀莎翁 (William Shakespeare, 1564-1616)《夢》劇的音樂改 編之作，布列頓一方面引用相關的音樂典故，使此作與前人之作連為一線； 另一方面他又刻意避開精靈音樂的典型寫作方式，使此作和德國浪漫樂派保 持距離。布列頓《夢》劇最為獨到之處，在於他深察莎翁筆下的寓意，樂思 設計蘊含深意，處處突顯文字之指涉。本文鎖定布列頓歌劇重心所在的精靈 世界，藉由文學溯源、音樂分析及文本比較等方式，分別探討劇中的各個精 靈人物。透過不同結構之探索，理解布列頓如何詮釋莎劇的精靈魔幻。

Benjamin Britten’s (1913-1976) opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream (op. 64, 1960) is known for its vivid characters. With distinctive musical elements and compositional techniques, the composer rendered William Shakespeare’s (1564- 1616) classic comedy even more dramatic than the original masterpiece. In his 20th century opera version for the Renaissance drama, Britten linked his work to those of his predecessors by using musical quotations, but he also stayed away from the conventions of German Romanticism. Britten’s Dream is unique in that he was fully aware of the connotations implied in Shakespeare’s poetic lines and he was able to design the music in a way that can bring out the hidden meanings. This article focuses on the fairy world, which is central to Britten’s libretto. Each fairy character is compared and contrasted to his/her counterpart in the original Shakespeare’s play through musical and textual analysis. By investigating the different constructions of the drama and opera, the author probes into Britten’s interpretation of the magic in Shakespeare’s fairy world.