11月18日、国立劇場で歌舞伎を鑑賞した。今回は「歌舞伎＆落語 コラボ忠臣蔵」。
塩谷家の家臣早野勘平は主君の重大事の時にオカルと逢い引きをしていた。そのため家臣を辞め猟師となった。これは忠臣蔵、すなわち浅野内匠頭が吉良上野介を切りつけ、そのため切腹した話のサブストーリーだ。吉良への仇討ちに加わりたいと願っていた勘平は、妻・オカルの父親を殺して金を奪った悪党斧定九郎を猪と間違って撃ち殺す。それを自分がしゅうとを殺したと勘違いした。
人生の重大な局面で失敗した勘平。金を奪うも猪と間違えられて殺された定九郎。実は定九郎は塩谷家の家老の息子で没落した身だった。これらがドラマチックに展開する不思議なはなしの歌舞伎だ。映画や講談、浪曲で華々しい義士の物語ではないちょっとだめな登場人物が主人公のももう一つの「忠臣蔵」。
落語「中村仲蔵」は江戸時代の役者で斧定九郎を演じた仲蔵を、春風亭小朝が「役者の芸の苦悩」を話す落語だ。役者として下役から努力して定九郎の役を演じるまで出世した仲蔵が主人公。しかしその役は間抜けな悪党でセリフもほとんどない。ただの端役に息を吹き込もうとする仲蔵の努力の話を小朝がおもしろおかしく語った。芸に打ち込むとはこういうことか！
ふだんは歌舞伎には縁遠い私だが感動した。国立劇場は来年に建て替えになる。
National Theater "Kabuki & Rakugo Collaboration Chushingura"
On November 18th, I watched a Kabuki performance at the National Theater. This time, "Kabuki & Rakugo Collaboration Chushingura".
Kanpei Hayano, a vassal of the Enya family, had a rendezvous with Okaru at the time of his master's serious incident. As a result, he quit his job as a vassal and became a hunter. This is a sub-story of Chushingura, or Takumi Asano, who cut Kira Kozukenosuke and be forced to seppuku because of it. Kanpei, who wanted to take part in revenge against Kira, shoots and kills Sadakuro Ono, the villain who killed his wife Okaru's father and stole his money, mistaking him for a boar. He mistakenly thought that he had killed his father-in-law.
Kanpei fails at a critical moment in his life. Sadakuro was mistaken for a boar and killed after stealing money. In fact, Sadakuro was the son of the chief retainer of the Enya family and had fallen into disrepair. This is Kabuki, a mysterious story that unfolds dramatically. Another ``Chushingura'' where the main character is a slightly useless character that is not a movie, storytelling, or a rokyoku.
Rakugo "Nakamura Nakazo" is a rakugo story in which Nakazo, who played Sadakuro Ono, is an Edo period actor, and Koasa Shunputei talks about "the anguish of an actor's performance." The main character is Nakazo, who worked hard as an actor to play the role of Sadakuro. But the role is a goofy rogue with few lines. Koasa told a funny story about Nakazo's efforts to breathe life into a small role. This is what it means to devote yourself to theatrical art!
I'm not usually familiar with Kabuki, but I was moved.
The National Theater will be rebuilt next year.