最近剛落幕的2009年的 英國才藝競賽 (Britains Got Talent 2009)，有好幾個驚奇。其中最持別的是一位中年婦女 Susan Boyle。她長像平庸，身材寬廣，初看還有一點智障的感覺。她說她不曾被Kiss過，現獨居養一隻貓。為了照顧老媽而放棄她自巳的歌唱生涯，平常只在教堂唱唱。她老媽2007年過逝，享年91歲。她生前常鼓勵她去參加 英國才藝競賽，知女莫若母。

在初賽的時候，評審問她住那裏，她 village這個字也要想了老半天才講出來。加上已47歲的她，目標是要當歌星，讓人昏倒。觀眾在等著看笑話,"waiting for her to squawk like a duck". 然而聽到她的歌聲後, 大家的觀感立即180度的改變。誠如女評審 Amanda Holden所說的 "biggest wake-up call ever"。

她在英國造成一陣旋風，成為街頭巷尾最熱門的話題。她的videos 總計已超過一億人次觀賞。可惜她最後屈居亞軍。本來我想要介紹得到第一名的街頭舞團 Diversity。但是我覺她的故事比較有啟發性，特別是以下幾點:

• 真正才藝不須要美麗的外表 也同樣能感人
• 永遠不要放棄妳的Dream
• 中年人也有可為 唱歌跳舞不是年青人的專利

她初賽時最戲劇化: (沒法直接放影片,只能放 hyperlink):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9whxWNI7bE

I dreamed a dream from Les Miserables

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.

Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used
And wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted.

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame.

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride...
...but he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms
We cannot weather...

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
so different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed.

這首歌出自 Les Misérables 音樂舞台劇，劇本是改編自法國作家 Victor Hugo 的小說。被翻譯成 The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, 或 The Victims. 故事中的主角芳亭 (Fantine) 認為男人愛她，會跟他廝守一生，但他的男人造成她懷孕後，就遺棄她跟小孩，遠走高飛。為了她的孩子，她賣了她的牙齒，頭髮。最後只好把她三歲女兒給人領養，從此就再也沒有看過她的女兒。因為一個陰謀使她失去了工作，而淪落為娼妓，最後死於醫院。歌詞裏唱道：她對人生有很多的夢想 ，但是實際生活確如在地獄一般。實際的生活扼殺了她對人生的夢。

The Les Misérables 音樂舞台劇影片。演唱者是 Ruthie Henshall, 她是演出劇中的芳亭。她的歌詞多了一小段.

http://www.youtube.com/user/SusanHasGotTalent