Generally speaking, when a horde of animals takes over a major public building, there is a bit of an outcry. But when a mob of musical moggies took over the Beijing Exhibition Theatre in January, nobody really seemed to mind.
通常来说，一个重要的公共建筑物要是成为了一群流浪猫的聚集地，人们肯定都会有所抱怨。但是1月，当一群会唱歌的猫占领了北京展览馆剧场时却没有一个人有意见。

The hit musical Cats, back in Beijing for its second run after the original was cut short due to SARS, opened on January 19th to vast acclaim. Playing to packed houses, the 36-strong cast wowed audiences with their acrobatic dancing, spectacular stage effects and magnificent vocals.
1月19日，音乐剧《猫》在北京隆重上演，受到了观众的热烈欢迎。这是《猫》第二次在北京上演，第一次因为SARS来袭而被迫取消。北展剧场人满为患，观众为36名杰出演员精彩绝伦的舞蹈和美幻美伦的舞台特效以及莺舌百啭的歌声而倾倒。

Cats, based on Old Possums Book of Practical Cats by American poet T.S Eliot, is the brainchild of British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. In a career spanning forty years, Lloyd Webber has almost single-handedly reinvented musical theatre as an entertainment form, and his plays always open to packed houses in London's West End, New York's Broadway, and in theatres and playhouses all over the world.
《猫》源于美国诗人T.S艾略特的诗集《实际的猫》，由英国作曲家安德鲁?洛伊?韦伯改编成音乐剧。在音乐界打拼了40年的韦伯几乎是一个人就把音乐剧彻底改变成大众的娱乐产品，他的作品在世界各地上演，包括伦敦西区和纽约百老汇，看他作品的观众总是挤爆各个剧场和剧院。

Born in London on March 22nd, 1948, Lloyd Webber seemed destined for a life of musical genius from an early age – his mother was a famous violinist and pianist, and his father was a composer. At the age of 3, when he first went to school and heard other children playing musical instruments, he thought they were so bad he covered his ears.
韦伯于1948年3月22日在伦敦出生，他小时候就似乎注定要成为音乐家——她母亲是著名的小提琴家和钢琴家，父亲是作曲家。3岁时第一次踏入校门听到其他孩子在演奏乐器，他就捂上耳朵，因为他觉得他们的演奏糟透了。

By the time he was 9 he had published his first collection of music, and in 1971 he and long-term collaborator Tim Rice debuted their first Broadway production – Jesus Christ, Superstar. Telling the story of Jesus' last few days, the "rock opera" is very different to Lloyd Webber's later works and was condemned by some religious groups. Tim Rice was quoted as saying "The idea of the whole opera is to have Christ seen through the eyes of Judas, and Christ as a man, not as a God."
9岁时，他就出版了第一本音乐集，1971年，他和长期的合作伙伴蒂姆?赖斯一起在百老汇发布了他们的处女作——《万世巨星》。该歌剧讲述的是耶稣升天的故事，而其中采用的“摇滚”形式和韦伯后来的作品大相径庭，也因此遭到了宗教组织的谴责。蒂姆?赖斯曾说：“整个歌剧的核心概念是通过犹大来看耶稣，在这里，他只是一个人而不是一个神。”

In 1976, Lloyd Webber and Rice teamed up again to write Evita, a musical version of the life of Argentinian politician Eva Peron. The show was an instant success, and many believe it marked the start of Lloyd Webber's success.
1976年，根据阿根廷女政治家伊娃?贝隆的生平，韦伯和赖斯再次合作推出《贝隆夫人》。该剧一炮而红，很多人认为该剧是韦伯开始成功的标志。

Finally, in 1981, Lloyd Webber hit the West End with Cats, the first show for which he had written the music and most of the lyrics. Set in an oversized junk yard, Cats tells the story of a group of moggies who get together for the "Jellicle Ball", a night of tale-telling in which the cats will chooseone of their number to go to the mystical "heaviside layer" (don't ask…)
1981年，韦伯以《猫》轰动了西区，这是第一个由他自己完全谱曲并完成绝大部分歌词的音乐剧。《猫》的背景设置在一个超大型的垃圾场中，讲述的是一群猫为了参加杰里可舞会而聚集在一起，它们在一个互相讲故事的夜晚选出其中最优秀的一个去往神秘的九重天。

Since Cats, Lloyd Webber has had a number of hit musicals produced on both Broadway and in the West End- shows like The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Starlight Express and most recently The Sound of Music. He has recently been seen on UK television screens as a judge on the reality TV shows How do you solve a problem like Maria and Any Dream Will Do, in which he searches for actors and actresses to fill the lead roles in his productions.
自《猫》后，韦伯又创作了大量在百老汇和西区隆重上演的作品，包括《歌剧魅影》、《爱的观点》、《星光列车》以及最近的《音乐之声》。最近，你也能经常在英国电视上看到他，他在为《How do you solve a problem like Maria》和《Any Dream Will Do》做评委，以此寻求优胜者担任他作品的男女主角。

In his personal life, Lloyd Webber is a happily-married family man. He lives in Sydmonton, UK, with his third wife Madeleine, their three children, and their cat, Otto. In 1997, he received a life peerage and became Lord Lloyd-Webber of Sydmonton. His production company, The Really Useful Group, owns a series of theatres across the United Kingdom, and in 2006 Lloyd Webber appeared in the Sunday Times Rich List as the 87th richest Briton, with a personal fortune of $1.4 billion.
私底下，韦伯是个快乐的已婚男人。他和第三任妻子以及三个孩子还有他们的猫奥托住在英国塞德蒙顿。1997年，他被封为终身贵族，成为了塞德蒙顿的韦伯男爵。而他的制作公司在英国拥有很多剧院，2006年，他以14亿身家登上了《泰晤士报》财富榜，成为英国第87个最富有的人。

When not busy being a musical genius, Lloyd Webber's personal hobbies include collecting art, watching his beloved Leyton Orient football club, and reading.
在不忙于创作的时候，韦伯喜欢收集艺术品、收看他最爱的奥连特足球俱乐部的比赛以及阅读。

Notable work
主要作品：
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
《约瑟夫与神奇彩衣》
Jesus Christ Superstar
《万世巨星》
By Jeeves
《万能管家》
Evita
《贝隆夫人》
Tell Me on a Sunday
《周日诉情》
Song & Dance
《歌声舞影》
Cats
《猫》
Starlight Express
《星光列车》
The Phantom of the Opera
《歌剧魅影》
Aspects of Love
《爱的观点》
Sunset Boulevard
《日落大道》
Whistle Down the Wind
《微风轻哨》
The Beautiful Game
《漂亮比赛》
The Woman in White
《白衣女郎》