“The House of Magic” is the latest new craze in Macau, operating in Studio City by the hand of Franz Harary. Forget all the card tricks, turtledoves or rabbits coming out of a hat, this world-class magician is considered the pioneer of magic on a grand scale, and had the opportunity to produce his own sandbox right here in Macau.

著名魔術大師法蘭茲．哈拉瑞(Franz Harary)精心策劃的「魔幻間」在新濠影匯上映，成為全城熱門盛事。在這裡，紙牌魔術，從帽子裡變出斑鳩或者兔子的魔法通通都是小兒科，因為這位世界級的魔術師是大型魔術表演的先驅，並通過這個表演機會把他的奇幻魔術帶給澳門的觀眾。

“It’s a place I was able to create to showcase the best magicians and illusionists on the planet. It was designed by a magician, for magicians, and it was created in such a way that it takes you on a kind of a magical journey throughout the world, throughout history, showing you all of the different incarnations of magic and illusion”, said Harary during an exclusive interview with Magazine & More.

Franz Harary在接受Magazine&More獨家採訪時說道：“在這裡我可以創造及展示全球最棒的奇幻魔術。這是一個魔術師為一群魔術師設計的。通過這個魔術，觀眾可以體驗一場穿越世界、穿越歷史的魔術之旅，欣賞不同的魔法和夢幻奇景化身。”

This one-of-a-kind multi-theater attraction accommodates magic acts performed by leading magicians from around the world and it was designed by Harary himself. “The biggest challenge was not magic, it was probably my own personal limitations. I’m a music student, that's my degree and what I know. In retrospect, I should have studied engineering, computer sciences and psychology because those are the three crafts that I use the most”, he said. For this creation, the magician uses a great deal of LED lights, which is something “new in magic” and also surprising because it’s not something very common in magic shows. “Magicians are afraid to have lights behind them, they want nice black curtains so they can hide their magnets and everything else. But LED is where we are today, so I wanted to use it, embrace it, but that meant inventing all new illusions specifically for ‘The House of Magic’”.

這個獨一無二的多劇場魔術表演是由Franz Harary本人精心設計，由一群來自世界各地魔術師呈現。“最大的挑戰並不是魔術本身，恐怕是我自身的局限性。我是學音樂出身的，拿的是音樂學位。現在回頭看看，我其實應該學習工程、電腦科學和心理學，因為這些是我用的最多的三種技能。”Harary說。對於本次的創作，魔術師用了大量的LED燈，這令人感到十分驚奇，因為這算是魔術界的新鮮道具，一般表演是不會用到的。Harary又說道：“魔術師害怕有燈在他們後面，他們比較想要黑色幕布，因為這樣可以把秘密藏起來。但是LED燈是我們成功的秘訣，所以我想用它，接納它，但是這意味著所有新的魔幻場景都是為「魔幻間」特別製作的。

Life changed by a magic set

一套魔術道具改變了人生軌跡

Franz Harary was just a teenager when he started getting into magic, an adventure that began at his 13th anniversary. “I got a magic set for my birthday and I was blown away by the idea that, as a little kid, I could suddenly do something that my parents and teachers could not. That is very empowering. Very quickly I started to become fascinated not on how these tricks work, but why they work, the psychology to it all”, he said.

當Franz Harary還是十幾歲青少年的時候就開始對魔術著迷。在13歲時，一場旅程開始了——“我得到了一套魔術道具，我被這神奇的玩意完全吸引住了。作為一個小孩，我忽然間可以做一些父母和老師做不到的事情，魔術賦予了我力量。很快我就開始癡迷於為什麼魔術可以這樣呈現和背後的心理，而不是魔術本身的原理。”

As far as his career goes, Harary started as an illusion designer for pop concerts, including artists like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Usher. After doing a lot of production design and effects, the artists had the idea to create a space, “almost a theme park”, that would be “all about magic”. A few years later he got a call that led to the creation of “The House of Magic”. “I came to Macau and met Lawrence Ho, he had seen a bunch of things I had done for MTV and took a chance basically. They didn't have room for a theme park, but they did have this space, so I said to create a magic world that operates on theme park velocity but uses a fraction of the space”.

他的事業發展至今，Harary開始以夢幻場景設計師的身份參與流行音樂會的創作，合作對象包括Michael Jackson，麥當娜，Justin Timberlake和Usher。做了多場場景和特效設計後，這些藝術家對空間設計有了概念，就是“幾乎是創造一個主題公園”，並是用魔術的方式。幾年後Harary接到一個電話，便有了「魔幻間」的創造機會。“我來到澳門，見到了何猷龍先生，他看到我為MTV的創作，便想著碰一碰運氣試一下。他們沒有創造主題公園的空間，但他們卻可以提供這個地方，所以我建議在新濠天地基礎上創造一個魔術世界，但只是使用一部分空間。”

Performing in Macau, however, is not an easy task, according to the magician, especially because the audience experiences so many things in this corner of the world. “The people of this region are being exposed to so much and so quickly that it has been becoming almost impossible to impress them. I am dealing with a very educated audience, but also I’m dealing with the attention span of a four year old because they see so much that they get bored very quickly. Here, more than anywhere, I need to keep hitting them over the head”.

Already operating for a few months, “The House of Magic” keeps trying to reinvent itself with new magicians coming and changing the line-up. Couple Kalin and Jinger, together with Raymond Crowe, are the artists currently performing in the same venue.

Harary說在澳門表演並不是一件很輕鬆的事，因為這邊的觀眾看過很多的各式各樣的表演。“澳門的觀眾見多識廣，很難有什麼表演讓他們印象深刻。我不僅僅需要為受過良好教育的觀眾表演，還需要為四歲那麼大的小朋友表演，而小朋友很容易就會覺得無聊。所以在澳門，我必須持續製造驚喜。”

「魔幻間」已經對外開放幾個月了，在這個期間持續引入新的魔術師和更新表演節目。Couple Kalin，Jinger,和Raymond Crowe就是新加入的魔術師，他們在同一場地表演。

Entertainment for the whole family

全家歡樂秀

“The House of Magic” is probably the biggest attraction in Studio City, but it’s certainly not the only one. In terms of entertainment there is still a lot more to offer, and there are other events that stand out.

「魔幻間」應該是新濠影匯最大的娛樂節目，但絕對不是唯一的娛樂節目。在這裡還有很多豐富多彩的節目和活動。

The Golden Reel is certainly one of the most impressive ones, which can be seen from afar. It’s the world’s first and Asia’s highest eight-figure Ferris wheel, raising 130 meters high, offering an amazing view of Macau.

遠遠看到的金色摩天輪絕對讓你流連忘返，這是亞洲和世界上最高的“8”字形摩天輪，最高可以去到130米，坐在上面可以欣賞到澳門全景。

“Batman Dark Flight” is another very popular attraction, especially for comic book fans. Originating from a collaboration between Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, this experience is the world’s first flight simulation ride based on Batman. Described as a “flying theater” 4D motion ride, the “Batman Dark Flight” will offer a thrilling experience for about 15 minutes per ride based on the superhero’s storyline.

“蝙蝠俠夜神飛馳”也是新濠影匯不能錯過的節目之一，特別是對於動漫迷來說。這個節目最初是與華納兄弟和DC娛樂的合作項目，這是全球首個以蝙蝠俠為主題的4D飛行體驗。觀眾可以跟隨蝙蝠俠的故事情節，體驗一場驚險刺激的15分鐘飛馳。

The younger crowd can collect happy moments in the Warner Bros. Fun Zone, a 40,000 square-foot play center packed with rides and interactive experiences themed around characters from Warner Bros.’ DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera Productions and Looney Tunes entertainment franchises.

而小朋友們可以在華納滿Fun童樂園享受歡樂時刻——這個佔地40,000平方呎的家庭遊樂中心滿佈華納兄弟與DC漫畫英雄，，《樂一通》及《漢娜巴伯拉》等娛樂動漫角色為主題的機動和互動遊戲。

Text: Pedro Santos

Photos: Pedro Santos & Studio City

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