A musical may be defined as a production for stage or film that typically involves music, singing, dancing and dialogue. Musicals are performed all around the world and may be presented in large venues or in smaller theatres or spaces like school halls.
Although music has been an integral part of theatrical presentations since ancient times, the modern musical only emerged during the late nineteenth century. Many of its structural elements were established by the works of “Harrigan & Hart” in America.
Theatrical productions that led to the rise of the musical are as follow:
• BALLAD OPERA & OPERETTA
Ballad operas and operettas both share qualities found in traditional opera. Just like the opera, these genres are both sung in an operatic style.
The ballad opera originated in England around the eighteenth century, and developed to become a type of comic opera. It typically featured farcical plots and light-hearted music that was mainly confined to ballads and folk songs that were interspersed with spoken dialogue. The Beggar 's Opera is an example of a ballad opera.
An operetta, although similar to the opera, is typically shorter than traditional operas. This genre is also much lighter in style and more popular in subject matter than the opera. The Beautiful Helen by Jacques Offenbach, is an examples of an operetta.
• VAUDEVILLE
The vaudeville is, just like the musical and opera, a theatrical genre but it emphasises variety
From the initial reaction to the announcement, everyone seemed excited as can be.
Three long, hard months of work all come down to just five shows, each two hours long. To have these musicals there is a lot of work to be done in a little amount of time. At Kings Junior High every performer is not only required to be at all of their rehearsal times, but have private one on one singing coaching, and donating some of their time to the building of the set. For a show to have a good outcome, every single person must be putting in a lot of time and effort, not just as rehearsals but at home also.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Final Test
One of the main themes in this novel was represented using the land. The Logans were fortunate to own their own land during these more racist and oppressed times so it was important to the family. The land could have been used to represent hope or the freedom the Logans had in the novel.
The musical also gives the audience more to think about with its different viewpoint of “The Wicked Witch” and how she isn’t so wicked which can be taken into the context of our everyday lives with the people around us.
In conclusion, The Wizard of Oz and Wicked are both very well known broadway musicals. The Wizard of Oz and Wicked each have their own story, but have the same underlying concept of the fantasy world of Oz and the tale of the Wicked Witches who live in it. There are many similarities and comparisons throughout these musicals many characteristics such as characters, theme, and plot which make these two broadway musicals so
Personally, Phantom of the Opera was the first musical I had ever seen. I remember being in middle school and my dad suggesting that I watch it and me shaking my head because I did not even like opera. Begrudgingly, I agreed to watch it and after seeing the whole thing it shocked me. I was so surprised with how much I enjoyed seeing every second of it. That show really got me interested in the theatre world.
Following Charles II’s coronation, there was an artistic renaissance in England with a preference for “scenery to poetic illusion, heroic couplets to blank verse… They demanded music, dancing and masques in the latest French styles.” To this end, The Fairy Queen was created, a semi-opera with “singing, dancing and machines interwoven, after the manner of an opera.” To clarify, a ‘semi-opera’ is a term which was used to apply to Restoration pieces which combined spoken plays with masque-esque episodes which employed the use of singing and dancing characters. When music occured in these masques, it was typically following either a love scene or that of the supernatural.
When I attended Shrek the Musical put on by Wylie High Schools Theater Department, I admit that I did not have high expectations. I had always enjoyed the Shrek movies, but was not prepared to witness the green Ogre come to life before my eyes. From the moment the characters marched down the isle of the auditorium, it was evident that many talented people had put time in effort into making this performance enjoyable and memorable. Shrek the Musical consisted of a tremendous cast, beautiful music, awe inspiring scenery in addition to heart felt imagery.
This was very improtant in Broadway musicals. In the musicals actors and actresses and singers would be given lines and lyrics to put together a story. How realistic the production is, is up to the writer and the director. These plays could be about anything, war stories, major successes, families, life in general, and anyother stories that the writers and directors came up
The traditional musical is supposed to be uplifting and have happy endings as the traditional musicals explored themes of the American dream. In the end of Sweeney Todd, Sweeney finally gets his revenge on judge Turpin however he finds out that he kills his wife Lucy in the process and as he holds her dead body his throat gets slit. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer after Buffy defeated the main antagonists a demon named Sweet this however, is not seen as a real victory by Buffy and her friends, because whilst they were singing and dancing they gave away all of their secrets causing conflict within the group. These are both unhappy endings unlike the traditional ending from the golden era of musicals. Another similarity these two musicals have is that the both have is counterpoint duet.
The Greeks were the first to introduce the concept of theater. As a matter of fact, one performer, Thespis, created the idea of a chorus, which was a group of people that expressed opinions, gave advice, and had the author’s point of view. The chorus would be the equivalent to the “score” in modern theater. The International Thespian Society, an organization formed to honor student’s success in the theater, was named after Thespis. In Greek theater, the place that the actors performed was called the “paraskene,” while in modern theater it is called the stage.
Both J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel use different aspects of music to compose important pieces of music. The baroque period is often known as the time when artists exaggerated their motion and produced drama through interpreted detail. Both of these composers used this baroque style to convey messages through their music. The similarity in their music was that it is in a spiritual manner. J.S. Bach’s style was a harmonic and motivation manner, which Handel’s is more of a narrative.
“The theatre, for all its artifices, depicts life in a sense more truly than history, because the medium has a kindred movement to that of real life, though an artificial setting and form.”
George Santayana
Drama is one of the genres of theatre where comedy, tragedy or actions may be other genres. While drama refers to the written texts, prose or verses composition, which become theatre only when it is performed on the stage with actors performing the role of characters in the text in front of the audience i.e. it is abstract and subjective, theatre is a live performance that meant to be seen, it is physical and concrete.
The renaissance period was considered the rebirth of several inspirational
Fugue usually consists of three to five voices that imitate the subject and has a bottom bass. This also had some variations with elements such as countersubject, episodes, inversions, augmentation and retrograde, diminution and prelude. Through the Baroque period society developed a major innovation in the music world, operas. An opera is a drama that is sung to an orchestra accompaniment. Operas caused excitement and emotions through society because it was a fusion between music, acting, and costumes that people had never seen before.
6. Take a single act from the Marriage of Figaro and, using particular examples, show how Mozart structures the act in terms key, form and texture. How does the opera critique the social order of the time?
This essay looks at the first act of Mozart’s opera buffa ‘Marriage of Figaro’ in detail,
specifically focussing on the key, form and texture used within this act.
Two songs that I would argue stood out to me the most within the musical A Chorus Line were “I Can Do That” and “Dance Ten, Looks Three”.
“I Can Do That” to me describes how anyone that is in the industry of theatre essentially got their start. Without trying to generalize, it often seems that there was a pivotal moment that showed to a person or a character
