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Musical Theater from the Opera Perspective
Beginnings on Broadway
Time Period: 1800-1870
Background:
The 19th century saw the development of American theater in New York
City and throughout the country. In New York, numerous theaters sprang
up along a main thoroughfare named Broadway, which became a hub for theater
and entertainment that continues to this day. During the Civil War, audiences
flocked to the theater in search of distractions from the challenging
situations going on in real life. Most theater troupes stayed in the North,
although actors occasionally crossed into the South to provide entertainment
for the soldiers.
Attending the theater to see plays performed was the main source of entertainment
of the day. Plays had orchestras that would entertain audiences before
the performance and during intermissions. Over time, the music became
an increasingly significant part of the theater experience. In 1866, a
Parisian ballet troupe was scheduled to perform in New York but a fire
burned the theater to the ground. The producers appealed to another --
theater that was preparing a play called The Black Crook -- and
the two groups agreed to join forces to create a musical extravaganza
involving a drama, an orchestra, and dancers. A resounding success, the
American musical was born.
Vaudeville
Time Period: 1875-1920
Background:
As the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th century took hold, Americans
flocked to city centers looking for affordable entertainment. Vaudeville
shows featured a variety of performers such as singers, comics, and acrobats
that were showcased in a series of acts and that were aimed at family
audiences. Vaudeville got its start in New York City but quickly spread
throughout the country via tours and resident productions in major cities.
While singers and dancers were a part of every performance, additional
types of entertainment included mind readers, contortionists, and acrobats.
Vaudeville audiences were active participants in the performances, and
their response to different acts resulted in whether those acts would
continue to be featured on stage.
Gilbert and Sullivan
Time Period: 1890-1930
Major Composers: Arthur Sullivan
Background:
Beginning in the late 1800s, musical theater was revolutionized by a
British pair named William S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Their music
was melodic, and clever, and their lyrics blended satire and silliness
into a variety of settings, creating a new type of musical that British
and American audiences were drawn to. Many of Gilbert and Sullivan's
musicals, including The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, and
H.M.S. Pinafore are frequently performed by opera companies around
the country, and there are theater troupes who specialize in presenting
Gilbert and Sullivan's unique productions. The pair's legacy
includes a higher standard for musical theater that shaped productions
in the United States in the 20th century.
The Golden Age of Broadway
Time Period: 1910 to 1940
Major Composers: Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Noel Coward,
and Jerome Kern.
Background:
In the early 20th century, musical theater became big business, both
on Broadway and across the country. With over 3,000 professional theaters
in the United States, and over 400 touring troupes presenting performances,
audiences for musical theater were growing steadily. However, because
of the focus on profitability and the high level of competition among
theaters, the audiences' tastes continued to influence what was
presented. New shows were created with the middle class and working class
in mind, and if a show was not well attended, it was quickly shut down.
This time period represented some of Broadway's most productive
years; new musicals were abundant, audiences were plentiful, and a new
batch of composers and songwriters offered musicals of increasingly high
artistic quality. Shows that found popularity during this era included
Show Boat, Porgy and Bess, Babes in Arms, and Anything Goes.
An Era of Prolific Composers
Time Period: 1940-1970
Major Composers: Richard Rodgers, Leonard Bernstein, Frank Loesser
Background:
The 1940s brought us Oklahoma!, from the prolific duo of Richard
Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. This musical marked a turning point for
Broadway composers, composers focused on creating a character through
music, instead of simply writing beautiful melodies. From that point forward,
all the production elements (music, choreography, design) were focused
on developing the characters and advancing the action. Oklahoma!
was also the first musical where all of the musical numbers were recorded
by the cast and orchestra and released as an album.
Oklahoma! was the first of many successes for Rodgers and Hammerstein,
who continued to create new musicals throughout the 1940s and 1950s including
Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of
Music.
The 1950s introduced another unique musical with staying power: West
Side Story by composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein was
the only conductor of the New York Philharmonic ever to compose a musical,
and it is no surprise that his scores are complex, with influences from
classical, pop, jazz, and Latin music. West Side Story is based
on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and with its universal themes
of love and loyalty to family, the work has connected with audiences over
the years, and remains one of the most frequently produced musicals today.
Bernstein followed West Side Story with Candide, an
ambitious musical based on the writings of Voltaire. With its complex
musical score, Candide has found a place on stage at many of
today's opera houses.
NEA CD: "Somewhere" from Bernstein's West
Side Story, Michelle Prentice, soprano
Changing Tastes and Trends
Time Period: 1970 to present
Major Composers: Steven Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Claude-Michel Schönberg
Background:
In recent years, audiences continued to play a role in shaping musical
theater. In the 1970s, Stephen Sondheim rejuvenated musical theater with
his introduction of musicals based on an idea, rather than on a traditional
plot. The most popular of Sondheim's musicals, Sweeney Todd,
is performed by opera companies today. The 1980s found the focus shifting
again, this time towards large commercialized "mega-musicals" from Great Britain. The primary composers were Andrew Lloyd Webber, creator
of Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, and Evita, and Claude-Michel
Schönberg, who composed Les Misérables and Miss
Saigon.
In the 1990s, with public interest in musicals declining and production
costs increasing, creative teams began working with corporate partners
to finance new productions. An example of this is the Walt Disney Corporation,
which financed stage productions of its films Beauty and the Beast
and The Lion King. The new millennium brought a renewed interest
in comedic musicals, and their success took the theater world by storm.
Shows such as Thoroughly Modern Millie, Hairspray, and The
Producers have become some of the hottest tickets on Broadway and
in touring productions around the country.
The Opera Connection
Following their successful collaboration with Disney on The Lion
King, Elton John and Tim Rice recently created a musical based on
Verdi's opera Aida. This practice is not uncommon, as many
of today's popular musicals are based on operatic works. The musical
Rent, written by Jonathan Larson, is based on Puccini's
La bohème and focuses on the relationships of struggling
young people trying to make a life and a name for themselves in the big
city. Larson updated Puccini's opera to feature a rock score and
changed the setting from Paris to New York City, but the challenges facing
the characters, as well as the strong emotions felt among them, are timeless.
Another popular opera story, Madama Butterfly, has played to
packed houses as the musical Miss Saigon, written by Claude-Michel
Schönberg and Alain Boublil. The opera explores the tragic love story
between a young Japanese geisha and an American soldier at the turn of
the 19th century. The musical sets the story in Saigon during the Vietnam
War, but the passion between the young couple and the tragedy that overtakes
their lives remain the same.
National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal
agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506
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