What is a musical but a modernized operetta?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Musical as a genre originated in the late 19th century in the United States. Today it is very popular all over the world, including in our country. In essence, it is an operetta, but it is separated into a separate art form. For what reason - a special conversation.

Both the musical and the operetta are a combination of musical numbers, dialogues, dances and other artistic devices, united by a single storyline. So what's the difference?

Some musicologists, who think they know what a musical is, say: "It's all about the vocals." Or rather, at his school. Say, in the opera he is one, in the operetta another, and in the musical the third. However, in all three cases, voices are needed, and good ones. There are many recordings with parts from well-known musicals, such as Clara's lullaby from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, or Memory from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, performed by famous opera singers.

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whose genre is the plot. Opera is usually tragic, operetta is comical. And what is a musical - comedy, tragedy or farce? And that, and another, and the third. But even operettas can be sad… And musicals too…No, it's not about the plot.

The third, most important component of the musical is jazz. There are, however, rock operas, which can also be attributed to the same genre. "Juno and Avos", "Jesus Christ - Superstar", "Hair" give a very concrete idea of what a musical is and how it should be. It is worth dwelling on these best examples of the genre in more detail.

From its inception, musicals have used the most fashionable musical forms. And if the opera "Porgy and Bess" is focused on jazz fans, then in "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein one can feel the intonations of rock and roll, however, in a symphonic design. "Jesus Christ Superstar", "Cats", "Evita", "The Phantom of the Opera", "Sunset Boulevard" and other works by Webber are closer to the rock culture of the seventies.

However, this assumption has its own contradictions. The Count of Monte Cristo is a modern musical, however, oddly enough, hip-hop or R-N-B is not detected when listening to it. The same can be said about the Notre Dame Cathedral. It sounds like it was written thirty years ago, which is not bad at all. Such a style indicates that the genre has been formed in general terms, it has its own ideas about the classics, inherent only to it. Now there is no need to tell in detail and tediously what a musical is, it is enough to give examples of works, and everyone will understand. Opera and operetta also need no explanation - genres of vocal art that at one time developed rapidly and caused a lot of controversy.

Staging a musical is hard work. The director is responsible for the creative concept of the show, vocalists, choral parts and dramaturgy, the main artist - for the design of the scenery. The costume designer also has a lot of worries. One of the features of this genre is invariably spectacular. Everything should be beautiful: the sound, the costumes, and the choreography. Technical design, including lighting and stage mechanics, is also organized according to the "last peep". Executive producers deal with all these issues. A musical can only be considered accomplished when the viewer “voted with their feet” for it.