How Might Music Theatre Be Defined?
Music theatre cannot be defined by one style. It is a genre in which the pace of the drama is governed by the music, for example in operas and Musikdramas. Musical theatre, is a style of music theatre such as Broadway and West End and is a continuously evolving art form. In a theatre performance, the actors may communicate to the audience through a combination of gesture, speech, song, music and dance. Music and theatre relate in many ways. In Tamerlano, composed by George Frideric Handel, the lyrics are telling the story as they are sung in the style of a recitativo in which the lyrics are sung at the rhythm of ordinary speech and dialogue, while the music in the background sets the emotion to the audience. …show more content…
Opera is an abbreviated form of a still current Italian expression. Like drama, opera embraces the entire spectrum of theatrical elements, dialogue, acting, costumes, scenery, and action. In opera, the composer is the dramatis as their musical creations enforce and enhance the text. La Favola Di Orfeo, music by Claudio Monteverdi and libretto by Alessandro striggio is a Favola in musica, also known as musical fable and a Greek myth. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world. The character of Orpheus became the first early operatic hero. Son of Apollo, Orpheus was described as a demi god with magical singing powers. (Abbate and Parker, 2015: p.44) “Although Orfeo represents opera in its embryonic form, Monteverdi was indeed the first composer to grasp essentials of music drama and translate the characters heightened emotions through music.” (Fisher, 2005: p.20) His mythological story was about nymphs, shepherds and gods and it is plausible to imagine characters to converse in music and singing. “It combines elements of the traditional madrigal style of the 16th century with those of the emerging Florentine mode, in particular the use of recitative and monodic singing as developed by the Camerata and their successors.” (Ferdinand, 1952:
Music theatre cannot be defined by one style. It is a genre in which the pace of the drama is governed by the music, for example in operas and Musikdramas. Musical theatre, is a style of music theatre such as Broadway and West End and is a continuously evolving art form. In a theatre performance, the actors may communicate to the audience through a combination of gesture, speech, song, music and dance. Music and theatre relate in many ways. In Tamerlano, composed by George Frideric Handel, the lyrics are telling the story as they are sung in the style of a recitativo in which the lyrics are sung at the rhythm of ordinary speech and dialogue, while the music in the background sets the emotion to the audience. …show more content…
Opera is an abbreviated form of a still current Italian expression. Like drama, opera embraces the entire spectrum of theatrical elements, dialogue, acting, costumes, scenery, and action. In opera, the composer is the dramatis as their musical creations enforce and enhance the text. La Favola Di Orfeo, music by Claudio Monteverdi and libretto by Alessandro striggio is a Favola in musica, also known as musical fable and a Greek myth. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world. The character of Orpheus became the first early operatic hero. Son of Apollo, Orpheus was described as a demi god with magical singing powers. (Abbate and Parker, 2015: p.44) “Although Orfeo represents opera in its embryonic form, Monteverdi was indeed the first composer to grasp essentials of music drama and translate the characters heightened emotions through music.” (Fisher, 2005: p.20) His mythological story was about nymphs, shepherds and gods and it is plausible to imagine characters to converse in music and singing. “It combines elements of the traditional madrigal style of the 16th century with those of the emerging Florentine mode, in particular the use of recitative and monodic singing as developed by the Camerata and their successors.” (Ferdinand, 1952: