Theatre music

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Page from Arthur Sullivan's manuscript of the Act 1 finale of The Yeomen of the Guard (1888) YoG-ms.jpg
Page from Arthur Sullivan's manuscript of the Act 1 finale of The Yeomen of the Guard (1888)

Theatre music refers to a wide range of music composed or adapted for performance in theatres. Genres of theatre music include opera, ballet and several forms of musical theatre, from pantomime to operetta and modern stage musicals and revues. Another form of theatre music is incidental music, which, as in radio, film and television, is used to accompany the action or to separate the scenes of a play. The physical embodiment of the music is called a score, which includes the music and, if there are lyrics, it also shows the lyrics.

Contents

History

Since the earliest days of the theatre, music has played an important part in stage drama. In Greek drama in the fifth century BC, choric odes were written to be chanted and danced between the spoken sections of both tragedies and comedies. Only fragments of the music have survived. [1] Attempts to recreate the form for revivals from the Renaissance to modern times have branched in several directions. Composers from Andrea Gabrieli to Mendelssohn to Vaughan Williams have composed chorus music for productions of plays by Sophocles, Aristophanes and others. [1] Playwrights including Racine, Yeats and Brecht wrote original plays in styles derived from ancient drama, with sung commentaries by a chorus or narrator. In late 16th century Florence, attempts to revive ancient Greek drama, with sung vocal contributions, developed into the modern genre of opera. [2] Folk theatre has always deployed dance music and song. [1]

In the 16th and 17th centuries, theatre music was performed during the action of plays and as afterpieces. Christopher R. Wilson, discussing Shakespeare's use of music, lists "stage music" (fanfares to introduce important characters or accompany battle scenes), "magic music" (as in the lullaby in A Midsummer Night's Dream ), "character music" (as in Twelfth Night , illustrating the high, low, sad or merry natures of the characters) and "atmospheric music" (such as Ariel's "Where the bee sucks", in The Tempest ). [3] By the early 18th century, music was firmly established as part of practically all theatrical performances in Europe, whether of opera, dance, or spoken drama. Theatres were built with orchestra pits, and music was either specially composed for the production or appropriated and arranged from existing material. [1]

The writer Roger Savage notes in Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians : "The classic forms of Asian theatre from India to Japan rely heavily on music, as do the dramatic rituals of sub-Saharan Africa and of the indigenous peoples of the Americas." [1] In Western theatre genres, Savage writes that music features importantly in medieval liturgical drama, ballet, opera, pantomime, Singspiel, melodrama, Victorian burlesque, music hall, vaudeville, variety show, operetta, Edwardian musical comedy, the modern musical including rock musicals, and other forms of musical theatre. [1] In common with radio, cinema and television, the theatre has long made use of incidental music to accompany spoken drama. [4]

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musical theatre</span> Stage work that combines songs, music, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance

Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opera</span> Art form combining sung text and musical score in a theatrical setting

Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operetta</span> Form of theatre and a genre of light opera

Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the operetta is usually of a light and amusing character. The subject matter may portray "lovers' spats, mistaken identities, sudden reversals of fortune, and glittering parties". It sometimes also includes satirical commentaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libretto</span> Text used in an extended musical work such as an opera or musical

A libretto is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term libretto is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as the Mass, requiem and sacred cantata, or the story line of a ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Léo Delibes</span> French composer (1836–1891)

Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and operas. His works include the ballets Coppélia (1870) and Sylvia (1876) and the opera Lakmé (1883), which includes the well-known "Flower Duet".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodrama</span> Dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters to appeal to the emotions

A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a very strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or excessively sentimental, rather than action. Characters are often flat, and written to fulfill established character archetypes. Melodramas are typically set in the private sphere of the home, focusing on morality and family issues, love, and marriage, often with challenges from an outside source, such as a "temptress", a scoundrel, or an aristocratic villain. A melodrama on stage, filmed, or on television is usually accompanied by dramatic and suggestive music that offers further cues to the audience of the dramatic beats being presented.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burlesque</span> Literary, dramatic or musical work or genre

A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian burlesco, which, in turn, is derived from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or mockery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Ibert</span> French composer (1890–1962)

Jacques François Antoine Marie Ibert was a French composer of classical music. Having studied music from an early age, he studied at the Paris Conservatoire and won its top prize, the Prix de Rome at his first attempt, despite studies interrupted by his service in World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comic opera</span> Sung drama of a light or comedic nature

Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reynaldo Hahn</span> Venezuelan-French composer (1874–1947)

Reynaldo Hahn de Echenagucia was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – mélodies – of which he wrote more than 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Messager</span> French composer and conductor (1853–1929)

André Charles Prosper Messager was a French composer, organist, pianist and conductor. His compositions include eight ballets and thirty opéras comiques, opérettes and other stage works, among which his ballet Les Deux Pigeons (1886) and opéra comiqueVéronique (1898) have had lasting success; Les p'tites Michu (1897) and Monsieur Beaucaire (1919) were also popular internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travesti (theatre)</span> Portrayal of a stage character by a performer of a different sex

Travesti is a theatrical character in an opera, play, or ballet performed by a performer of the opposite sex.

Parody music, or musical parody, involves changing or copying existing musical ideas, and/or lyrics, or copying the particular style of a composer or performer, or even a general style of music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pantomime</span> Genre of musical comedy stage production

Pantomime is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and in other English-speaking countries, especially during the Christmas and New Year season. Modern pantomime includes songs, gags, slapstick comedy and dancing. It generally combines gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or folk tale. Pantomime is a participatory form of theatre, in which the audience is encouraged and expected to sing along with certain parts of the music and shout out phrases to the performers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Caryll</span> Belgian-born British-American composer

Félix Marie Henri Tilkin, better known by his pen name Ivan Caryll, was a Belgian-born composer of operettas and Edwardian musical comedies in the English language, who made his career in London and later New York. He composed some forty musical comedies and operettas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French opera</span>

French opera is both the art of opera in France and opera in the French language. It is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by composers of the stature of Rameau, Berlioz, Gounod, Bizet, Massenet, Debussy, Ravel, Poulenc and Messiaen. Many foreign-born composers have played a part in the French tradition, including Lully, Gluck, Salieri, Cherubini, Spontini, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi and Offenbach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victorian burlesque</span> Theatrical genre

Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known opera or piece of classical theatre or ballet is adapted into a broad comic play, usually a musical play, usually risqué in style, mocking the theatrical and musical conventions and styles of the original work, and often quoting or pastiching text or music from the original work. Victorian burlesque is one of several forms of burlesque.

Walter Leigh was an English composer. Leigh is best known for his Concertino for harpsichord and string orchestra, written in 1934. Other famous works include the overture Agincourt and The Frogs of Aristophanes for chorus and orchestra. He wrote music for documentary films and there is an unfinished sketch for a symphony.

Spanish opera is both the art of opera in Spain and opera in the Spanish language. Opera has existed in Spain since the mid-17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Roger</span> French composer

Victor Roger was a French composer. He is best known for his operettas, particularly the lighter kind known as the "vaudeville-opérette". His thirty theatre works, composed between 1880 and 1902, also include pantomimes and ballets. His best-known piece, Les vingt-huit jours de Clairette, has remained in the repertory of French companies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Savage, Roger. "Incidental music", Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, accessed 13 August 2012 (subscription required)
  2. Arnold, Denis, et al. "Opera", The Oxford Companion to Music, ed. Alison Latham, Oxford Music Online, accessed 13 August 2012
  3. Wilson, Christopher R. "Shakespeare, William", Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, accessed 13 August 2012 (subscription required)
  4. Kennedy, Michael, ed. "Incidental Music", The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 2nd ed. rev., Oxford Music Online, accessed 13 August 2012 (subscription required)