| Revision as of 19:01, 16 May 2020 editStatesofexception (talk | contribs)214 edits Undid revision 454470186 by Jezhotwells (talk) Music theatre (in the sense of the 1960s compositional genre) is a distinct phenomenon from musical theatre and deserves its own page. Previous edits of this page did not focus on music theatre as a distinct genre but rather on its use as an umbrella term. In contrast, I intend to develop this page to reflect its specific historical and technical usage in the field of modern compositionTags: Removed redirect Undo← Previous edit | Revision as of 19:42, 16 May 2020 edit undoStatesofexception (talk | contribs)214 edits Draft of new music theatre page focusing on post-1960s avant-garde genreNext edit → | ||
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| {{About|music theatre in the tradition of the 1960s avant-garde|musicals and musical comedy in the tradition of Broadway|Musical theatre{{!}}Musical theatre}} | |||
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| '''Music theatre''' is a performance genre that emerged over the course of the 20th century, in opposition to more conventional genres like ] and ]. The term came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s to describe an avant-garde approach to instrumental and vocal composition that included non-sonic gesture, movement, costume and other visual elements within the score. Unlike operas, these compositions (such as ]’s ''Aventures'' (1962), ]’s ''Match'' (1964) and ]’s ''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' (1968)) were intended to be performed on a concert hall stage, potentially as part of a longer programme of pieces. | |||
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| Music Theatre is an umbrella term refering to many different ways of creating a piece of theatre using sound made from body, voice, a musical instrument and even your general surroundings, often in an unconventional and untraditional way. It is an ever-evolving and varying form of theatre in which music is included in the text. ] wrote that Music Theatre can often be 'fringe or experimental opera'. He also said that Music Theatre is a 'performance' of a 'simple, strong story.' These stories are musically driven or have essential musical elements. | |||
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| As Music Theatre is always evolving, its performance is frequently raw, controversial, experimental and original. | |||
| However, many existing and more easily defined genres of theatre come under the Music Theatre Umbrella. These include ], ], ], ], Artuadian and ] theatre. | |||
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| Though commonly the word ‘]’ is used to describe a structured performance, ('any space that permits actors and singers to be seen and heard might serve as a theater' <ref>Salzman, Desi, 2008</ref> '''') and when combined with the word ‘]’ the boundaries become less defined. Therefore anything that uses music with the intentions of providing entertainment could be classed as Music Theatre, and 'indeed anything that brings theatre to the concert platform'. <ref>Bawtree, Michael, 1991, Back Cover</ref> | |||
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| In these broad terms the genre could also included online channels, beat boxing, performance art, actors playing instruments and even musical artists such as ] and ]. Ruth Leon wrote that 'It's simply a way to combine the most basic of our human actions,' <ref>Leon,2010 </ref> thus allowing us as humans to experement and use the voice and movements to create sounds and to develop ways of moving to create a piece of theatre. | |||
| Since the 1980s, the term ‘music theatre’ has come to include any live project that uses the techniques and theories of avant-garde theatre and performance art to experiment with new ways of combining music and theatre; this has been extended to include some of the historical works which influenced the music theatre of the 1960s, such as ]’s ''Pierrot Lunaire'' (1912), ]’s ''L’Histoire du soldat'' (1918) and ]’s ''Mahagonny Songspiel'' (1927). The unconventional scale and unfamiliar aesthetic language of this work often positions it outside of the established traditions, institutions and discourses of opera and musical theatre. For this reason, the genre has also been called '''new music theatre''' and '''experimental music theatre'''. | |||
| ==Origin== | |||
| The term 'Music Theatre' has developed over time and orriginally came from the German 'musiktheater' which can refer to a building as well as a certin kind of instrumental/vocal ] performance associated with composers like ] and ]. <ref>Salzman, Desi, 2008.</ref> | |||
| Music theatre projects are often composer-led, with the composer deciding many elements of the text, staging and design which would usually be determined by a librettist, director or designer. Examples of key music theatre artists who compose and direct their work include ], ] and Ruedi Häusermann. Some music theatre artists, such as ], ] and ], also perform their own work. However, not all music theatre artists are composers. Some, like ] and ], are predominantly directors; others create work as part of an ensemble or collective of artists, such as Song of the Goat and Die Maulwerker. | |||
| ==Music Theatre in Popular Culture== | |||
| If we were to look at London's West End today we can see a number of 'shows' that fall into the theatrical genre of 'Music Theatre.' Obvious examples include Musicals such as ], ], ] and ]. Less obvious examples may include 'stright plays' such as ] where music plays a big part in creating the atmosphere and feel of the production. Other interesting examples may include ] where most of the story is told through dialogue/text but still has songs to help move the story along. ] once said that his musical was more a play with songs so it creates the interesting question - is this a play or a musical? - The concept of 'Music Theatre' helps to encompass 'shows' that do not fall neatly into a specific category. | |||
| The validity of music theatre as a genre distinct from opera and musicals varies according to the national context. In some countries, like Germany and Belgium, the concept is widely understood and supported by a dedicated infrastructure of festivals, venues and funding bodies; in other countries, it is wholly subsumed within opera, theatre or performance art, or else banished to a marginal status beyond categorisation. Nevertheless, a renewed compositional interest in non-sonic, theatrical and ‘performative’ elements from 21st century composers such as Johannes Kreidler, ] and ] has led to a resurgence in interest in the genre and its history. | |||
| ==See Also== | |||
| ]<br /> | |||
| ===Sources=== | |||
| ]<br /> | |||
| * {{cite book |last=Adlington|first=Robert|editor-last=Cooke|editor-first=Mervyn|title=The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|date=2005|pages=223–243|chapter=Chapter 14: Music theatre since the 1960s|isbn=0-521-78009-8}} | |||
| * {{cite book|editor-last=Adlington|editor-first=Robert|year=2019|title=New Music Theatre in Europe: Transformations between 1955–1975|location=Abingdon|publisher=Routledge}} | |||
| ]<br /> | |||
| * {{cite book|last=Hall|first=Michael|year=2015|title=Music Theatre in Britain 1960–1975|location=Woodbridge|publisher=The Boydell Press|isbn=978-1-78327-012-5}} | |||
| * {{cite book|last1=Salzman|first1=Eric|last2=Desi|first2=Thomas|year=2008|title=The New Music Theater: Seeing the Voice, Hearing the Body|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-509936-2}} | |||
| ]<br /> | |||
| ]<br /> | |||
| ]<br /> | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *Salzman, Desi, 2008, The New Music Theater, The Oxford University Press. | |||
| *Bawtree, Michael, 1991, The New Singing Theatre: A Charter for the Music Theatre Movement, New York and Bristol, The Oxford University Press and The Bristol Press. | |||
| *Leon, 2010 The Sound of Musicals, Oberon Books. | |||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 19:42, 16 May 2020
This article is about music theatre in the tradition of the 1960s avant-garde. For musicals and musical comedy in the tradition of Broadway, see Musical theatre.Music theatre is a performance genre that emerged over the course of the 20th century, in opposition to more conventional genres like opera and musicals. The term came to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s to describe an avant-garde approach to instrumental and vocal composition that included non-sonic gesture, movement, costume and other visual elements within the score. Unlike operas, these compositions (such as György Ligeti’s Aventures (1962), Mauricio Kagel’s Match (1964) and Peter Maxwell Davies’s Eight Songs for a Mad King (1968)) were intended to be performed on a concert hall stage, potentially as part of a longer programme of pieces.
Since the 1980s, the term ‘music theatre’ has come to include any live project that uses the techniques and theories of avant-garde theatre and performance art to experiment with new ways of combining music and theatre; this has been extended to include some of the historical works which influenced the music theatre of the 1960s, such as Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire (1912), Igor Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du soldat (1918) and Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny Songspiel (1927). The unconventional scale and unfamiliar aesthetic language of this work often positions it outside of the established traditions, institutions and discourses of opera and musical theatre. For this reason, the genre has also been called new music theatre and experimental music theatre.
Music theatre projects are often composer-led, with the composer deciding many elements of the text, staging and design which would usually be determined by a librettist, director or designer. Examples of key music theatre artists who compose and direct their work include Georges Aperghis, Heiner Goebbels and Ruedi Häusermann. Some music theatre artists, such as Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk and John Moran, also perform their own work. However, not all music theatre artists are composers. Some, like Robert Wilson and Christoph Marthaler, are predominantly directors; others create work as part of an ensemble or collective of artists, such as Song of the Goat and Die Maulwerker.
The validity of music theatre as a genre distinct from opera and musicals varies according to the national context. In some countries, like Germany and Belgium, the concept is widely understood and supported by a dedicated infrastructure of festivals, venues and funding bodies; in other countries, it is wholly subsumed within opera, theatre or performance art, or else banished to a marginal status beyond categorisation. Nevertheless, a renewed compositional interest in non-sonic, theatrical and ‘performative’ elements from 21st century composers such as Johannes Kreidler, Simon Steen-Andersen and Jennifer Walshe has led to a resurgence in interest in the genre and its history.
Sources
- Adlington, Robert (2005). "Chapter 14: Music theatre since the 1960s". In Cooke, Mervyn (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Opera. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 223–243. ISBN 0-521-78009-8.
- Adlington, Robert, ed. (2019). New Music Theatre in Europe: Transformations between 1955–1975. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Hall, Michael (2015). Music Theatre in Britain 1960–1975. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-78327-012-5.
- Salzman, Eric; Desi, Thomas (2008). The New Music Theater: Seeing the Voice, Hearing the Body. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-509936-2.