When talking about the components of music for this specific music culture, this was done prior to the actual observation of the event. I will first be talking about the ideas of music for this music culture. The beliefs of this culture are to creatively communicate stories through the medium of dialogue, dance, and song. The music culture was believed to have first started with the Greeks and then from them moved all over the world. They capture a specific time and moment and epitomize the culture for the audience. They define music as a medium to communicate the drama that they try to display on stage. The aesthetic qualities valued at this culture would have to be that the dancing, acting, and singing have to fit eloquently in a time frame with sets and displays working properly. (Arnold) Apparently the way the Music Hall at Fair Park sequesters each musical is through different seasons because this is a traveling act it will stay is one city for a certain season, then move on to a different city for a another season. (Tickets) Others have said that it originates from operas while some have argued that it is actually an operetta which comes from the same ancestral roots as operas but from burlesque and vaudeville.(Kenrick)
These are the activities. This music is definitely found at live performances, on itunes through the music soundtrack, and sometimes on youtube when people personally record the live performance, otherwise it cannot be found anywhere else. The performers of this specific culture only perform professionally and live. It really depends on which musical is played for race, ethnicity, gender, region, age, or religion to play a role in who participates because if it is a musical on the Little Mermaid than definitely the audience would be more of younger girls than guys, whereas in Phantom of the Opera you can expect the audience to be more adults and very few kids. (Nghe) The music making is accredited to the live orchestra and live singing of the performers. No one in the audience really participates in the Phantom of the Opera but if the musical was Peter Pan participation of the audience would be welcome. For example when Peter needs people to believe in Tinkerbell, he may initiate a clap among the audience to have active participation. (Fields)
The repertoire of this specific case study does fit a specific genre of music. All music in this music culture has text and the composer for this specific case Study of the Phantom of the Opera is Andrew Lloyd Webber. The role of text is for the creative communication of the story to the audience. There are always new musicals composed of to fit the current times and situations and often today new musicals are made in regional theatres and then go to Broadway. (Arnold) The music is transmitted from one person to another by the performers singing to the audience and sometimes dance accompanying the music is a major part is a successful execution of songs.
The Material Culture of this Music includes many purchases of uniforms, set materials for set designs, and sheet music for the performers to learn the songs. Playbills are also ordered for the audience to follow along as the program proceeds. Musical instruments are a big part in the live performances of musicals. In Phantom of the Opera they had special effects which made some impossible things to do on stage seem extremely realistic such as when the Phantom was rowing Christine to his lair. The water looked as if there was actually water. There were candles levitating in the air with intricate gold carvings on the walls of the stage. (Ching)
The Elements of music in this case study on the Phantom of the Opera are that the Performers executed each act to the expected time. Almost always, performers would sing, act, and dance simultaneously. They had on costumes that collaborated with the time that the story took place with different sets designs. The Music of the Phantom of the Opera was consisted of very strong vocals and the timbre of both male and female voices were very consistent with a mix of both western music and Opera. The seats were packed and the audience laughed every time there was a joke to be made or a funny event. There was not much participation among the audience but there was applause after every song and every act. The time and space of the musical was at 8:00 pm on a cold windy day but the theatre was quite cold but very big and great for sound projection from the performers. The sound was great but having nosebleed seats I couldn’t really see the faces of the performers, just their figures, only able to delineate male from females by hearing who was talking or singing.
The methods that I used for the research was very much interviewing the audience members around me. I ask questions like “How do you think the audience turn out would have been if it wasn’t Phantom of the Opera, Do you like the performance so far, How are the performer’s performances?, and etc. I ask many questions relating to material culture of the musicals such as any problems they had or anything they liked that they heard.
This case study of Phantom of the Opera has opened my eyes to many interesting facts about this music culture, fellow followers. I have learned so much and it has been my pleasure sharing with you the components of music, elements of music, and my methods for researching this musical theatre culture. I have gained much insight and now much appreciation for this music culture.
Works Cited
1) Nghe, Carolyn; Personal Interview 3/9/10.
2) Ching, Renee; Personal Interview 3/9/10.
3) Fields, Thomas; Personal Interview 3/8/10.
4) Arnold, Stephanie. "The Musical Theatre". The Creative Spirit : an Introduction to Theatre. New York, NY: Lisa Moore, 2008.
5) "Tickets Now". TNOW Entertainment Group. 3/10/10
6) Kenrick, John. "What is a Musical?". 3/10/10
No comments:
Post a Comment