The characteristics of musicals
The difference between musicals and operas is that musicals often use different types of pop music and musical instruments of pop music; Dialogues without music accompaniment can be allowed in musicals; There are no traditions of opera in musicals, for example, there is no distinction between recitation and aria, and the singing method is not necessarily bel canto. However, the dividing line between musicals and operas is still disputed by many scholars. For example, Porgy and Bess composed by Gershwin was once called opera, Folk Opera and musicals. Some musicals such as Les Miserables are accompanied by music from beginning to end, while some operettas such as Carmen have dialogues.
Musicals generally have more dance elements than operas, and early musicals were even song and dance performances without scripts. Although Richard Wagner, a famous opera composer, put forward Gesamtkunstwerk in the mid-19th century, he thought that music and drama should be integrated. However, in Wagner's music drama, music is still dominant. In contrast, the elements of drama and dance in musicals are more important.
Musicals and musicals
Many musicals were later transplanted into musicals, but the theatrical version and the movie version are not necessarily the same, because the theater is good at scene scheduling and more abstract expressions, using the audience's imagination to fantasize about the environment where the story takes place, while the movie is good at real-life shooting and the use of lens editing. West Side Story is one of the musicals that successfully transplanted the stage version into the movie version. It was shot in the streets and alleys, which set the precedent for many musical films later. There are also examples of musical films transplanted into musicals. For example, Singing in the Rain was a musical film before it was transplanted into musicals.
Many musicals were later transplanted into musical films, but the theatrical version and the movie version are not necessarily the same, because the theater is good at scene scheduling and more abstract expressions, and uses the audience's imagination to fantasize about the environment where the story takes place, while the movie is good at shooting real scenes and using lens editing. West Side Story is one of the musicals that successfully transplanted the stage version into the movie version. It was shot in the streets and alleys, which set the precedent for many musical films later. There are also examples of musical films being transplanted into musicals. For example, Singing in the Rain had musical films before being transplanted into musicals.
Musicals are good at expressing the emotions of characters, the development of stories and the conflicts of dramas with music and dance. Sometimes, strong emotions that cannot be expressed by language can be expressed by music and dance. In the form of dramatic expression, musical belongs to expressionism. In a song, time and space can be compressed or enlarged, for example, the hero and heroine can change from acquaintance to falling in love in the process of a song, which is not allowed in the general realistic drama.
musical structure
The musical text consists of the following parts: the music part is called score, the singing words are called lyrics, and the dialogue words are called book/script. Sometimes musicals will follow the title of opera, and the lyrics and scripts will be collectively called libretto.
There is no fixed standard for the length of musicals, but most musicals are between two and three hours long. Usually divided into two acts, with intermission. If the repetition of songs and background music are counted, a complete musical usually contains 2 to 3 songs.