The origins of musical theater can be traced back to operetta, comedy and minstrel shows in the 19th century.

Early development history

In Europe from the 17th to 18th centuries, music became a powerful tool for people to express their thoughts and feelings. In Europe, all kinds of music flourished, and oratorios and operas appeared. However, gorgeous or solemn operas or oratorios could not fully satisfy the audience, so an art form called "between vaudeville and opera" emerged.

The first "musical" in history was John Kay's "The Beggar's Opera" (The Beggar's Opera), which premiered in London in 1728. It was called a "folk opera" at the time, and it used The popular songs at the time were used as the main thread of the storyline.

American Entertainment

In the 19th century, cities were built in the United States one after another, and musicals prospered accordingly. They targeted urban audiences, and vaudeville and more appeared. Burlesque, the vulgar sister show.

The Happy Maiden

In 1893, Jones, a once active British man, completed a musical "The Happy Maid" that later went down in history. It premiered at the Prince's Theater in London. Provoking a wild response from the audience. The story is vivid and coherent, and the dancers are the characters in the play. It uses relevant dance movements and drama-style harlequin narration to clearly narrate the story of how these actors do everything possible to join the aristocratic society.

Early 20th Century

In the 20th century, European composers brought a form of operetta to the United States. Due to the influence over the years of European operas such as the English comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan, plus other talents such as the Viennese operettas of Johann Strauss, Offenbach's French operettas The influence of music, etc., enables the audience to automatically have a set of standards for judging the quality of music, and it also affects the audience's appreciation taste. Meaningful plot, beautiful music and elegant lyrics have become the goals pursued by the creators.

Modern

From the mid-1960s to the 1970s, the concept of avant-garde theater penetrated into mainstream works; rock music and social changes enriched creative materials, and European works were imported into the United States, where a hundred flowers bloomed.

In the 1960s, the Beatles and rock music rushed to the world from the United Kingdom. Musical composers from various countries gradually turned from resisting to absorbing this irresistible force. The British Weber took the lead in "Jesus Christ Superstar" (Jesus Christ Superstar) This sad, serious-themed musical adapted from an ancient biblical story uses light music and rock music to give it a modern feel, and the songs become lively, popular, and Easy to sing. The orchestration also broke the strict limitations of orchestral music and introduced electroacoustic instruments into the musical, thereby enhancing its sense of the times and expressiveness.

Extended information

Representatives of the genre

1. Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber (Andrew Lloyd Webber, born on March 22, 1948 in London, England, is a musical theater composer.

In 1968, Weber's musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Jacket" debuted on the stage. As of 2013, he has created 13 musicals, a vocal suite, a set of variations, two film scores and a requiem, and has won 7 Tony Awards.

7 Olivier Award 3 times, Grammy Award 3 times, and won the Oscar and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for the song "You Must Love Me" in "Evita".

2. George Gershwin

George Gershwin (1898-1937), formerly known as Jacob Gershowitz, was born Born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Russian Jewish immigrant family, he is a famous American composer. He has written a large number of pop songs and dozens of cabaret performances and musicals. He is a famous composer on the Broadway stage and in Hollywood.

In 1924, he wrote "Rhapsody in Blue" for Paul Whiteman's jazz concert and achieved great success.

Gershwin's outstanding contribution was to combine the styles of Debussy and Rachmaninoff with the American jazz style. Although he lacked proficient writing skills, he was a great melody genius. Gershwin died of brain cancer in the summer of 1937 at the age of thirty-nine.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Musical