Critical Analysis of Art
Opera vs Musical
As Willis-Lynam (2015) rightfully notes, today many people think that musical theatre and opera are unrelated. People form allegiances on either firmly supporting opera or supporting musical theatre. Each group of supporters is always critical of the other’s form of art. Opera supporters perceive musical theatre to be showy, shallow, and musically uninspired. The larger opera community has always perceived musical theatre as a lesser form of art. On the other hand, musical theatre diehards view the opera as avant-garde, stuffy, and isolating. However, it is important to note that each form of art borrows heavily from the other. In addition, both forms of art have evolved with the culture and mirror the society in which they exist. According to Willis-Lynam (2015), the origin of musical theatre is easily traced back to opera. Concepts such as plots, tonality, and musical structures have been passed down from opera to musical theatre. The origins of opera, on the other hand, are traced back to Greek theatre. Opera’s goal was to honor the Greek theatre. Opera was meant to fuse music and drama. These two aspects were supposed to be balanced. However, over time the aspect of music outperformed drama hence opera ceased to be an independent genre. Musical theatre, on the other hand, originated from the audiences’ desire for more than a stirring melody. The audience developed a preference for characters and storytelling. Willis-Lynam (2015) argues that this was because these types of performances were more relatable and memorable. The audience had a deep connection with the theatrical experience hence easily remembered it even days after leaving the theatre. As such, opera deviated away from its audience at is put emphasis on experience rather than the storytelling. There exist differences in the two forms of art in relation to singing. This is with respect to the voice source, the sub-glottal pressure, and formant frequency characteristics. For example, Bjorkner (2008) notes that the sub-glottal pressure, that is, lung pressure, in musical theatre singers is higher than that of opera singers while singing. Such detailed and hardly noticeable differences are key in alienating audiences and making some prefer one genre to the other.
Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a famous German composer. His famous Symphony No. 5, also known as the symphony of fate, was first performed in Vienna, on December 22, 1808. After its premiere and widespread fame, it became the standard used to measure other symphonies. This symphony is divided into four movements. The first four notes of this musical piece have drawn a lot of attention. The piece begins with the popular allegro con brio opening, which is a high-spirited and fast tempo. The composer famously commented on the choice of the opening saying that it was the sound of fate knocking on the door (NPR, 2006). The opening visibly has some dark and sad elements to it. This is no surprise as Beethoven went through 16 years of gradually losing his ability to hear. This led him to anger and depression. He composed the opening bearing in mind what fate had in store for him. These first four notes form the entire piece’s rhythmic and melodic anchor. What is remarkable about this piece by Beethoven is that the entire first movement derives its energy from the first four notes. The first form takes on various characters as it transitions from section to section in the orchestra. Sometimes it is foreboding while other times it is triumphant. On the other hand, the second movement is more lyrical. It consists of two themes. The first is sweet and lyrical. The second theme, however, feels more forceful. Nevertheless, both themes begin in The Tonic key. It is important to note that the composer’s general rhythm of fate is also easily noticeable in the second movement. The third and fourth movements are combined and played without a pause, unlike the first two movements. As the music grows louder, faster, and more insistent, listeners are struck by its triumphant affirmativeness. The piece is generally intriguing, relaxing, and very pleasing to the ears. This makes it my favorite piece of music.
La bohème by Giacomo Puccini
La bohème is centered on 9 main characters. The first one is Rodolfo, a struggling poet. He lives with three of his friends. These include Marcello, Colline, and Shaunard. Marcello is a painter. Most notably is that he is still in love with his ex-girlfriend Musetta. Musetta, who is a singer, on the other hand, is always very flirtatious. She is also still in love with her ex-boyfriend Marcello. Despite this, she has many admirers among them Alcindoro. Alcindoro is a man of means although much older than Musetta. Colline is a philosopher while Schaunard is a musician. The apartment in which the four friends live is owned by Benoit who is their landlord. The other main character is Mimi who falls in love with Rodolfo. She is, however, very ill. Finally, there is Parpignol, a toy vendor. La bohème’s plot is divided into four acts. The first act is set on Christmas Eve. The act starts with Marcello and Rodolfo trying to work in their freezing room. Desperate for some warmth, they light up some of Rodolfo’s works of drama. The other two roommates, Schaunard and Colline return home with food, which they decide to eat from elsewhere. As they are about to leave, the landlord, Benoil, arrives. The four friends had not paid rent for a while. The friends outwit him by getting him drunk then throwing him out. As the others leave, Rodolfo stays behind Mimi, whose candle went off and is looking to relight it joins him. Rodolfo falls in love with her. He hides her key and puts out his candle and as they look for the key in darkness, their hands touch. This leads them to profess their love for each other. This act, as well as the other three acts in La bohème, boldly depicts the theme of love and sacrifice. Rodolfo for example is in love with Mimi who is very ill. He admits that the living conditions that they live in has worsened her condition and would want to leave her for her own health’s sake. However, they stick by each other’s side until Mimi dies. In addition, the theme is visible in the characters of Musetta and Marcelo. Musetta decides to leave her current admirer who is very rich in favor of Marcelo who is poor.
Theatre and Film
Movies and theatre performances have both similarities and differences. The obvious similarities are that they are both visual forms of art that have scripts that are brought to life by actors. However, despite these basic differences, these two art forms have numerous differences. The scripts used in film differ from those used in theatre. In theatre, the audience already knows what to expect in most cases. This is because the plays are usually performed repeatedly. In addition, scripts to plays are easily available to the public. On stage, the script is also very important and its directions are followed to the letter. However, actors may slightly deviate from it in case they forget their lines. On the other hand, scripts in film act only as a guide. They only dictate the movies’ plot. The other major difference between film and theatre is in regards to the venue. In theatre, the audience and the actors are separated from each other by a very small distance. As such, for all the audience members to enjoy the performance, they must see the action as well as hear the actors’ dialogues on stage. Therefore, actors in theatre are forced to exaggerate their movements, actions, and speak loudly. Film, on the other hand, uses cameras, lights, music, special effects, and microphones. The use of all these instruments is to enhance the actors’ performances. Cameras help bridge the distance between the actors and the audience. Since the cameras pick up every movement and pause made by the actors, they do not need to exaggerate their acting. Instead, they are meant to speak to fellow actors as they normally would. They are supposed to replicate reality. Finally, the environment in both these two art forms is different. In theatre, productions often have adequate time for the actors to rehearse. The actors also have enough time to bond with each other and to experiment with different options with the director. As such, the actors become very familiar and comfortable with their roles since they have practiced numerous times before the public performance. In film, actors receive very little time to rehearse. In some cases, depending on the role, actors may not receive any direction. These actors are hired with the assumption that they will come prepared.
Dance: Observed Performances vs Interactive Performances
Dance is considered an important form of human expression, which involves rhythmic and arrhythmic body movements (Bachrach, Fontbonne, Joufflineau & Ulloa, 2015). Observed performances involve the audience watching dancers on stage performing. On the other hand, interactive dance performances involve the members of the audience being enticed to contribute to the performance by dancing or through other activities in the dance routine. The interesting bit about interactive dance performances is that although the routine/ performance is shaped by the artist, it remains incomplete until the audience completes it (Cerratto-Pargman, Rossitto & Barhuus, n.d). The audience can participate in dance performances in several ways. First, the dancers take the initiative to interact with the audience. Here, the dancers move from their area of performance and into the space occupied by the public. Second, the audience takes the initiative to interact. Here, the audience comes very close to the dancers on stage and perform certain actions such as waving the hands in front of the dancers, pushing the dancers, etc. They even walk with the performers as they move towards the audience. Third, there is a shared action between the dancers and the audience. The audience moves together with the performers as they execute simple movements together. Lastly, the members of the audience interact among themselves. Bachrach et al (n.d) suggest that the heart of dance spectating is the observation of the dancers’ sophisticated body movements. A study by Bachrach (n.d) showed that although the audience is only observing the performance, they are somehow participating in the performance. The study showed that as the audience is psychologically entertained, they synchronize their breathing to that of the performers.
References
Björkner, E. (2008). Musical Theater and Opera Singing—Why So Different? A Study of Subglottal Pressure, Voice Source, and Formant Frequency Characteristics. Journal of Voice, 22(5), 533–540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2006.12.007
Willis-Lynam, K. (2015). The Crossover Opera Singer: Bridging the Gap Between Opera and Musical Theatre (pp. 1–101).
Bachrach, A., Fontbonne, Y., Joufflineau, C., & Ulloa, J. L. (2015). Audience entrainment during live contemporary dance performance: physiological and cognitive measures. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00179
Bachrach, A., Fontbonne, Y., Joufflineau, C., & Ulloa, J. L. (2015). Audience entrainment during live contemporary dance performance: physiological and cognitive measures. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00179
National Public Radio (NPR)). (2006). Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67. Npr.Org. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5473894
Cerratto-Pargman, T., Rossitto, C., & Barkhuus, L (n.d). Understanding Audience Participation in an Interactive Theatre Performance.