POTO and real opera
1 November 2020 04:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
igenlode"What Do We Mean by Opera, Anyway?"
A very interesting -- and readable -- article from the Journal of Popular Music Studies, bringing a positive critical approach to Lloyd Webber's work; the suggestion of "Think of Me" as being closely aligned to Balfe's I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls, for example, reminding us that 19th-century opera did indeed contain such catchy folksong-style 'lollipops' as well as the grand arias designed to show off technique, as sung by Carlotta.
Naturally I'm also entertained by the conclusion that "the sterile modernism of [Don Juan Triumphant is] proof that Christine does not belong with the Phantom" ;-p
A very interesting -- and readable -- article from the Journal of Popular Music Studies, bringing a positive critical approach to Lloyd Webber's work; the suggestion of "Think of Me" as being closely aligned to Balfe's I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls, for example, reminding us that 19th-century opera did indeed contain such catchy folksong-style 'lollipops' as well as the grand arias designed to show off technique, as sung by Carlotta.
As often in Lloyd Webber's economically designed musicals, the “aria,” or song, does a good deal of dramatic work, effectively introducing Christine, setting up her rivalry with Carlotta, and establishing her relationship with Raoul de Chagny, who joins in singing to the same melody from his box.
Naturally I'm also entertained by the conclusion that "the sterile modernism of [Don Juan Triumphant is] proof that Christine does not belong with the Phantom" ;-p
