Descriptive Essay on the Genre of the Musical

You have probably seen some musical or another at some point in your life. But what, really, defines a musical as a musical? The purpose of the present sample descriptive essay provided by Ultius is to explore this question and develop a good understanding of the nature of the musical. The essay will be organized into four main parts. The first part will consist of an overview of the history of the genre known as the musical. Then, the second part will distinguish the musical from the closely related genre of the opera. After this, the third part will consist of a case study of the musical The Phantom of the Opera. along with a consideration of how this is exemplifies the genre of the musical. Finally, the fourth part will reflect on the aesthetic value of the musical as a genre and whether people should invest themselves in exploring the genre further. 

History of the Musical

In the broadest sense of the word, the genre of the musical—short for musical theater—could be understood as going all the way back to ancient times. The ancient Greeks, for example, were masters of dramatic theater, and they sometimes incorporated music into their works and performances. So, if the musical is simply defined as theater with music involved, then the genre has been around for a very long time. It is easy to understand why. After all, theater consists of spoken dialogue; and it is not a very great leap to turn at least some of that speech into song, and thereby integrate the aspects of music and drama. The modern musical can be understood as a specific and especially rigorous way of achieving this synthesis between these two aesthetic aspects. 

The modern musical as such, however, was not really influenced by these precursors and has a much shorter history. As Kenrick has pointed out: "The ancient Greeks had plays with songs, and Roman comedies included song and dance routines. but the music of these eras disappeared long ago, so they had no real influence on the development of modern musical theatre and film" (paragraph 1). The modern musical essentially emerged out of modern theater, and it owes a huge aesthetic debt to modern theater. Although there were European precursors, the musical really came into its own around the 1920s within America. It was during this time that the musical became a truly widespread form of popular entertainment. This trend probably peaked around the 1950s, and it has never fully receded. Now, though, it will be appropriate to discuss the nature of the musical itself as a genre. 

Musical versus Opera

The best way to begin discussing the nature of the musical as a genre would be to compare it with the older art form of opera. The two genres have a great deal in common: after all, both involve the synthesis of music and drama. As Hanning has indicated, an opera can be defined as "a staged drama set to music in its entirety, made up of vocal pieces with instrumental accompaniment and usually with orchestral overtures and interludes" (paragraph 1). Much of this definition, though, could clearly be applied to the musical as well; and this has made it difficult for most laypeople to tell the difference between the one genre and the other. However, the fact that the opera and the musical are such close neighbors actually makes this comparison very illuminating when attempting to get a handle on what the musical really is, and what sets it apart as a unique form of art. The very nature of a concept (in this case, the concept of the musical) is that it can only be defined relative to other concepts (see Reynolds). As such, it is worth pursuing this comparison of the musical and the opera further. 

If there is to be a single defining factor that sets the musical apart from the opera, it would seem to be the relative importance of words versus music in the work of art in question. Both the musical and the opera synthesize the element of the word with the element of music. In the opera, though, the music is dominant and the word is subordinate; whereas in the musical, the word is dominant and the music is subordinate. This is how Clements has put the matter: "in an opera the drama is largely generated by the music, while in a musical it is largely defined by the text, with the music taking an illustrative and expressive supporting role" (paragraph 3). In an opera, then, the dramatic element is essentially taken up into the music, such that the music itself expresses the narrative that is conveyed by the opera. In the musical, on the other hand, the actual words themselves are responsible for carrying forward the narrative, and the musical element is meant to enhance the words and not to actually do the lion's share of the work with regard to propelling the work forward. 

What is meant here is made clear by the fact that while it is very much possible to enjoy an opera without actually understanding he language in which it is written, this would be very hard to do when it comes to the musical. As Plotkin has suggested, this is because in the opera, the music itself functions as a kind of universal language, such that as long as one has at least some vague idea of what is going on in the story, all the relevant emotions and responses can be evoked through careful attention to the music itself. In contrast, the music in a musical is generally inadequate for achieving this purpose; if the audience cannot understand what is being said, then a great deal of the meaning of the work would be lost on them. This hearkens back to the fact that the musical is first and foremost a form of theater, with the music playing a supporting role. In contrast, the opera could be called first and foremost a form of music, with the words playing the supporting role. 

In addition, there is also a popular understanding through which opera is associated with highbrow culture, whereas the musical is associated with lowbrow culture. That is, the opera is sometimes considered as made for the cultural elite, whereas the musical is made for the masses. But there would seem to be little actual aesthetic evidence to support this widespread stereotype. Considering the distinction between the musical and the opera, Tommasini has written that "in no way do I see the matter as a lowbrow-highbrow debate. Opera is not by definition the more elevated form. Few operas are as overwrought as Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'Sunset Boulevard'. And there is no bigger crowd pleaser than Leoncavallo's impassioned 'Pagliaacci'" (paragraph 4). It is true that whereas a successful musical can function as simple entertainment, opera is almost never successful if it lacks a cadence of tragedy and grandeur. However, this has more to do with the difference between theater and music as such; it is not really a comment on the aesthetic value of the musical as a genre relative to the opera. 

Case: The Phantom of the Opera

An example of a quite popular musical is Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Phantom of the Opera. For people who are not sure what the difference is between a musical and an opera, this work clearly confuses matters even further—both because the word "opera" is in the title itself, and because the work has sometimes colloquially been called a rock opera. Regarding the first point, though, the work is actually just a musical set in an opera house; and regarding the second point, the term "rock opera" has nothing to do with the actual aesthetic genre of opera. The Phantom of the Opera is in fact a musical—and an exemplary one at that, in the sense that it strongly fulfills the criteria described above regarding the specific defining features of a musical as opposed to an opera. The fact that the musical stars a figure called the Phantom of the Opera is not relevant at all, as far as aesthetic considerations are concerned. 

One way in which The Phantom of the Opera is clearly a musical is that it intersperses spoken dialogue with sung dialogue. This is not common for an opera; in an opera, the music generally goes all the way through, with very little if any spoken parts. Again, this is reflective of the fact that opera is fundamentally a form of music, whereas the musical is fundamentally a form of theater. Likewise, even in the musical parts of The Phantom of the Opera, the actual lyrics are essentially for understanding what is going on within the drama. That is, the music as such carries neither the expressive power nor the sheer heft to enable the audience to follow the narrative in a coherent way; it is only through an interpretation of the actual words that the audience can gain an understanding of what is really going on. If The Phantom of the Opera were an opera, this would clearly not be the case: while the words would add meaning, they would not be essential for understanding the work, since the music itself would be responsible for carrying the drama forward. 

Reflection on Aesthetic Value

Considering the aesthetic value of the musical as a genre, the main thing that must be borne in mind is that the musical is a actually a subset of drama and not of music. If this is borne in mind, then the musical can be evaluated according to primarily dramatic criteria; and at this level, the musical can clearly add a dimension to traditional spoken theater, in a similar sense to how song can add a dimension to traditional written poetry. The highbrow/lowbrow stereotype is not really relevant and is probably based more on cultural snobbery than anything else. The simple fact is that there are serious works of art within that have been produced within the genre of the musical. The musical is thus not just a knock-down version of the old-fashioned opera. It is, rather, a medium of its own that emerged from the tradition of drama and not from the tradition of music per se. 

On the other hand, if one is an opera lover and expects to be enchanted by the music found in a musical, then one may be in for a disappointment. This is because of the very nature of the generic difference between the musical and the opera. A musical will almost never have music that is as powerful or dramatically intense as the music in an opera; and this is because in a musical, the music is not actually expected to carry the burden of directly expressing the narrative or moving it forward; rather, the music is meant to supplement the spoken words, with the words themselves bearing responsibility for the drama. The case is very different in opera, where the words are subordinate and the music is dominant. Therefore, from the perspective of the opera lover, the musical may very well seem like a cheap imitation. But such a judgment would ignore the basic fact that the opera and the musical are fundamentally trying to do different things, no matter how similar they may seem on the surface. The natural audience of a musical would be not lovers of music per se but rather lovers of theater. Conversely, a person who is primarily interested in the drama of the spoken word would probably feel at home with the musical but rather let down by the opera. 

Conclusion

In summary, the present essay has consisted of a discussion of the genre of the musical. In order to define the nature of the musical, this essay has compared the musical to the opera; and the main conclusion that has emerged here is that the musical is primarily driven by words with the music playing a supporting role, in contrast to the opera, which is primarily driven by music with the words playing a supporting role. This means that the musical is primarily a form of theater and not a form of music; the "music" is the adjective and not the noun. As longer as a potential viewer of a musical understands this, he should be able to appreciate works within the genre on their own terms.

Works Cited

Clements, Andrew. "When Is an Opera Not an Opera?" Guardian. 9 Feb. 2002. Web. 8 Jul. 2016. <https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/feb/09/classicalmusicandopera.artsfeatures>.

Webber, Andrew Lloyd. Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall. Universal Pictures, 2012. Film. 

Hanning, Barbara Russano. "Opera." Encyclopaedia Brittannica. n.d. Web. 8 Jul. 2016. <https://www.britannica.com/art/opera-music>. 

Kenrick, John. "Musicals on Stage: A Capsule History." Musicals101.com. 2003. Web. 8 Jul. 2016. <http://www.musicals101.com/stagecap.htm>.  

Plotkin, Fred. "The Blurry Line between Opera and Musical Theater." WQXR, 12 Jun. 2012. Web. 8 Jul. 2016. <http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/215908-blurry-line-between-opera-and- musical-theater/>. 

Reynolds, Jack. "Jacques Derrida (1930-2004)." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. n.d. Web. 8 Jul. 2016. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/derrida/>. 

Tommasini, Anthony. "Opera? Musical? Please Respect the Difference." New York Times. 7 Jul. 2011. Web. 8 Jul. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/theater/musical-or-opera- the-fine-line-that-divides-them.html?_r=0>.