OPERA AND DRAMA: DIFFERING VIEWS

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OPERA AND DRAMA: DIFFERING VIEWS

Opera and drama are two closely linked disciplines in the world of

performing arts; although many view these as individual aspects which

should be combined to create a greater result, others seemingly view

opera as drama although it would be seen as illogical to view drama as

opera. The mere fact opera has a narrative, although told through

music and libretto, combines the two.

Michael Tippett’s opera, The Midsummer Marriage, contains influences

from other established form’s (drawing examples for Wagner and Verdi)

as well as containing Tippett’s own futuristic ideas. Tippett writes

about the heightened style of opera and also later argues that

although this is a marvellous event, the categories of music and drama

must be coherent and specific to the desired product.

…there is a long tradition associating opera with the

marvellous… it is clear that the composer, or his librettist,

must be able to condense… [1]

This heightened style and its subsequent audience is discussed by

Joseph Kerman in Opera as Drama, who compares the style of opera to

its worth and subjectivity. Kerman recognises that ‘no distinction is

drawn publicly between works like Orfeo and The Magic Flute’[2],

describing opera as a huge umbrella with seemingly no sub-categories.

In Kerman’s book he discuses how the opera (or the musical aspect)

plays to the drama on the stage – the music is used to develop and

enhance the drama. This is demonstrate...

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