Musicals are vivid stage works in which actors can dance and sing. The basis of the genre was vaudeville, operettas and burlesque. Musicals are the most expensive and spectacular performances that may be of interest to a variety of age groups.
Musical story
The musical grew out of a mixture of many entertaining light genres - from variety shows to ballet. The first musical "Black Crook" was staged in New York in 1866. It was a mixture of ballet, melodrama, comedy and operetta. It was this idea that became the basis of a new, unusual genre. Musical comedies, which gained popularity a bit later, continued the idea of "Black Crook", however, they brought to the fore the actual musical melodies performed by famous actors, and the plot was an optional, almost secondary element.
Since then, the most relevant and popular musical movements and themes characteristic of the time of their writing have been preserved in musicals. The genre of musical comedy was developing rapidly, and famous and talented composers began to appeal to it. In collaboration with distinguished poets and writers, they created full-fledged stories, clothed in a musical form that was easy and understandable to the viewer. For a long time, all musicals were produced exclusively in America and Britain, but in 1985 the Outcasts thundered, becoming the first French musical. In fact, they served as an impetus for the writing of many other French, Austrian, German and Hungarian works.
The most famous musicals
The list of the most famous works in the musical genre is undoubtedly headed by “My Fair Lady”. The musical libretto was created by Alan Lerner on the basis of the play Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw. The music for the musical was written by Frederick Low. The plot of this musical as a whole repeats the plot of the play. It tells how the famous professor of phonetics concluded a dispute with his friend that he could turn an ordinary flower girl into an exquisite young lady. The professor won the argument, but this led to unexpected consequences. The premiere of "My Fair Lady" was held on Broadway in 1956. The performance was a wild success, tickets were bought for six months. A few years later, the film "My Fair Lady" was shot, in which the unique Audrey Hepburn played the main role.
There is a studio album, Jesus Christ Super Star. On this record, all the roles are played by prominent rock vocalists of their time.
On the basis of Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories, the unique musical Cabaret was created. In “Cabaret” we are talking about a young American writer who ended up in Berlin in the early thirties, where he fell in love with a cabaret singer. Their romance turned out to be unusual and very bright. But when the writer is about to move to Paris, his lover refuses to follow him. In the course of action, the cabaret is filled with people with the image of swastikas on the sleeves. The music was created by John Kander, and the words by Fred Ebb. The Cabaret was first shown on Broadway in 1966. The legendary film with Lisa Minnelli was later shot.
In the movie "My Fair Lady", professional singer Marnie Nixon sings instead of Audrey Hepburn.
The scandalous and famous musical "Jesus Christ is a superstar" was created by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rye. Initially, they were going to create an opera using modern musical means, but at the same time quite traditional. But it turned out to be a rock opera, in which there are completely no dramatic elements, and the whole action is based on recitative and vocals. In the texts of the arias, a completely modern language is used, and the arias themselves are stylized according to the works of famous rock groups. The musical tells about the last week of Jesus' life. In fact, the main character of the musical is the disappointed Judas Iscariot. The musical premiered in 1971 on Broadway.
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