The New Music Theater

Abstract

Abstract Alternatives to grand opera and popular musical go back at least as far as Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, early Stravinsky, and Kurt Weill as well as the Broadway and off-Broadway theater operas of the '30s and '40s, and the modernist experiments of the '60s. Yet this long and continuing history, with its complex ideas and philosophy as well as musical and theatrical achievements, has never been properly sorted out. This book is the first comprehensive attempt in English to cover a still-emerging art form in its widest range. It provides a wealth of examples and descriptions, not only of the works themselves, but of the concepts, ideas, and trends that have gone into the evolution of what may be the most central performance art form of the post-modern world. The first two sections of the book deal with Music in Music Theater (including the many new and various uses of the human voice) and Theater in Music Theater (including culture, text, visual strategies, and the multiple new concepts of space). The third section covers European and American music theaters in their various histories and manifestations, with chapters on the more innovative wing of popular music theater, extended voice, and the influence of new media. The fourth part of the book discusses criticism and analysis, improvisation, the issues surrounding pop and high art, and the crucial questions about the audience for music theater. An appendix includes a music-theater bibliography and information about some of the principal venues for the art form.