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Musical Theatre

The musical “The Phantom of the Opera” – Ahmad Ardity – https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2019/10/25/19/13/phantom-4577790_960_720.jpg

“Hakuna Matata! – What a wonderful phrase … (…) It means no worries – for the rest of your days…” Who does not feel the immediate urge to join in with this uplifting song? Songs like this famous tune from The Lion King make us dance, laugh and sing in the shower. The dances and songs from The Lion King, Mamma Mia or The Phantom of the Opera are part of our pop culture, everyone has at least heard of them. All of them, whether sad or funny, performed in film or on stage, belong to the genre of musical theatre. If you love to combine your singing, dancing and acting skills, or if you just want to dive deeper into the theory behind your favourite musicals, read on to find out about this diverse and versatile genre!

First of all, what is musical theatre and what is not?

Compared to just singing, it adds the dimension of physical movement to the music. A musical theatre performance involves singing, acting and dancing – many different ways of telling a story! And all are used equally. Unlike opera – a genre that may seem similar at first glance – musicals have a greater focus on spoken text. However, as always, there are exceptions, as some operas include spoken dialogue, such as The Magic Flute by W.A. Mozart. Modern Western musical theatre developed in the 19th century. But its roots go back to ancient Greek theatre, which included dance and music as an important part of the performance. During the Renaissance in Italy, the commedia dell’arte included some elements that can still be found in today’s musicals – the combination of comedy and music. Finally, in the 19th century, the operetta was the genre that provided the form for musical theatre.

As well as different genres of music, musical theatre uses different styles of singing.

Musical theatre also involves dance – Leon Liu – https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1524330685423-3e1966445abe?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=387&q=80

Do you know “I could have danced all night” from the 1964 musical film “My Fair Lady“? If you compare it to, say, “Let It Go” from the Walt Disney musical Frozen, you’ll hear several differences at once: there’s a lot of vibrato and the voice sounds much more like an opera singer. This style of singing is called legit musical theatre – it makes more use of the head voice and round vowels than the other styles. “Let It Go” on the other hand belongs to the genre of contemporary musical theatre. The singer, Idina Menzel, uses the belting technique (already explained in the pop singing article) for the louder parts. But sometimes it seems as if she is almost talking to you rather than singing. This technique – speech-level singing – creates a lot of emotion and sounds very personal – as if the character Elsa were talking to you. By using these different methods and some more, the characters of the musical feel close to you and seem very complex. In the early 20th century, another style of singing established itself: traditional musical theatre, or simply Belt. As the name suggests, belting is an important part of this style. Although it took some time before it was accepted for more than just comedic roles, the powerful chest voice technique was used by both male and female singers. Today, it’s hard to imagine musical theatre without belting. However, this vocal style, which also involves percussive diction and strong vocal dynamics, is mainly used for older musicals such as Gypsy from 1959, while other vocal styles such as the contemporary musical theatre have evolved from it. Personally, I love pop/rock musicals! Mamma Mia, as one of my favourites, belongs to this group, as the famous songs of the Swedish pop band ABBA were used to create a story. All the musicals where the story is created around existing music are also called jukebox musicals. Here the singers use the techniques of the particular genre, adding a little more musical theatre vibrato – plus there may be some speaking involved.

Maybe you dream of being Donna Sheridan from Mamma Mia or another musical character on stage? If so, there is no way around auditions – and probably no way around professional vocal training. Because musical theatre requires so many different skills that need to be perfectly performed every night on stage, there are schools and universities where you can learn everything you need to know. But there is also nothing wrong with simply singing into your hairbrush and dancing in your living room – you can create your own stage wherever you want.

Kyle Head – https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1503095396549-807759245b35?ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D&auto=format&fit=crop&w=871&q=80

Musicals captivate us, transporting us for a few hours into a fascinating, magical world. An ice palace, a hotel on a Greek island, the Upper West Side of New York, London or the African savannah – the possibilities are endless for immersing yourself in this great combination of singing, dancing and acting. And if you want to perform yourself, always keep in mind the “problem-free philosophy” of The Lion King: Hakuna Matata!

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