Jayne ,'Jaynestown'
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Aren't musicals pretty much like opera, but in English and with more talking?
Some operas are in English. And -- although I might not be remembering correctly -- Les Miz is totally sung-through. (I don't know about the movie of it, but I think the stage production is.)
As a theatre person, I still feel a little embarrassed about that, as in certain circles liking stuff like Les Mis brands you a not a "real" theatre person. In fact, liking musicals at all is a little suspect.
I hadn't really realized this split in the theatrical world until it was satirized in Slings and Arrows.
t haughty sniff
Some operas are in English.I prefer my operas to be in Italian
t /sniff
Aren't musicals pretty much like opera, but in English and with more talking?
I think the basic distinction is that in opera the music is the primary driving force, where as in musicals it's the lyrics.
Talking is where the opera/operetta distinction comes in.
I prefer my operas to be in Italian
And all the operas in French and German are crying together in a corner. But, you know, dramatically.
I hadn't really realized this split in the theatrical world until it was satirized in Slings and Arrows.
And brilliantly too. Wow, I need to rewatch that series.
Les Miz went through a phase of being awesome and cool and then went through a phase of being too popular to be cool. Now it's too old for anyone who cares about "cool" to worry about, and so aging geeks are free to make flappy hands and break into song in public without worrying too much about our cred.
Well, Carmen is cool, but I have to confess that Wagner tends to drag for me. Russian, now, is nice.
I am shallow that way. I adore Puccini.
Wagner tends to drag for me.
But it has the spear and magic helmet!
Wagner tends to drag for me.
But it has the spear and magic helmet!
And thus, as is true for so much in life, is better when sung by a cross-dressing rabbit and a hunter with a lisp.
As someone who grew up around musicals, I have very specific and narrow tastes in that artform. And yes, there's a giant split between "legit" theatre and musicals. However, I remember driving up to Minneapolis to see "Les Miserables" with my friend when we were both going through horrendous turmoil in our lives, and we bawled all the way through, in one of the best art-as-catharsis experiences I've ever had. (It was the touring production with the turntable. Excellent use of staging, IIRC.)
I'm super-excited for the movie, though I probably won't see it in theatres.