Western Classical Plays and Operas

Musical play is a form of theatre that combines songs, with dialogue, acting, and dance. It has
drama in which performers act out a story in front of an audience.
Western classical plays and operas show diverse art forms in a single play presentation. These
can be seen more on dance presentations such as on the elaborated prints found in the
costumes and cinematic approaches which include dramatic light and effects of sound.

Lesson 1:
Greek Theatre
Ancient Greek drama is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient
Greece from c. 700 BC. It started as part of a festival called the
Dionysia, which honored the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 500 BC),
comedy (490 BC), and the satyr play (a comic, burlesque version of a
mythological subject) were the three dramatic genres to emerge there.
Tragedy and comedy were viewed as separate genres and no plays
merged aspects of the two. Satyr plays dealt with the mythological
subject matter of the tragedies, but in a purely comedic manner.

Characteristics
Parts of Greek Theatre:
• Orchestra - The performance space
was a simple circular space called the
orchestra, where the chorus danced and
sang. The orchestra, with an average
diameter of 78 feet, was situated on a
flattened terrace.
• Theatron - At the foot of a hill, the
slope of which produced a natural
theatron or "seeing place". The
Audience.
• Skene, Scene - playwrights began using a backdrop or scenic wall, which hung or stood behind
the orchestra, which also served as an area where actors could change their costumes. It was
known as the skêné (scene).

• Paraskenia – a stone scene wall, called a paraskenia, It was a long wall with projecting sides
which may have had doorways for entrances and exits.
• Altar – the altar acted as a focal point around which the chorus danced and sang.
• Parados – is a side-entrance to the stage, a parados was one of two ways on which chorus and
actors made their entrances from either side into the orchestra.

There were several scenic elements commonly used in Greek theatre:

1. mechane - a crane that gave the impression of a flying actor (thus, deus ex machina).
2. ekkyklêma - a wheeled platform used to bring dead characters into view for the audience
3. pinakes pictures hung to create scenery
4. thyromata- more complex pictures built into the second-level scene (3rd level from ground)

5. phallic props used for satyr plays, symbolizing fertility in honor of Dionysus.

Masks
Mask-makers were called skeuopoios or "maker of the properties," suggesting that their role
encompassed multiple duties and tasks. The masks linen, leather, wood, or cork, with the wig
consisting of human or animal hair were most likely made out of light weight, organic materials
like stiffened. The ancient Greek mask called prosporon (face) was a significant element likely
used in ceremonial rites and celebrations in the worship of Dionysus. The masks created a sense
of unity and uniformity, while representing a multi-voiced persona or single organism and
simultaneously encouraged interdependency and a heightened sensitivity between each
individual of the group.

Other Costume details

Actors with tragic roles wore boots called cothurni that elevated them above the other actors.
The actors with comedic roles only wore thin soled shoes called a sock.
Melpomene is the muse of tragedy and is often depicted holding the tragic mask and wearing
cothurni. Thalia is the muse of comedy and is similarly associated with the mask of comedy and
the comedic “socks”.

• Oedipus the King

This is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was
first performed around 429 BC. The action of
Sophocles' play concerns Oedipus' search for the
murderer of Laius to end a plague ravaging Thebes,
unaware that the killer he is looking for is himself. At
the end of the play, after the truth is revealed,
Jocasta hangs herself while Oedipus, horrified at his
patricide and incest, proceeds to gouge out his own
eyes in despair.
Oedipus the King

Sophocles is credited with several major and minor dramatic innovations like "scene paintings"
or other pictorial props to establish locale or atmosphere.
A typical Sophoclean drama presents a few characters, impressive in their determination and
power and possessing a few strongly drawn qualities or faults that combine with a particular set
of circumstances to lead them inevitably to a tragic fate all tragically developed with great
economy, concentration, and dramatic effectiveness, creating a coherent, suspenseful situation
which epitomized the tragic form to the classical world.
Sophocles has also been admired for the sympathy and vividness with which he delineates his
characters as well as unsurpassed-creating moments of high dramatic tension and in his
revealing use of tragic irony.
He accepted the gods of Greek religion and contented himself with
presenting human characters and human conflicts. To him, human
beings live for the most part in dark ignorance because they are cut
off from these permanent, unchanging forces and structures of
reality.

• Medea
This is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides based on the
myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot
centers on Medea's revenge against Jason's betrayal of her with
another woman.
Lesson 2:
Renaissance and Romantic Theatres
• Renaissance Theatre
English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre or Elizabethan theatre,
refers to the theatre of England between 1562 and 1642. Theatres were also constructed to
hold large amounts of people. The cost of admission was based on where in the theatre a
person wished to be seated, or based on what a person could afford.

Performances
One distinctive feature of the companies was that they included only males. Female parts were
played by adolescent boy players in women's costume. Performances also occurred in the
afternoon since no artificial lighting existed yet. When the light did begin to fade, candles were
lit so that the play could continue until its end.

Costumes
Costumes were often bright in color, visually entrancing, and expensive. Occasionally costumes
were donated by patrons, but more often than not actors wore the clothes of their day.
Costumes were also used to recognize characters. Colors symbolized class, and costumes were
made to reflect that. The colors as well as the different fabrics of the costumes allowed viewers
to know the roles of each actor when they came on stage.

Genres
Genres of the period included the history play, which depicted English or European history.
Tragedy was an amazingly popular genre. The audiences particularly liked revenge dramas. The
four tragedies considered to be Shakespeare's greatest ("Hamlet", Othello", "King Lear", and
"Macbeth") were composed during this period. Comedies were also common. A subgenre
developed in this period was the city comedy, which deals satirically with life in London after
the fashion of Roman New Comedy.

• Romantic Theatre
Several important technical innovations were introduced between 1875 and 1914. First gas
lighting and then electric lights. The elevator stage allowed entire sections of the stage to be
raised, lowered, or tilted to give depth and levels to the scene. Melodrama was the
predominant theatrical style: it involved a number of scenic effects, an intensely emotional but
codified acting style, and a developing stage technology that advanced the arts of theatre
towards grandly spectacular staging.
Technological Changes
• Stage lighting
From 18th century theatre lit by candles and oil-lamps, major early 19th century theatres slowly
adopted gas lighting to provide illumination for the house and the stage. The introduction of gas
lighting provided more natural and adequate light for the play and the scenic space upstage of
the proscenium arch. The introduction of electric light coincided with the rise of realism: the
new forms of lighting encouraged more realistic scenic detail and a subtler. more realistic acting
style.

• Scenic design

One of the most important scenic transition into the century was from the two-dimensional
scenic backdrop to three-dimensional sets. As a two-dimensional environment, scenery did not
provide, an embracing, physical environment for the dramatic action happening on stage. When
three-dimensional sets were introduced in the first half of the century, coupled with changes in
audience and stage dynamics as well as advancement in theatre architecture that allowed for
hidden scene changes transported audiences to a conceived 'other' world.

Romeo and Juliet

"Romeo and Juliet" is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare
early in his career about two young lovers whose deaths ultimately
reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most
popular plays during his lifetime and, along with "Hamlet", is one of
his most frequently performed plays.

William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's use of poetic dramatic structure has been praised as
an early sign of his dramatic skill. The play ascribes different poetic
forms to different characters, sometimes changing the form as the
character develops.

Carmen
"Carmen" is an opera in four acts with the libretto written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halivy
based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée.
The opera is written in the genre of opera comique with musical numbers separated by
dialogue.
Story: It is set in southern Spain and tells the story of the downfall of
Don José, a naive soldier who is seduced by the wiles of the fiery
gypsy Carmen. José abandons his childhood sweetheart and deserts
from his military duties, yet loses Carmen’s love to the glamorous
toreador Escamillo, after which José kills her in a jealous rage. The
depictions of proletarian life, immorality and lawlessness, and the
tragic death of the main character on stage, broke new ground in
French opera and were highly controversials.
"Carmen" forms the bridge between the tradition of opera comique
and the realism or terismo that characterized late 19th century Italian
opera.

Carmen (Opera) 1875

Georges Bizet
Alexandre César Léopold Bizet was a French composer of the romantic
era best known for his operas Bizet achieved few successes before his
final work, "Carmen", which has become one of the most popular and
frequently performed works in the entire opera repertoire.

Lesson 3:
Basic Elements of Musical Theatre
Playwriting
Playwriting and creating drama for each playwright is distinctively different. Plays can develop
out of any combination of starting points and patterns. The processes by which drama is created
for each playwright can be varied in the steps used to create the text.
Below is a simple list in a progressive order, but order can change depending on each
playwright's characteristic style and preferences for writing.
The basic steps involved in the development of drama include:
1. Coming up with the thought/theme/ideas to be expressed through the work
2. Determining the genre and style of the work
3. Outlining the basic action of the work and creating plot.
4. Establishing the structure of the play and overall framework
5. Developing characters presented in the work.

6. Creating dialogue and the language of the characters.

7. Creating music that involves the rhythm of the language or actual music composition and the
lyrics of the songs.
8. Establishing spectacle that includes the visual and environmental elements of the work.

9. Researching subject matter and relevant issues presented in the play

Elements of Drama
Most successful playwrights follow the theories of playwriting and drama that were established
over two thousand years ago by a man named Aristotle. In his work The Poetics”, Aristotle
outlined the six elements of drama in his critical analysis of the classical Greek tragedy “Oedipus
Rex” written by the Greek playwright, Sophocles, in the fifth century B.C. The six elements as
they are outlined involve: Thought, Theme, Ideas; Action or Plot; Characters; Language; Music;
and Spectacle.

1. Thought/Theme/Ideas

What the play means as opposed to what happens (the plot).

2. Action/Plot
The events of a play: the story as opposed to the theme; what happens rather than what it
means. The plot must have some sort of unity and clarity by setting up a pattern by which each
action initiates the next rather than stands alone without connection to what came before it or
what follows. The action and movement in the play begins from the initial entanglement,
through rising action, climax, and falling action to resolution.
3. Characters

These are the people presented in the play involved in the perusing plot. Each character should
have their own distinct personality, age, appearance, beliefs, socioeconomic background, and
language.
 4. Language
The word choices made by the playwright and the enunciation of the actors of the language.
The language and dialogue delivered by the characters move the plot and action along, provides
exposition and defines the distinct characters.
5. Music
Music can encompass the rhythm of dialogue and speeches in a play or can also mean the
aspects of the melody and music compositions as with musical theatre. Music creates patterns
and establishes tempo in theatre. In the aspects of a musical theatre, the songs are used to
push the plot forward and move the story to a higher level of intensity.
6. Spectacle
The spectacle in the theatre can involve all aspects of scenery, costumes, and special effects in a
production. It includes all visual elements of a play created for theatrical event.

Script/Text, Scenario, Plan

This is the starting point or blue print of a theatrical performance. The element most often
considered as the domain of the playwright in theatre.

The Process
This is the coordination of the creative efforts usually headed by the director. It is the process by
which the playwright’s work is brought to realization by the director, actors, designers,
technicians, dancers, musicians, and any other collaborators that come together on the script,
scenario, or plan. This is the “work in progress” stage.

The Product
This is the end result of the process of work involved. The final product results from all of the
labors coming together to complete the finished work of script, scenario, and plan, in union
with all of the collaborators to create the final product.

The Audience
For all of the arts, public is essential. The physical presence of an audience can change a
performance, inspire actors, and create expectations.

Further Considerations of the Playwright

The Genre and Form of the play is an important aspect. Some playwrights are pure in the choice
of genre for a play. They write strictly tragedy or comedy. Other playwrights tend to mix genre,
combining both comedy and tragedy in one piece of dramatic work.