Academic literature on the topic 'Musical revues, comedies, etc'

Abstract This article documents representations of Salome, an archetypal exotic femme fatale, in American popular songs of the early twentieth century. The production of Salome songs began shortly after the sensational 1907 U.S. premiere of Richard Strauss's Salome at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Vaudeville performers, beginning with the Met's own prima ballerina, capitalized on the ensuing fad for Salome dances, which the New York Times called “Salomania.” Relevant songs and dances figured in musical comedies and revues until some time after the return of Strauss's opera to the New York stage, in the 1909 Manhattan Opera Company production with Mary Garden in the title role. Through the next decade, musical, lyrical, and illustrative tropes that originated in the Salome songs became disassociated from the figure of Salome, gradually merging into “oriental fox-trots” and exotic romance songs. The topical humor of the Salome songs suggests that American audiences were skeptical of the allure of orientalist fantasy, then at its height in Europe, and that an unwillingness to grant artistic legitimacy to Salome's religious-themed eroticism is an important marker of the American reception of works such as Strauss's.

Background. Analyzing the origins of the school of Kharkiv Academic Theater of Musical Comedy, we cannot ignore its founders. People’s Artist of the UzSSR O. Ivashutych was a director, head of the theatre (during the 1940s), drama actor from the year of its founding (1929) to 1971. Methods and novelty of the research. The research is based on historicalchronological, biographical, typological, and comparative methods with an element of performances and roles reconstruction. Not much is known about O. G. Ivashutych. The only encyclopedic reference about him (from the “Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine”) does not shed light on the director’s method, indirectly giving an idea only of the acting range. The work of Yu. Stanishevsky (1970) on the first forty years of musical comedy theaters of Ukraine (“Colors of Ukrainian operetta”) has several useful elements of reconstructions of the roles in the early period of O. Ivashutych’s work. N. Yermakova’s (2012) monograph “The Berezil Culture…” contains facts and important assessments of O. Ivashutych’s activity as a member of the Berezil Art Association. The author of this paper has collected more than 30 articles in the funds of scientific libraries and Specialized music and theater library of Kharkiv, as well as in the archives of KhATMK, and for the first time the information about the work of O. Ivashutych is analyzed. In addition, the actresses who worked with O. Ivashutych were interviewed. Therefore, this study is the first to reveal and systematize peculiarities of the creative path of O. Ivashutych, an actor, director, head of Kharkiv Theater of Musical Comedy. The director made about 40 productions on the stage of Kharkiv Theater of Musical Comedy and in Central Asia, where he was later evacuated. As an actor, O. Ivashutych played more than 100 versatile roles. The article aims to identify and characterize the main stages of the creative path of O. Ivashutych as well as differences between his acting and directing in different aesthetic eras. Results. O. Ivashutych’s creative individuality leaned towards the tragicomedy of Charlie Chaplin and Maryan Krushelnytsky. As a student of Les Kurbas in the Berezil Art Association and a member of the director’s laboratory of this theater, Les Ivashutych mastered the method of the famous avant-garde company, Les Ivashutich mastered the stage method of the famous avant-garde company, skillfully building rhythm of a performance and a role, turning to circusize, grotesque sharpening of images. In his directing work on the stage of the Musical Comedy Theater, O. Ivashutych, as a pupil of “The Berezil”, sought to consistently develop two repertoire trends: the embodiment of the best European classics (often exclusive in the country salon repertoire) and Ukrainian works (musical comedies and operettas by M. Verykivsky, M. Lysenko, O. Riabov). In our opinion, during these years L. Ivashutych drew a dash line of the European repertoire in his theater: he presented unique in the history of Kharkiv Theater of Musical Comedy operettas “The Borgia’s Garter” by K. Kraus, “Jeanne Who Cries and Jean Who Laughs” by J. Offenbach, “Ball at the Savoy” by P. Abraham (1940), “The Marriage Market” by V. Jacobi (1947), “The Eagle Feathers” by F. Farkas (1957), “Fraskita” by F. Lehár (1959), “The Waltz King” by J. Strauss (1961) and the first productions of famous operettas “Rose Marie” by G. Stotgardt and L. Friml (1942), “The Circus Princess” (1947), “Zorika (Gypsy Love)” by F. Lehár (directed by O. Ivashutych in the year of the composer’s death). In addition, O. Ivashutych staged four performances based on the musical comedies of the classic of Ukrainian operetta O. Riabov. The only performance, which could directly reveal the methodology of “The Berezil” was a fantastic comedy “Viy” (1951). The director also impressed with frank theatricality in circus scenes from the Milyutin’s operetta “Circus lights the fires” – together with choreographer A. Gulesco he managed to set up the style related to “girls” from “The Berezil” revues. Conclusions. Olexandr Ivashutych’s acting naturally evolved from the avantgarde of the 1920s – early 1930s, when he created, in particular, an eccentric image of Orpheus in the production of J. Offenbach, to the realistically psychological roles of 1950–1960, performed in a soft comedic manner (Amadeus in “The Bat”, Rooster in “Akulini”, Underwud in “The Kiss of Cianita”). L. Ivashutych worked as a director only during the period of the theater of “socialist realism”, which resulted in the corresponding realistic principles of his productions. However, even in such circumstances the director appreciated and skillfully used bright elements of theatrical imagery (fantasticality in “Viy” by M. Gogol, choreography in the spirit of the revue in “Circus lights the fires”). O. Ivashutych’s activity in Kharkiv Theater of Musical Comedy was based on the significant personal culture of the artist and his worldview of an intelligent leader.

The purpose of this study was to collect and annotate the musical dramas for children of elementary school age published since 1972. Musical dramas selected were limited to those having a story line rather than just a narrator and chorus, having dialogue interaction between the characters, containing mostly original music, and written for grades kindergarten through six. This document is intended as a resource for elementary school teachers and church workers who are searching for appropriate material for performance or study. Annotations of 210 musicals for children, sacred and secular, are the main emphasis of the study. Pertinent information in each annotation includes: basic story line, voice span (extreme range of the music), tessitura (range where most of the tones lie), recommended grade level, duration, type of accompaniment available, 1985 prices and required purchase for performance rights, staging requirements, number and characteristics of the songs, and personnel needed. Musicals were obtained through publishers, music retailers, and leasing firms. A part of the study is a history of musical drama in America and in America's schools. Musical drama has been a part of elementary education in America almost from its inception. The first musical drama in America was presented in Charleston, S.C., in 1735, and the first school music drama was presented in New York in 1853. Because children's musicals involve the child voice, information is contained in the study concerning practices which might cause vocal damage. Current research and theory about children's voice range is reported. Opinion is divided about proper natural voice range for children. Each viewpoint has supporting research. The study shows that an abundance of musical drama material is available for children of elementary age, especially the upper grades. A sourcebook for directors and producers of children's musicals has been included to assist those who have a limited knowledge of stage lighting, choreography, make-up, sound systems, sets, and costumes. Suggestions are provided for choosing a musical, holding auditions, scheduling rehearsals, and involving parents and community. 1973 was selected as the beginning date for inclusion of musicals in the study because of the resurgence of writing and publishing elementary school musicals and because of the growing number of musicals written for church children's groups. Recommended areas for further research concerning children's musicals include the present usage figures for published musicals, an annotated list of musicals using only narrators and choir, and usage figures of musicals by geographic areas.