Speech
and DramaAcademic Information
In 2002 I completed a thesis as part of my Honours for Bachelor of Arts. I had completed a double major (film and drama) so I could choose either for my thesis subject. I chose drama but there are elements of film and music - my other love - in it.
Thesis Abstract.
Music in Melodrama: From the Victorian Stage to Twentieth Century Screen studies the use of intrinsic, original music in stage and screen productions and the impact this has on audiences’ understanding of the action.
Chapter One: Melodrama, looks at how the term ‘melodrama’ originated from early nineteenth century theatre productions, what aspects of these productions were common and how the music in these productions interacted with these other aspects to the benefit of audiences. The following four chapters look at specific case studies from theatre and screen and how music has remained intrinsic to melodrama for two hundred years.
Chapter Two: A Tale of Mystery, is the play labelled the first melodrama to be performed on the English stage. Performed in 1801, this play paved the way for a new type of theatrical performance that incorporated intrinsic music into the production to compliment, disagree or comment on the action.
Chapter Three: The Bells, continues the study of music in theatrical productions, showing that although the amount of music in the production is smaller, it remains intrinsic to the action and audiences’ understanding.
Chapter Four: The Sentimental Bloke, looks at melodrama after making the transition to the screen and how music also became important to that medium. Music had to be used to assist audiences, as films in the early twentieth century were silent. Music remained intrinsic to the action.
Chapter Five: The Piano, looks at how music has remained intrinsic to melodrama, even towards the end of the twentieth century.
This multi-discipline thesis is intended to shed light upon a type of drama that requires music to exist, and explains how the music works with the action to lead audiences to a certain understanding of the production.
The following are some extracts from Music in Melodrama from the Victorian Stage to Twentieth Century Screen.
"Melodrama is identified through its Greek origins: ‘melos’ meaning music and ‘drama’ meaning action. Although in its broadest sense melodrama means music and action, it has come to be, and indeed has been, determined through certain characteristic features. These include the plots and narratives, types of characters or stereotypes, settings, and the emphasis on emotions. While being useful for their identification with melodrama, these features can be seen as causes for the confusion surrounding the genre, due to the reductive and simplistic statements used in describing them. […]
"The fundamental aspect that binds these features together is the music which was crucial in audiences’ understanding of the action. The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre’s only mention of music in melodrama is to describe it as "loud music to accompany the predictable emotions", which shows the contributors complete lack of knowledge regarding the emotions, and indeed, the music of melodrama. The Oxford Companion to the Theatre shows a little more understanding describes the "incidental music" used to accompany spoken dialogue. It misunderstands the use of music towards the end of the nineteenth century when it states that music in melodrama gradually became less important during that time. It is true that the amount of music used in melodramas decreased, but it retained its importance to the productions throughout the nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. Although the term ‘incidental’ describes the use of music that accompanies actions or incidents – with the term today meaning background music used for television, films, or plays – the connotation is that the music is of secondary or little importance. The music, however, does more than accompany events in the action, it is important in the understanding of the drama. ‘Intrinsic’ is a far more appropriate term for the relationship of music to the action, characters, atmospheres and settings in melodrama. […]
"While music for screen melodrama served many of the same functions that music served for the Victorian theatre, it also had one new responsibility. The music in stage melodrama could pause in order to focus on the action. The music, however, that accompanied screen melodrama, or indeed any silent film had the tendency of continuing through the film without a significant pause. Stopping or an extensive pause would not only cause a lapse in the concentration of the audience, but it would break the illusion of the on-going life on the screen. […]
"The music serves as the link between Victorian melodrama and modern melodrama. In Victorian times, the music was used to support the action on the stage, guiding and shaping audiences’ emotional reactions. Even though the audiences were of varying intellectual levels, music was the element of the productions that traversed all levels of intellect and class. Music could be understood by all and is most likely the reason why melodrama was so popular for such a long period of time. With all this said, melodrama was not confined to the theatre even though its dominance of the stage ended ten years into the twentieth century. The film industry, necessarily, became the new medium through which the diverse audiences could appreciate melodrama. Film took over the role that the theatre once had with regard to the entertainment of the populace, and in doing so continued the ideas concerning the use of music in melodrama. […]
"This study has attempted to provide an analysis of the functions of the music in a melodrama and the way in which the music guides audiences in their understanding of the action. Music has proved to be an essential aspect of many theatre and film productions, but none more so than in a melodrama, where, without the music, the drama could not exist."
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