Information AboutMelodrama |
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'' ( 1914 ).]] The word "melodrama" comes from the s and a hero who rights the disturbance to the balance of good and evil in a universe with a clear moral division. In recent decades the term has taken on pejorative connotations. A ''melodrama'' in a more neutral and technical sense of the term is a Play , Film , or other work in which plot and action are emphasized in comparison to the more character-driven emphasis within a Drama . Melodramas can be distinguished from Tragedy by the fact that they are open to having a Happy Ending . MELODRAMA IN OPERA AND SONG Originating in the 18th century, melodrama was a technique of using short pieces of music in contrast to, and sometimes accompanying, spoken drama. Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's Pygmalion , with music by Horace Coignet , is generally regarded as the first example of the form. This was a Monodrama . Written in 1762, this was first staged in Lyon in 1770. It was then taken up by Goethe in Weimar in 1772 with music by Anton Schweitzer . Some 30 other monodramas were produced in Germany in the fourth quarter of the 18th century. Georg Benda developed the Duodrama with his 1775 works Ariadne Auf Naxos and Medea and this form of melodrama was taken up by other composers, notably Mozart in Zaide and Thamos, König In Ägypten and Carl Maria Von Weber in Der Freischütz . The technique was also used in Lieder and song. By the end of the 's Pierrot Lunaire ( 1912 ), where Sprechgesang was used instead of rhythmically spoken words and which took a freer and more imaginative course regarding the plot prerogative. A few 's Sorcerer . In musicals, several long speeches in Lerner and Loewe 's Brigadoon are delivered to the accompaniment of rather beautiful, evocative music. In a similar manner, Victorians often added " Incidental Music " to a pre-existing play, adding background music under the dialogue. This type of often lavish production has mostly been relegated to film (see Film Score ) due to the cost of hiring an orchestra, though ubiquitous in film. Modern recording technology is producing a certain revival of the practice in theatre, but not on the former scale. A particularly complete version of the older form, Sullivan's incidental music to Tennyson's The Foresters is available online complete with several melodramas, for instance, No. 12 found here.[http://diamond.boisestate.edu/gas/foresters/act1sc2.html . The John Williams ' score to Star Wars , and Korngold's score to The Adventures Of Robin Hood are excellent examples of the modern usage. The classic and contemperary melodramas are still NOT very popular in todays society. VICTORIAN STAGE MELODRAMA According to Michael Booth in his classic study ''English Melodrama'' the Victorian stage melodrama featured a limited number of stock characters: the hero, the villain, the heroine, an old man, an old woman, a comic man and a comic woman engaged in a sensational plot featuring themes of Love and Murder. Often the good but not very clever hero is duped by a scheming villain, who has eyes on the Damsel In Distress until fate intervenes at the end to ensure the triumph of good over evil. The first English play to be called a melodrama or 'melodrame' was ''A Tale of Mystery'' (1802) by '' are a unique record of a bygone art-form. CURRENT USE Melodrama is ubiquitous on television: it is evident, for example, in a long series of TV Movie s about diseases or domestic violence, or the large number of hour-long television programs about Lawyer s, Police officers, or Physician s. Issues melodrama is a subspecies of melodrama in which current events or politics are given a dramatic treatment, hoping to use some recent crime or controversy as a vehicle to draw an emotional response from the viewer. The usual method is to involve lawyers, police officers, or physicians, who can then make speeches about the crime or controversy being dramatized. By this artifice, the dramatist seeks to engage the audience's recently refreshed sense of fear or moral disapproval, while simultaneously maintaining the posture that the drama so produced is timely and socially engaged. Action melodrama is another subgenre of melodrama that is particularly prevalent in the action Hollywood film Blockbuster . An athletic action hero is pitted against an evil Villain , and through a bevy of fights, car chases, love scenes and splatter, the hero overcomes the villain and restores the balance of good in the universe. This subgenre often includes a heroine who fights then falls in love with the hero. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are examples of the stars of these action melodramatic flicks. Informal use / Slang Casual use of the word as an adjective translates to exaggerated emotional Affect or ways in expressing oneself. For example: "Don't be so melodramatic!" This has fallen into common parlance. REFERENCES Michael Booth (1991) ''Theatre in the Victorian Age''. Cambridge University Press. SEE ALSO |
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