What are the differences between musicals and operas in theme selection, music structure, music style, sound expression, beautiful dance equipment and dance functions?

I recommend you an online article, which is quite research-oriented:

Similarities and differences between opera and musical.

Abstract: The musical form of musical is opera, which is the modern inheritance of classical opera art and the mainstream of modern musical. Musical and opera are the same in form, and there is no obvious dating between them, but there are still similarities and differences.

Let's talk about the similarities and differences between opera and musical from the perspective of the public and individuals.

First, what are operas and musicals?

Opera is a comprehensive art that integrates music (vocal music and instrumental music), drama (script and performance), literature (poetry), dance (folk dance and ballet) and stage art. It usually consists of aria, recitation, duet, chorus, overture, interlude and dance scene. Sometimes used to speak plain English and recite. As early as in ancient Greek drama, there was chorus accompaniment, and some recitations even appeared in the form of singing; In the Middle Ages, miracle dramas with religious stories as the theme and promoting religious views were also filled with incense and continued to this day. Modern western opera, which can really be called "musical", came into being at the end of16th century and the beginning of17th century with the secularization of music culture in the Renaissance.

Musical drama evolved from comic opera and operetta (or operetta) Early called musical comedy, later referred to as musical. It is an opera genre that originated in England at the end of 19, and it is a drama form that combines dialogue and singing. Musical, music, singing and dancing are equal to a furnace, full of humor and comedy. Its music is easy to understand, so it is very popular with the public. Musicals are performed all over the world, but the most frequent performances are on Broadway in new york and West End of London in England. Therefore, the names of Broadway musicals can refer to musicals staged on Broadway, and often refer to all musicals similar to Broadway styles.

Secondly, talk about the differences between them, that is, similarities and differences.

1, musical is mainly pop music, supplemented by classical music; The opera runs through the whole play with bel canto.

2. The content of the opera is expressed by exaggerated arias and recitations, and the whole drama is mainly psychological; Musical has no recitation and aria, but more dialogue without accompaniment, and the whole play is content-centered.

3. Opera emphasizes the technical content of vocal music, while musical emphasizes the stage effect. So musicals have more dance elements than operas.

Musicals are mostly dark tones, while operas are always elegant and pleasant.

5. Musicals are popular in singing (such as rock, blues, jazz, country, R& etc.). B and so on ), bel canto, and opera is absolutely only bel canto.

6. The accompaniment of opera is mainly live orchestral music, while the accompaniment of some musicals (such as Cat) is pre-recorded.

7. In terms of circulation, musicals are shorter, more concise and easier to understand than operas, while operas are unpopular because of their long length.

8. In terms of lyrics, musicals are playful, funny and easy to understand, while operas are relatively dull, and some even use ancient languages.

9. In content, musicals emphasize "imagination and modernity"; Traditional Chinese opera emphasizes "elegant music".

In fact, it is difficult to make an accurate standard to distinguish these two art forms, but for people who often go to the theater, their respective characteristics are still obvious.

First of all, compared with opera, many songs in musicals are not solo.

Secondly, the songs in musicals are shorter, simpler and easier to sing, while operas rely on solo arias to dominate the overall situation. Generally speaking, every dramatic turn of aria will push the whole play to a climax.

Thirdly, although the songs in musicals are easier to be independent of the whole drama and more suitable for singing alone in bars and other entertainment places, they are not necessarily suitable for the development of the plot, and the actors need to set off the atmosphere through dancing or other performances to drive the plot to a climax. Therefore, musicals generally have more dance elements than operas, and early musicals even have song and dance performances without scripts.

In terms of lyrics, musicals tend to express the experience of the world, while opera is always a poetic language, expressing joy and joy.

Finally, compared with opera, if the former is realistic, then the latter must be romantic. It is also a solo to express romantic love. In a musical, its tune may be sad.

To sum up, unlike opera, which emphasizes music over scripts, musicals first require high-quality scripts; Musicals don't pursue difficult singing skills and dramatic expression like operas, but often pay more attention to the poetic melody, the natural folk voice, the cordial and easy-going singing and the sincere and moving expression of words and feelings. In opera, dance is often regarded as an interspersed and colorful factor, but in musicals, dance is an extremely important means of expression, which can be said to be "two-thirds" of songs, dances and plays; Different from the leaping stage narration of opera, musical belongs to the traditional type, paying attention to the coherence of the plot and pursuing the beginning and end of the story; In narrative rhythm, it belongs to modern jumping type, pays attention to fast rhythm, is good at creating tension and pursues a warm and hot stage atmosphere.

Finally, talk about personal feelings and thoughts.

Musical is not so much a new art form as a modern musical that inherits the art of opera. Although it is comprehensive in artistic techniques, it still has a unique opera tradition in artistic forms. Careful analysis; If drama doesn't need to be understood and dance drama doesn't need to be danced, then of course we won't call it drama and dance drama, because Taoism and dance are their only important features. But a musical, without Taoism and dance, is still a musical, because it belongs to the type of opera, and it inherits the characteristics of opera. It is inseparable from music and singing. It just belongs to a category of drama. From opera, operetta, comic opera, musical to musical full of opera color. Musicals are annotated in the Oxford Concise Music Dictionary as follows: Musicals, a drama genre similar to operetta, usually refer to American musical performances developed from Broadway in New York State. Compared with [MUSICALCOMEDY], it is more complex and refined, and closer to opera. If you watch a musical, there is Wagner, the great German opera master's evaluation of opera; That is, "Opera is a drama that develops with music". Then, we can also say that "Musical is a drama with music". The only difference between them is the musical style.

We can't help but admit the reality that opera has been regarded as the "Chun Xue" on the altar of art for more than a hundred years, and there are very few representative creative works, and there are also very few audiences who can really appreciate opera, because such audiences must be based on certain opera consciousness and musical accomplishment, and they need to have certain aesthetic conditions. So a large part of its audience is what we call "insiders". But at the same time, in the transition from the post-industrial era to the information age, movies, television and the Internet have had a profound impact on the public and changed their aesthetic needs to a great extent. People's orientation towards entertainment has become more extensive, and even an art form needs to obtain more information. Therefore, musical has gradually occupied the market share of opera and become the mainstream of modern musical with its modern characteristics such as fashion, popularity and popularity.

In short, from the phenomenon point of view, the protagonists in the opera always maintain elegant and noble manners to live, love and die, but in the musical, the scene of the protagonist's farewell to his lover can be a messy market, and they are bound to be tired and haggard. From the perspective of characterization, the villain in the opera is portrayed as a heinous and downright bad guy, while the hero is fearless, while the hero and heroine in the musical are more humanized. No wonder, some people judge that if an opera sounds too musical, it will be criticized as too frivolous; On the other hand, musicals that are too operatic will also be criticized as too divorced from reality.

The most impressive opera is La Traviata, and the most impressive musical is Romeo and Juliet. Both are tragedies, but the causes are different. The former is because of the different status, and the latter is because of the long-term opposition of the family, and the final result is the beginning of sadness. Two couples who love each other to death can't get together in the end, only two souls that no longer exist.

La Traviata embodies the similarities and differences between opera and musical, and Romeo and Juliet also embodies the similarities and differences between musical and opera. La Traviata and Romeo and Juliet are different in plot development and characterization. It deliberately emphasizes a typical negative image and a heroic image. The latter did not, and the opposition of family members made each character's portrayal relatively even. Judging from the development of the plot, the former reflects the social reality and the latter reflects the historical image. The former pays more attention to the artistic rendering of music, while the latter pays more attention to the cooperation between dance and music, and has high requirements for dance. The former almost runs through the whole drama with bel canto, while the latter is dominated by pop music, supplemented by classical music.