Description
Book SynopsisAs the complicated relationship between music and theatre has evolved and changed in the modern and postmodern periods, music has continued to be immensely influential in key developments of theatrical practices. In this study of musicality in the theatre, David Roesner offers a revised view of the nature of the relationship. The new perspective results from two shifts in focus: on the one hand, Roesner concentrates in particular on theatre-making - that is the creation processes of theatre - and on the other, he traces a notion of musicality' in the historical and contemporary discourses as driver of theatrical innovation and aesthetic dispositif, focusing on musical qualities, metaphors and principles derived from a wide range of genres.
Roesner looks in particular at the ways in which those who attempted to experiment with, advance or even revolutionize theatre often sought to use and integrate a sense of musicality in training and directing processes and in performances. H
Trade Review
‘This is the first book to chart the history of the musicalization of theatre comprehensively in relation to writers, directors, scenographers, and performers, and it does so with great clarity and authority. … this book will secure a lasting place not only as a stimulating counter-history of twentieth-century theatre, but also as provocation to rethink the ontology of theatre itself, and the meaning of musicality.’
Music and Letters
‘Musicality in Theatre will serve as an important source for future studies in musical-theatrical intermediality…’
Contemporary Theatre Review
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction: premises and promises; Appia - musicality and the ‘inner essence’; Meyerhold - theatre ‘organized according to the music’s laws; Artaud - the musicality of sound, voice and noise; Writing with your ears - the musicality of playwriting; Theatre and jazz; The eclectic musicality of now; Conclusion: paradoxes of musicality; Bibliography; Index.
