Résumés
Abstract
In the 1970s and 1980s, a flurry of activity in music theatre—a genre combining the genres of musical theatre, experimental theatre, and opera—prompted the creation of several new Canadian opera/music theatre companies specializing in crossover work, along with a creative outpouring of original genre-defying pieces. In this paper, I explore this period of generic experimentation in the history of Canadian opera, focusing on the work of the innovative company COMUS Music Theatre, founded in 1975 in Toronto. The company sought to revolutionize music theatre by presenting works that engaged with other media, as well as with theatre, popular music, dance, and performance art. COMUS Music Theatre’s production of Nightbloom (February 1984) serves as an example of the company’s generic innovation and experimentation. Through musical and textual analysis, and interviews with key figures in its creation, I explore the bold ways that COMUS Music Theatre succeeded in imagining a new way forward for opera singers and for music theatre in Canada in the 1970s.
Keywords:
- CEE,
- COMUS,
- Music Theatre,
- Opera
Résumé
Dans les années 1970 et 1980, l’effervescence du théâtre musical—un genre combinant les genres de la comédie musicale, du théâtre expérimental et de l’opéra—a favorisé la création de plusieurs nouvelles compagnies canadiennes d’opéra/théâtre musical spécialisées dans les oeuvres croisées, ainsi qu’un déferlement créatif d’oeuvres originales défiant les genres. Dans cet article, j’explore cette période d’expérimentation générique dans l’histoire de l’opéra canadien, en me concentrant sur le travail de la compagnie innovante COMUS Music Theatre, fondée en 1975 à Toronto. Cette compagnie cherchait à révolutionner le théâtre musical en présentant des oeuvres qui faisaient appel à d’autres médias, ainsi qu’au théâtre, à la musique populaire, à la danse et aux arts de la scène. La production de Nightbloom (février 1984) de COMUS Music Theatre est un exemple de l’innovation et de l’expérimentation génériques de la compagnie. Par le biais d’analyses musicales et textuelles, et d’entrevues avec des personnages clés de la création, j’explore les façons audacieuses dont le COMUS Music Theatre a réussi à imaginer une nouvelle voie pour les chanteurs d’opéra et pour le théâtre musical au Canada dans les années 1970.
Mots-clés :
- CEE,
- COMUS,
- théâtre musical,
- opéra
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Biographical note
Dr. Colleen Renihan is Associate Professor and Queen’s National Scholar at the DAN School of Drama and Music at Queen’s University. She holds an MA and PhD in Musicology from the University of Toronto, and an Artist Diploma in Opera from the Vancouver Academy of Music. Her research focuses on issues of voice, gesture transmission, memory, temporality, and the role of the arts in healthy aging. She has published chapters in several edited collections on opera, and in the journals twentieth century music, The Journal of the Society for American Music, University of Toronto Quarterly, The Journal of Music, Health, and Wellbeing, The Journal of Singing, and Music, Sound, and the Moving Image. Her monograph, The Operatic Archive: American Opera as History, was published by Routledge in 2020.
Bibliography
- COMUS Music Theatre. 1984. “COMUS Music Theatre presents the World Premiere of Nightbloom.” Press Release. January 13, 1984.
- Fortune, Lynette. 1984. “Review of Nightbloom.” The Eye Opener. February, 1984.
- Fuchs, Peter Paul, ed. and transl. 1975. The Music Theatre of Walter Felsenstein: Collected Articles, Speeches and Interviews by Walter Felsenstein and Others. Norton.
- Kraglund, John. 1984. “Music Theatre Tackles Joyce’s Prose.” The Globe and Mail. February 11, 1984.
- Littler, William. 1984. “Operatic Tour of Joyce’s World.” Toronto Star. February 12, 1984.
- Penfield, Wilder III. 1984. “Nightbloom: Brand New.” Toronto Sun. February 9, 1984.
- Salzman, Eric and Thomas Desi. 2008. The new music theater: Seeing the voice, hearing the body. Oxford University Press.
- Taylor, Rachelle and Hélène Plouffe. 2015. “Gabriel Charpentier.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Last updated July 17, 2015.
- Wardrop, Patricia. 2013. “COMUS Music Theatre of Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Last updated December 16, 2013.