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Dramatic and Musical Composition in the Musical Comedy Les Misérables
Cross-Cultural Studies
2016,
44(), pp.315-342
DOI : 10.21049/ccs.2016.44..315
Publisher : Center for Cross Culture Studies
Research Area : Literature
DOI : 10.21049/ccs.2016.44..315
Publisher : Center for Cross Culture Studies
Research Area : Literature
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There exists a general misunderstanding of the Musical as being both a dramatic genre and a musical genre. This misunderstanding lies in the fact that music fills the role of the drama. In other words, there exist a series of narrative episodes that help the development of the drama and music generates the ambience that corresponds to each episode. In this case, music is subordinated to the drama and thus becomes secondary. However, this paper seeks to show that in the Musical, musical composition is so strongly linked to the development of the drama that it is through the musical development that the drama unfolds. This paper seeks to explore this view through one of the most successful musicals of our time, Les Misérables. A musical adapted from a novel is not the retrenchment of a series of episodes from the original novel. The process of dramatizing the novel compels the musical creators to observe what to draw out as a dramatic action. The interesting points of a musical consist of how the musical creator has reflected his understanding of the fiction through the composition of the music. This is why this paper has created a table analyzing the forty musical compositions in Les Misérables. This table is meant to visualize the musical motifs employed in this play in order to explain the relationship between the musical composition and the development of the drama. The theme of Les Misérables lies in the transformation of Jean Valjean. His change includes the process of transformation from a thief to finding Jesus and his denial of being a sinner to his confessions of sinning. This paper explores the transformation of the dramatic action of Jean Valjean, which is symbolized by such themes as Misery, Love and Name established in musical form. The dramatic conflict between Jean Valjean and Javert as well as between Jean Valjean and Thénardier is also explored through the composition of music. The success of Les Misérables lies in its successful constitution of music that embodies the in depth interpretation of the original play.
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