Expert: Marbeth - 12/8/2011

Question
Good day. I am a high school student from Asia and we have just started on Classical Music at school. And I am really confused about the Singspiel and Broadway musicale. Are they the same? And can you also explain them to me further?

Thank you so much.

Answer
Singspiel is a German opera form in which the words are sung in German, which was a departure from earlier operas.  Before this, in Germany and all other countries which had composers writing operas, the operas were sung in Italian only.  (Italy is the birthplace of opera.  It is one reason why musical terms are Italian words...unless you're a French or German composer, in which case you would prefer to be chased by 100 large dogs than to write in Italian.

Unless you were rich and could travel, you weren't likely to be able to understand Italian.  Therefore, listening to an opera could be a confusing experience.  All you had to go on was the action on stage.  I think this is the reason opera has acquired the reputation as being "exclusive-ist" and "snooty."  

If you were Italian, of course, opera was fantastic!  Dramatic!  Eye-popping costumes!  Sword-fights, duplicity, betrayal!  Kisses, fluttering eyelashes, tender looks!  Everything was over the top, AND you understood it!  (The modern TV genre, the =soap opera=, comes directly from this Italian extravaganza tradition.  The =soap= in =soap opera= is because these programs were originally sponsored by soap companies.)

Regular opera had very little spoken dialogue.  Nearly always, the opera was sung.  By contrast, singspiel had real dialogue!

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In traditional [Baroque] opera, the action is described in short "wordy" bursts.  These are called =recitatives=.  After the recitation about the action, there follows the singer's feelings about that action or a long treatment of some small detail of described in the recitative.  This music is called an =aria=.  In the aria is when the singer demonstrates his/her spectacular vocal skills.

Listen to Handel's =Messiah=.  It is not an opera with action, but it is an opera nonetheless (this is called an oratorio).  There are soloists and a chorus.  There are recitatives and arias.  There is a dramatic plot.  What makes an oratorio different from opera is that everyone just stands in place to sing, and there are no costumes or stage action.

Listen to "And suddenly, there was with the Angel...".  This is the recitative that tells the action.  The text is:  "And suddenly, there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying."

Now follows the aria (this one happens to be sung by the chorus - a group of singers, as opposed to a soloist, who sings alone – but an aria by the chorus is pretty rare): "Glory to God!"  

Singspiel was a departure from Italian opera.  There was spoken dialogue, sometimes extensive, rather than a few phrases.  Depending on the plot, there could be folks songs, popular songs of the day, and other music that was not written by the composer but that was incorporated into the opera.

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A Broadway musical is sung in English. All the ones I can think of were written in English; this musical form is the American incarnation of opera.  

Listen to =Phantom of the Opera=.  This is a
Broadway musical and uses many operatic devices:  the dark character (the Phantom) is the bass; the "hero" (though we do not hear from him or see him much) is a tenor; the heroine is a soprano.  The other female lead (the Diva) is an alto.  There are a few chorus numbers, but not a lot.

Now listen to =Jesus Christ, Superstar=.  The hero (Christ) is still a tenor, and the female lead (Mary Magdalene) is still a soprano.  Now the bass assumes his other operative stereotype:  the comic buffoon (Herod).  I don't remember if there's another female main character in this musical or not; you'd have to find out; she's likely to be an alto.  There are many chorus numbers in this one.  

Now listen to =Grease=.  What similar elements do you find?  How about =West Side Story=?

A Broadway musical usually has quite a bit of spoken dialogue.  

There's also dancing, sometimes a lot of dancing.  

Pop songs can be used, but usually only if they are a "prop" device, such as singing "Happy Birthday" during a birthday party scene or a Christmas carol during a scene about a school Christmas program.

As with opera and singspiel, there are costumes, stage sets, and props.

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Singspiel is a form of opera, and so are Broadway musicals!

The main differences, I suppose, is that they are 200 years apart and sung in different languages.  Plus how non-composer music was used.  Other than this, they are pretty much the same.

You are very welcome!
mb