There is a difference between opera and musical
theatre. Opera is 'through-
sung' with continuous music; musical theatre mixes singing with
speech. Many people think of musical theatre as something
frothy and light -
what used to be known as musical comedy. Today it can be as
well plotted and characterised as a play. From Rodgers and
Hammerstein's Carousel to Sondheim's Assassins it doesn't lack weight.That is what
attracts me to it and why I threw in my job with Inland Revenue and
took an MA in Musical Theatre at Goldsmiths College. There I
teamed up with James Thompson (he did the music) to creater a musical
(part of the course requirement) and we were fortunate in getting a
professional video recording of the production. Everyone
involved did a wonderful job. Here is a clip from the
production.
>p
I am now working with James on an adaptation of Stefan Zweig's Letter from an Unknown Woman and, with Andy Milburn, on an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Happy Prince which I hope will be performed sometime this year. Andy is a music
teacher and this is set mainly for young voices.
I would like to hear from
any composers looking for book and lyrics and you can e-
mail me on ben@francisgb.myzen.co.uk.
