NCEA Music 1.

6
AS 91095 6 credits
The Phantom of the Opera
Contextual Research and Analysis
Contextual Research
This activity requires you to present information about the context of the music work.
Your presentation should include origin, creation and development of the musical
with brief reference to opera. Key figures (people) and landmark works (music
compositions) should be summarized in brief.
Find out the people involved in creating the musical The Phantom of the Opera-
author, composers, librettists, etc as well as the historical significance of this
musical.
Keep a record of all the resources you use, as you will need to hand in a
bibliography at the end of your presentation.

Points to cover include:

Glossary of Musical Terms:
In your own words, gives definition of the following terms regularly used in
opera/musicals:

Use one ppt slide for 3 bullet points

Alto
Bass
Book
Box Office
Broadway
Cast
Chorus
Company
Composer
 Crew
Director
Diva
EntrActe
Impresario
Ingenue
Musical Director
Lyricist
Libretto
Melismatic
Off-Broadway
Operetta
Orchestration
Overture
Patter Song
Reprise
Soprano
Syllabic
Tenor
Vamp (in music terms)
West End

Background on the history of musical- from the ancient musical plays to the
opera and operetta of the later 16th to 19th century, the variety shows called
vaudevilles, to the current musical. Did NZers write any musicals?

This part should have roughly 25-30 slides, involving brief description or explanation
(short sentences), photos/pictures/maps/show programmes, youtube clips

Some key figures and important opera/musical works you should cover include:
1. In Italy- where it all started- the famous Claudio Monteverdi and his famous
opera Orfeo. What was Orfeo about?
 2. In France- where Louise the XIV, the Versaille Palace popularized operas in
central and northern Europe, and how Lully killed himself with
3. In England- Handel and his star Castrato Farinelli
4. In Austria- Gluck and his 70 operas!
5. In Vienna- Mozart
6. Back in Italy- Rossini, Verdi and Puccini
7. Back to Germany and France- Wagner, Richard Strauss and Offenbach
8. And to the cowboys USA-
9. The fun, glitz and glamour of the American shows combining music, dance
and drama, started in 1900s and gradually evolved to have music as central
focus that draws in the audience.
10. You should also include the popularization of New Yorks Broadway area
11. 1920s- The Showboat
12. 1930s- Anything Goes
13. 1940s- Oklahoma
14. 1950s- West Side Story
15. 1960s- The Sound of Music
16. 1970s- Fiddler on the Roof and Grease
17. Famous composers of the musicals- Roger and Hammerstein, Bernstein,
Sondheim
18. And back to the continental Europe and England
19. 1980s- Les Miserables, Cats, The Phantom of Opera
20. 1990s- The Lion King
21. 2000s- Wicked

You should include the famous NZ musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show, brief
plot summary, about the composer and a video link of one of the most famous song
in the show.

Make a youtube playlist documenting the history of musicals, and include the link in
your ppt.

In your own words, answer the following questions in the ppt. these should be in
paragraphs and no pictures/photos/videos are required in these slides.
What is the difference between an opera and a musical?
Which is more important- the plot of the musical or the music of the musical?
 The chicken or the egg? Does the audience and historical context influence
the way opera/musical are written, or the opera/musical written to
mould/create audience taste/popularity?

http://www.pathway2opera.com/path2opera2_008.htm

Background on Andrew Lloyd Webber- (5 slides max)

Brief biography on his education, family and upbringing, his music influences, other
music he has composed, awards he has received.
Make a timeline of his musicals (13 of them), and create a youtube playlist of his
musicals.

Background on Phantom of the Opera (the musical)

Use between 20-30 slides
Brief background of the book that was based on, and its author
The Paris Opera House- brief history of then till now
How Lloyd Webber came about composing the music and collaborating with
the lyricist.
Date and Location of the premier
Critics (good and bad) after the premier
Awards and different translations/versions around the world
Recent showings in NZ
Plot summary with reference to main characters and the solo/duet/chorus
numbers
List the main characters and their vocal range
List the backing band/orchestra instruments used
Create a youtube playlist of the songs in this musical, but using only cover
versions (in concert performance format, or instrumental, or remix)
In a sentence of two, explain the style and genre of The Phantom of the
Opera- how is it similar to a typical opera, and how is it similar to a typical
musical?

As we have viewed Phantom of the Opera together as a class, what is your opinion
on the opera with strong reference to the music: (2 slides)
POTO
Analysis Paired Presentation
Using the score and audio to help you analyse 2 contrasting pieces of music from
POTO
Musical Elements and Features

Elements and features Description Score references

Melody/pitch range
Who sings it? What is the vocal range (highest and lowest
note he/she/group sings)? Is the melody very
rhythmic/syllabic? Or more melodic/melismatic?
Is the melodic contour quite wide ranging or more stationary
(around the same notes)? Are the phrases quite short or
long? Any interesting patterns you can see?
Rhythm
What is the time signature? Does this change throughout
the piece? Is the rhythm quite static or syncopated? Does
this match the theme or description of what is happening
during the musical? Any interesting patterns you can see?
Harmony/tonality
What key are we in? does this change throughout the
piece? Is the accompaniment quite chordal (blocked
chords) or (broken chords)? Does the harmony matches
with the theme or description of what is happening during
the musical? Any interesting patterns you can see?
Timbre/tone colour
What instruments can you hear/see that is playing? Does
this change throughout the piece? How the use of particular
instrument, or combination of does instruments match with
whats happening in the storyline?
Texture
Is the texture quite thin? Or very thick? How is this texture
achieved (through combined voices? Or reduced
instrument)? Is the texture
monophonic/homophonic/polyphonic? Do these texture
changes reflect with the lyrics or whats happening in the
storyline?
Tempo
What is the bpm? Any other tempo indications? Does this
change?
Dynamics
Are there any dynamic changes? Do these dynamic
changes reflect with the lyrics or whats happening in the
storyline? (word-painting)

Form
Does the song have a structure (AB, ABA, verse/chorus
etc)
Special features
(Name and define these)
If your song is related to an earlier theme/motif/song and
there are elements of them that appears in your piece, do
mention them here.

Name compositional devices used in this work, define and outline the effect of each device, and state
where in the score it occurs.
Compositional device Definition and effect Score references
Sequence

Imitation

Repetition

Augmentation
Diminution

Compositional Devices: