Functional Polystylism in Music Theatre: A Study in Contemporary Operetta

Abstract

The advent of musical postmodernism in the second half of the twentieth century helped remove the distinctions between high and low art forms and in doing so, allowed for many new compositional approaches. One major avenue of approach is that presented by postmodern eclecticism, in particular, polystylism. Polystylism, specifically polystylist techniques that are used functionally within composition, offer a unified approach to the use of eclectic musical styles, irrespective of their cultural progeny. Similarly, the operetta format also straddles the eclectic realms of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture, although the format’s use had diminished greatly by the 1960’s. The use of polystylism in other contemporary music theatre however, proliferated towards the end of the twentieth century and as such has enjoyed a comprehensive modern repertoire. This thesis and portfolio of creative work combines the functional elements of polystylism with the underutilised operetta format with a view to enhancing the form and in so doing, narrow the boundary between populist and art music theatre.