Morgan’s Run: a compositional, structural and philosophical self-analysis of the creation of an Australian music drama

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Morgan's Run is an Australian music drama with libretto by Colleen McCullough and music by myself, the writer of this thesis. The thesis discusses the collaborative process and the creation of this work from an authorial perspective and as such is a unique case study as detailed self-analyses of music drama creation are mostly limited to shorter length exegeses accompanying compositional portfolios. The thesis also, and through the lens of Morgan's Run and other music dramas, discusses the boundaries between the genres 'opera' and 'musical' both from the perspectives of 'work' and also 'performance'. It does this through a series of case studies analyzing important works in both the operatic and musical theatre genres. Finally, the thesis considers the future of 'opera' and 'musical', particularly as regards the abandoning of traditional performance venues and what this means for the future of the genres. Thus, the future of Morgan's Run as dramatic live performance event is contextualised within the current trend of live ‘opera’ and ‘musical’ performance.