Presents
Study Guide
Virginia Opera Association ©2014
SWEENEY TODD:
THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Premiere
First performance on March 1, 1979 at the Uris Theater in New York City, New York
Cast of Characters
Sweeney Todd/Benjamin Barker, a barber
who was unjustly sentenced to prison
Mrs. Nellie Lovett, a widowed restaurateur
Anthony Hope, a young sailor
Johanna Barker, Todd’s daughter
Judge Turpin, Johanna’s guardian
Tobias Ragg, a simple young boy
Beadle Bamford, a corrupt church official
Beggar Woman/Lucy Barker, a madwoman
later revealed to be Barker’s former wife
Adolfo Pirelli/Danny O’Higgins, an Irish con
artist now posing as an Italian barber
Bass-baritone or baritone
Contralto or mezzo-soprano
Tenor
Soprano
Bass or bass-baritone
Tenor
Tenor
Mezzo-soprano
Tenor
Brief Summary
Setting: London, England in the year 1846
Benjamin Barker, under the name Sweeney Todd, returns to London after unjust exile,
having been rescued by Anthony Hope at sea. Evading a mad beggar woman, he makes his way
to Mrs. Lovett’s shabby pie shop where she recognizes him as her former tenant. Upon learning
that his wife took poison after being raped by Judge Turpin and that his daughter is Turpin’s
ward, he vows revenge. Lovett invites him to reclaim his old upstairs apartment. Anthony
catches sight of Johanna and instantly falls in love, vowing to free her. Todd, encountering a
flashy barber named Pirelli, beats him in a shaving contest and invites Turpin’s henchman the
Beadle to stop by his parlor for a shave. Later, awaiting the Beadle, Todd is interrupted by the
love-sick Anthony and then by Pirelli, actually Todd’s old helper Danny O’Higgins. When the
Irishman threatens blackmail, Todd kills him, though nearly caught by Toby, his victim’s young
helper. Turpin, on Beadle’s recommendation, plans a shave prior to marrying his ward. When
Anthony again interrupts and Turpin gets away, Todd angrily vows to murder all wealthy men.
Lovett has the idea of baking his corpses into her meat pies.
The pie business booms as Todd sends his victims down a chute to Lovett’s cellar. With
Johanna now in an asylum, Anthony asks Todd’s help in planning her rescue; Todd then alerts
the judge as a lure to his parlor. Lovett locks her new helper Toby in the cellar when he becomes
suspicious. When the Beadle appears to investigate Todd, he is ushered upstairs for a fatal
“shave”. Lovett warns Todd of Toby, who knows too much. Anthony frees Johanna from the
asylum; she hides in Todd’s parlor while Todd and Lovett search for Toby, now missing.
Returning to his shop, Todd finds the beggar woman in his parlor and quickly kills her before
Turpin arrives. As the judge settles in for a shave, Todd at last has his bloody revenge; Johanna
emerges and flees for her life. In the cellar, Todd recognizes the beggar woman as his wife Lucy.
When Lovett professes her love for him, Todd shoves her into the furnace and slams the door,
then cradles his wife’s body. Toby, now insane and hiding in the shadows, emerges to use
Todd’s razor to kill him as Anthony and Johanna arrive with the police.
SWEENEY TODD:
THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Full plot synopsis and musical highlights
Prologue
A group of Londoners gather to inter a body bag into a simple grave. They sing of a
heinous killer, Sweeney Todd. (“The Ballad of Sweeney Todd: Attend the tale of Sweeney
Todd”; No. 1)
Todd emerges from the grave to join in the song.
Act I
Near a port in London, early one morning in old London. Two men have just
disembarked from a seagoing vessel: Anthony Hope (a young sailor) and a gaunt individual
called Sweeney Todd. In “No Place Like London” (No. 2), we learn via song and dialogue that
Anthony found Todd clinging to a raft on the high seas and saved his life. They are interrupted
by a Beggar Woman who cries out pitifully:
Her pleas for money alternate bizarrely with lewd and lascivious language. Todd brusquely
chases her off.
Todd and Anthony prepare to take their leave of one another, but not before the sailor
promises to honor his pledge never to question his new friend about his mysterious past.
Sweeney is moved to remark with bitterness about his hatred for London and the people who live
in it. Turning pensive, singing more to himself than to Anthony, Todd muses on a particularly
sad story: the abduction of an innocent man’s wife by a “vulture of the law”:
Telling Anthony that he can likely be found around Fleet Street, Todd wanders off,
muttering darkly about his contempt for London and all who live there.
The following scene opens in the pie shop of one Mrs. Lovett, a widow of mature years
who makes a meager living selling savory meat pies. When Todd enters the shop, she screams in
delight at the rare occurrence of seeing an actual customer. Instructing him to take a seat, Mrs.
Lovett begins a rambling monologue complaining about business while rolling out the dough for
a new batch of pies and warning him of their terrible quality (“The Worst Pies In London”, No.
3):
When Todd inquires whether the room above her shop is available to rent, Lovett replies
that no one would care to live there since it’s known that something “not very nice” happened up
there years earlier. She goes on to recount in detail the events to which Todd alluded earlier: the
story of the barber Benjamin Barker whose wife Lucy was coveted by two men, the evil Judge
Turpin and his beadle. They conspired to send Barker away to prison on false charges, leaving
Lucy , eventually luring her to Turpin’s home. (“Poor Thing”, No. 4.) Lucy, in despair, poisoned
herself and the child.
Before she can disclose Lucy’s ultimate fate, the tormented Todd interrupts her with an
agonized shout. Mrs. Lovett’s suspicions are confirmed: Todd himself is Benjamin Barker and
has returned from a prison colony in Australia. Lovett, obviously his admirer, has kept his
barbering tools all these years and now returns them to him, saying “You can be a barber again!”
At the sight of them, Todd, now oblivious to Lovett’s attentions, lovingly touches his razors and
promises to put them to a new use: “You shall drip rubies; precious rubies”. (“My Friends”, No.
5.)
As Todd holds up his razor and screams triumphantly that “My right arm is complete
again”, the scene changes to the house of Judge Turpin, where a young orphaned woman named
Johanna lives as Turpin’s ward. Looking out from her bedroom window, she greets a birdseller
below. Musing on the caged birds in her solo “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” (No. 6), we come to
understand that Joanna sees herself as a kind of caged bird, living as a virtual prisoner of Turpin:
Johanna is unaware that she has an admirer in Anthony Hope, who has been watching
and listening to her from below. He longs for her to “favor him with a glance” (“Ah, Miss”, No.
7). Just as their eyes meet, Anthony is interrupted by the Beggar Woman, who repeats her plea
for alms. When the sailor returns his gaze to the Joanna’s balcony, she has withdrawn. The
Beggar Woman explains Joanna’s situation, then resumes her lewd taunting as Anthony throws
coins at her to get rid of her. When Joanna reappears, Anthony beckons her down to the street,
where he presents her with a caged bird as a gift and sings an ardent declaration of love
(“Joanna, Part I”, No. 8):
The moment is spoiled by the sudden entrance of Judge Turpin and the Beadle. Turpin
angrily threatens Anthony with bodily harm should he show his face there again. Grabbing the
bird from its cage, he breaks its neck and tosses it away. Alone now, Anthony resumes his solo
(“Johanna, Part II”, No. 8A), transforming it into an impassioned vow to steal her away from
Turpin.
As the next scene opens, a young boy named Tobias is drawing a crowd by hawking a
concoction he calls “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir” (No. 9) claiming that the liquid cured his baldness
by growing a thick head of hair.
As excited townspeople begin clamoring to buy bottles of the elixir, Todd and Lovett
express their suspicions about this “Pirelli”. Buying a bottle, Todd realizes it’s worthless and
begins to interrupt Tobias’s pitch with loud and disparaging remarks. When his harangue
threatens to drive the paying customers away, Pirelli himself appears with a dramatic flourish.
Sporting a thick Italian accent, Pirelli demands to know who dares criticize his elixir. Todd
responds by challenging him to a barbering contest. Each will shave a man from the crowd. The
Beadle agrees to be the judge.
As the contest begins (“The Contest, Part I-II”, Nos. 10 & 10A). Pirelli keeps up a steady
stream of patter, boasting about his world-wide exploits (including shaving the Pope), and
making a great show of sharpening his razor and mixing up shaving cream. In the meantime,
Todd completes a perfect shave in a couple of deft strokes as the Beadle declares him the winner.
Taking advantage of the situation, Todd invites the Beadle to his parlor for a complimentary
shave.
Later, as the Beggar Woman wanders by the pie shop calling for alms, Todd and Lovett
are back in her shop. He is restless with impatience, unable to bear the delay of his plans for
revenge on the Beadle and, most of all, Judge Turpin. Lovett urges him to relax (“Wait”, No.
12):
But it is Anthony, rather than his hoped-for victims, who appears to tell Todd of his love for
Johanna and to ask if he may safely bring her around to the barber shop as a safe haven after he’s
gotten her away from Turpin.
Anthony departs, soon followed by yet another visitor: the barber Pirelli. Mrs. Lovett
keeps Tobias busy with a pie so the two men may be alone upstairs. Dropping his Italian accent,
“Pirelli” reveals that he is Todd’s former assistant, the Irishman Danny O’Higgins. When it
becomes clear that he intends to blackmail his former master, Todd swiftly strangles him,
temporarily storing the body in his trunk. When Tobias comes up looking for him, Todd sends
the boy back down to Lovett for “another tot of gin”. He then dispatches the dying O’Higgins
with a razor-slash to the throat. (“The Ballad of Sweeney Todd”, No. 12C).
Meanwhile, Johanna and Anthony, together at last, are discussing her imminent forced
marriage to Turpin and Anthony’s plan to save her (“Kiss Me”, No. 13):
At the same time, the Beadle is suggesting to the Judge that he prepare for the coming
nuptials by attending to his appearance via a visit to Todd’s barber shop (“Ladies In Their
Sensitivities”, No. 14).
Todd is stunned but excited when Turpin unexpectedly enters his shop for a shave. Todd,
once his enemy has explained the purpose for his visit, appeases Turpin be singing an ode in
praise of feminine beauty (“Pretty Women”, No. 16):
Just as it appears the Judge is to meet his fate, Todd is interrupted by Anthony, who
bursts in with news of his plans to rescue Johanna, at first unaware of Turpin’s presence. The
latter, enraged by Anthony’s words, storms out, saying he will never return.
Frustrated to the point of madness, Todd chases Anthony away and flies into a rage, now
vowing not merely to have vengeance on Turpin but on all of humanity as well (“Epiphany”, No.
17):
Mrs. Lovett, by now accustomed to calming down her excitable boarder, slyly hints that
she has an idea of what to do with all the bodies Todd plans to murder, “I mean, with the price of
meat what it is”. Quickly catching on that she intends to use human flesh in her meat pies,
Todd’s mood quickly improves as he and Lovett wittily speculate on the suitability of various
types of people as food-stuff (“A Little Priest”, No. 18):
Act II
As the curtain rises, Tobias is once again delivering rapid sales patter to a crowd of
Londoners, but this time it’s at Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, where people are enthusiastically
devouring her new and improved meat pies as fast as she can bake them. (“God, That’s Good”,
No. 19.)
Lovett is annoyed by the Beggar Woman, who hovers around the shop disapprovingly.
At the same time, Todd is awaiting the delivery of his new, custom-made barber chair.
When it arrives, he proudly shows it to Lovett. They rehearse the signals that will activate their
new routine. When he has a fresh corpse upstairs, he will knock three times and she’ll do the
same, whereupon a lever on the chair will cause a chute to open, depositing the body down
below, ready to be processed and cooked. Lovett happily hurries back to her clamoring
customers.
Days later, Anthony wanders the streets, searching for Johanna, who has disappeared,
while Todd, eerily calm and contemplative, speculates about his long-lost daughter while
dispatching gentleman after gentleman (“Johanna – Act II Sequence”, No. 20).
As day turns to night, foul smoke rises from the pie shop’s oven as Mrs. Lovett feeds the
flames with “objects”. The Beggar Woman, prowling the neighborhood, choking and coughing
from the smell, tries to raise an alarm:
Todd and Lovett has slipped into a semblance of domestic life. After a day’s work, she
contentedly dreams of a seaside vacation while he sits, lost in his thoughts, barely paying
attention to her rambling (“By the sea”, No. 21).
Anthony, having discovered that Turpin has committed Johanna to Fogg’s lunatic
asylum, begs Todd for assistance in rescuing her. Todd hits on the idea of Anthony gaining
entrance by posing as a wigmaker hoping to acquire hair from the inmates. Using his barber’s
expertise, Todd gives the sailor a crash course in varieties of hair color in order to lend his ruse
more credibility (“Wigmaker Sequence”, No. 22). Together they write a letter requesting a
meeting with Fogg. Agreeing to bring Johanna to Todd’s parlor once freed, Anthony hurries
away, armed with a pistol Todd has provided.
Alone now, Todd writes a letter of his own. Hoping to compel Turpin to return to his
shop, Todd informs him of the plan to have Johanna delivered to the barber shop that very
evening as a chorus sings the words he pens as he writes them.(“The Letter”, No. 22A).
Down below in Lovett’s parlor, Tobias, who has come to regard her as his adopted
mother, attempts to warn her that Todd may be involved in “evil deeds”. He vows to protect her
(“Not while I’m around”, No. 23):
When Tobias realizes that Lovett is in possession of Pirelli’s coin purse, she lures him
into the cellar on the pretext of teaching him to operate the meat grinder. As he rotates the
handle, she locks him in. Returning to her parlor, she is disturbed to find Beadle Bamford sitting
at her harmonium. He has come to investigate the townsfolks’ complaints of a terrible stench
emanating from her chimney.
Distracting him with a few lively tunes (“Parlor Songs”, No. 24), Lovett is relieved when
Todd arrives. Quickly grasping the situation, Todd slyly invites the Beadle up for his overdue
complimentary shave. Moments later, the Beadles’ freshly killed body slides down the chute.
Tobias stares curiously at a piece of human fingernail he has discovered in the meat grinder as
the body tumbles into the cellar. Lovett advises Todd that Tobias is on to their scheme and must
be handled.
Anthony, having been welcomed as a wigmaker, arrives at the asylum. With Johanna at
his side, he draws his pistol at Fogg, but lacks the nerve to use it when the warden blocks their
way. Johanna herself grabs the gun and kills Fogg with a single shot. As the couple flees hastily,
the asylum inmates escape as well, shrieking about “the end of the world” (“City On Fire”, No.
26).
At the same time, there is no sign of Tobias in the cellar, prompting a desperate search
for the boy by Todd and Lovett in the streets near the pie shop (“Searching”, No. 27). When
Todd spots Judge Turpin approaching his parlor, he immediately returns, his vengeance finally
close at hand. Unaware that Johanna, wearing Anthony’s sailor’s garb, is hiding in the trunk that
once held Pirelli’s body, Todd graciously seats Turpin in his barber chair, savoring the moment
to the fullest while assuring his nemesis that Johanna longs to be reunited with her guardian.
Turpin recognizes Todd as Benjamin Barker just as the razor slashes his throat. Todd sends the
Judge to the cellar and, remembering that Tobias is still at large, rushes out to resume the search.
Johanna, in shock at what she has heard, emerges from the trunk only to be confronted by Todd,
who has returned for his razor. Todd does not recognize his daughter and is ready to murder her
as well when he is interrupted by Lovett’s scream from the cellar. Johanna makes good her
escape.
Todd hurries to the cellar, where Lovett has been shouting “Die! Die!”. It seems the
Judge survived his attack and attempted to grab her before finally succumbing. With the Beggar
Woman’s body at his feet, Todd takes a second look at her. In horror, realizes he has just killed
his beloved wife Lucy. In a rage, he accuses Mrs. Lovett of lying to him when she said his wife
had poisoned herself, A nervous Lovett attempts to placate him by explaining that she never said
Lucy had died; in point of fact, the poison she took resulted in her insanity. She goes on to say
that she was only attempting to spare him more sadness because she, Lovett, loves him (“Final
Scene”, No. 29).
Feigning affection, Todd takes Lovett in his arms and engages her in a macabre waltz,
apparently willing to “forgive and forget”. Just as Lovett begins to think she has escaped his
wrath, Todd dances her to the mouth of the great oven, shoves her inside and slams the door
shut, leaving her to be devoured by the flames.
With both weariness and tenderness, Todd returns to the body of Lucy, cradling her head,
overcome with grief. (“Final Scene, No. 29A). Tobias, whose hair has turned completely white,
emerges from a shadowy cellar corner. Driven mad by all that has occurred, the boy idly picks
up Todd’s razor and delivers a fatal slash to the barber’s throat. He begins turning the crank of
the meat grinder as Anthony and Johanna, accompanied by police they have summoned, burst in
to survey the horrific tableau before them
Epilogue
In a number that also serves as a sort of curtain call, the chorus does one final reprise of “The
Ballad of Sweeney Todd” (“Final Scene”, No. 29) as one by one, murdered characters including
the Beggar Woman, Judge Turpin, Pirelli, the Beadle and, finally, Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney
Todd rise from the dead and join in the song, with its grim moral: “To seek revenge may lead to
Hell, but everyone does it, though seldom as well as Sweeney -- as Sweeney Todd, the Demon
Barber of Fleet Street”.
SWEENEY TODD:
THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Historical Background
Was there a real Sweeney Todd?
While most have assumed Sondheim’s musical to be a work of fiction, a British author
named Peter Haining, in his 1993 book Sweeney Todd: the Real Story of the Demon Barber of
Fleet Street, made the case that the story was based on an actual serial killer named Sweeney
Todd who lived from 1748 until executed by hanging for his crimes in 1804. While some give
credence to Haining’s argument, other researchers discredit the author, claiming the sources cited
in his work cannot be verified.
Sweeney Todd in literature and film
Hugh Wheeler’s book for the musical is based on a 1970 play by Christopher Bond also
titled Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Bond, in turn, drew on a variety of
sources in re-telling a story that has appeared in many guises for over two centuries.
The first appearance of a Todd-like character occurred in 1795 in a British magazine. In
1825, that story was re-told in another publication called Tell-Tale magazine. Although the main
character is French in this version, many familiar aspects of the homicidal barber take shape: he
kills his customers and delivers the corpses to a woman who is renowned for her meat pies. The
barber also gives her a string of pearls taken from one of his victims. The victim’s dog eventually
guides police to a basement piled with gruesome remains.
The character and his story developed still further with the appearance in 1846 of The
String of Pearls as a serialized novel in one of London’s so-called “penny dreadful” newspapers
in eighteen installments. (See below for more information.) In this treatment, the barber is now
named Sweeney Todd and his barber shop is located on Fleet Street, details which were never to
be altered again. We also have the first appearance of a sweet young girl named Johanna, the
love-interest of a sailor who is the hero of the story. These two are the clear ancestor’s of
Sondheim’s Joanna, now Todd’s daughter, and her suitor Anthony Hope.
The String of Pearls was a smash hit, leading to Sweeney Todd’s first incarnation as a
stage play, courtesy of a dramatist named George Dibdin-Pitt, whose adaptation debuted in
London in 1847, adding a subtitle: The Fiend of Fleet Street. Without the protection of our
modern concept of copyright laws and intellectual property, Dibdin-Pitt’s drama is reproduced
many, many times in a variety of stage-works, most of dubious quality. Some of them
incorporated musical numbers. Some even restored the dog from the 1825 story.
But the next version to advance the plot still closer to Sondheim’s final form came from a
novel by Frederick Hazleton in 1862. In this work, Johanna, like the corresponding character in
the musical, disguises herself as a man in a search for her lover.
A film about Sweeney Todd from 1936 was directed by George King and starred an actor
with the “convenient” name of “Tod Slaughter” in the title role. By now, many of the familiar
characters have coalesced into figures resembling those Sondheim would depict, including Mrs.
Lovett, the apprentice Tobias and a corrupt Beadle.
But it was Bond’s drama which, in the opinion of many, elevated Sweeney to the status
of a tragic character worthy of great music drama by creating a plausible motive for his
homicidal rage other than poverty and general depravity. Bond imagined Todd as a man betrayed
by a corrupt justice system, adding the characters of Judge Turpin and Lucy, in addition to
transforming Johanna the maiden into Joanna, Todd’s daughter. It is revenge against his
tormentors and the essential corruption of all mankind that spurs Sweeney to his actions.
With Bond’s script adapted by Wheeler and lyrics by Sondheim, Sweeney Todd: the
Demon Barber of Fleet Street opened on at the Uris Theater on Broadway in 1979, with its West
End London premiere the following year. The original Broadway production closed in 1980 after
557 performances. The role of Sweeney was created by Len Cariou, with Angela Lansbury the
original Mrs. Lovett. Despite mixed reviews from critics (the New York Times complained that
“there is an uncomfortable void in the evening, to my mind, a most serious one”), the show has
been revived numerous times, establishing it as perhaps Sondheim’s most popular work with the
public. Most recently, a film version of the musical starring Johnny Depp as the demon barber
was released in 2007 and was moderately successful, grossing over 50 million dollars in the
United States.
The “Penny Dreadful”
This term originated in England in the 1830’s to describe a phenomenon born of the
Industrial Revolution and advances in printing technology. Penny Dreadfuls were cheap
publications of fiction, printed on poor-quality pulp, intended for an avid audience of young men
and boys from the working class. Stories were told in weekly installments and were full of lurid
violence, gore and sensationalism. Popular characters starring in these serialized stories included
Sexton Blake, hero of over 4,000 stories, and Jack Harkaway, whose popularity extended to
America.
While the Penny Dreadfuls gradually disappeared, the concept has remained in examples
of pulp fiction such as dime novels and magazines such as the iconic Weird Tales, an American
horror-fantasy publication printed in Chicago, Illinois from 1923-1954.
Grand Guignol Theater
Featuring cannibalism and graphic special effects including the cutting of throats as it
does, Sweeney Todd: the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is strongly influenced by a genre of
Parisian theater known as “Grand Guignol”
Guignol was a French puppet character similar to the traditional puppets known as Punch
and Judy; thus the name “Grand Guignol” roughly means “Big puppet”. The theater was opened
in 1897 by Oscar Méténier, who was also its first stage director. His goal was to present dramas
depicting life among the lower classes of French society, including the poor and homeless,
prostitutes and criiminals. In this respect, the aims of Grand Guignol resembled those of the
contemporary movement in Italian opera known as “verismo” such as Mascagni’s Cavalleria
Rusticana.
However, when Max Maurey joined the staff, the productions took a darker turn,
specializing in tales of horror staged for maximum shock value upon the audience members,
some of whom became ill while in attendance. These dramas earned Grand Guignol its notoriety
and, for several decades, the theater (which held less than three hundred specttors) was a popular
venue. The special effects in Maury’s shows were realistic and gruesome. No violent act was too
extreme to be simulated in the bloody climactic scenes.
Another aspect of the dramas were the settings, usually an insane asylum, prison or other
place harboring depraved individuals. Sondheim’s musical does the same, in the scene depicting
Joanna being rescued from an insane asylum.
Following World War II the Grand Guignol theater experienced a sharp decline in
popularity, due to a combination of factors. First, the events associated with the Holocaust were
so horrific that no theater could surpass them in shocking the public. Second, a change in
administration shifted the focus of the drama from horror to psychological suspense. Third, films
were replacing theater as the primary source of horror for audiences with an appetite for it. The
theater closed its doors for good in 1962.
SWEENEY TODD:
THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Discussion questions
1. Should the audience be surprised when it is revealed that the Beggar Woman is Todd’s wife
Lucy? Why or why not?
2. Is Todd a sympathetic character? Again, why or why not?
3. Some have said that the depiction of Londoners eating human flesh is a commentary on the
nature of society, particularly life in nineteenth-century England. Based on what you know of
British history, what do you think is meant by such an observation?
4. The script makes clear that the Beggar Woman and (in the final scene) Tobias are insane.
Do you believe Sweeney Todd is insane, or merely evil? How about Mrs. Lovett: a madwoman,
or a scheming psychopath?
5. Imagine that there is a sequel to this musical, one that continues the story of Anthony and
Johanna’s future life together. Do you think they will enjoy a happy marriage? Why or why not?
6. How does the nature of the vocal writing in “The Worst Pies In London”, both in terms of
melody and rhythm, serve to define and reveal Mrs. Lovett’s personality and character?
7. Discuss the function of the chorus in the drama. How many distinct functions do they
assume? Are they merely “townsfolk” at all times?
8. When Todd sings “There was a barber and his wife” as part of “No Place Like London”
(No. 2), the meter changes from measure to measure in this sequence: 2/2; 3/2; 6/8; 2/2; 3/2; ¾;
5/8; 9/8; 3/4; 9/8 and so on, seldom using the same meter in two consecutive bars. Why does
Sondheim employ this device and what is the result as you listen to the passage?
9 Compare and contrast the musical language of Sweeney Todd with that of more “traditional”
musicals such as Les Miserables, Cabaret, The Phantom of the Opera, or other classic shows.
Consider vocal writing, orchestration, harmony, melody and other pertinent elements.
10. Many musicals offer ballet and/or showy dance numbers. Sweeney Todd has no dance
numbers. Why do you think this is so?
A Short History of Opera
The word opera is the plural form of the Latin word opus, which translates quite literally as
work. The use of the plural form alludes to the plurality of art forms that combine to create an
operatic performance. Today we accept the word opera as a reference to a theatrically based musical
art form in which the drama is propelled by the sung declamation of text accompanied by a full
symphony orchestra.
Opera as an art form can claim its origin with the inclusion of incidental music that was
performed during the tragedies and comedies popular during ancient Greek times. The tradition of
including music as an integral part of theatrical activities expanded in Roman times and continued
throughout the Middle Ages. Surviving examples of liturgical dramas and vernacular plays from
Medieval times show the use of music as an “insignificant” part of the action as do the vast mystery
and morality plays of the 15th and 16th centuries. Traditional view holds that the first completely sung
musical drama (or opera) developed as a result of discussions held in Florence in the 1570s by an
informal academy known as the Camerata which led to the musical setting of Rinuccini’s drama,
Dafne, by composer, Jacopo Peri in 1597.
The work of such early Italian masters as Giulio Caccini and Claudio Monteverdi led to the
development of a through-composed musical entertainment comprised of recitative sections (secco
and accompagnato) which revealed the plot of the drama; followed by da capo arias which
provided the soloist an opportunity to develop the emotions of the character. The function of the
chorus in these early works mirrored that of the character of the same name found in Greek drama.
The new “form” was greeted favorably by the public and quickly became a popular entertainment.
Opera has flourished throughout the world as a vehicle for the expression of the full range
of human emotions. Italians claim the art form as their own, retaining dominance in the field
through the death of Giacomo Puccini in 1924. Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, and Leoncavallo
developed the art form through clearly defined periods that produced opera buffa, opera seria, bel
canto, and verismo. The Austrian Mozart also wrote operas in Italian and championed the
singspiel (sing play), which combined the spoken word with music, a form also used by Beethoven
in his only opera, Fidelio. Bizet (Carmen), Offenbach (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Gounod (Faust), and
Meyerbeer (Les Huguenots) led the adaptation by the French which ranged from the opera comique
to the grand full-scale tragedie lyrique. German composers von Weber (Der Freischütz), Richard
Strauss (Ariadne auf Naxos), and Wagner (Der Ring des Nibelungen) developed diverse forms such as
singspiel to through-composed spectacles unified through the use of the leitmotif. The English
ballad opera, Spanish zarzuela and Viennese operetta helped to establish opera as a form of
entertainment, which continues to enjoy great popularity throughout the world.
With the beginning of the 20th century, composers in America diverged from European
traditions in order to focus on their own roots while exploring and developing the vast body of the
country’s folk music and legends. Composers such as Aaron Copland, Douglas Moore, Carlisle
Floyd, Howard Hanson, and Robert Ward have all crafted operas that have been presented
throughout the world to great success. Today, composers John Adams, Philip Glass, and John
Corigliano enjoy success both at home and abroad and are credited with the infusion of new life into
an art form, which continues to evolve even as it approaches its fifth century.
The Operatic Voice
A true (and brief) definition of the “operatic” voice is a difficult
proposition. Many believe the voice is “born,” while just as many hold
to the belief that the voice is “trained.” The truth lies somewhere
between the two. Voices that can sustain the demands required by the
operatic repertoire do have many things in common. First and foremost
is a strong physical technique that allows the singer to sustain long
phrases through the control of both the inhalation and exhalation of breath. Secondly, the voice
(regardless of its size) must maintain a resonance in both the head (mouth, sinuses) and chest
cavities. The Italian word “squillo” (squeal) is used to describe the brilliant tone required to
penetrate the full symphony orchestra that accompanies the singers. Finally, all voices are defined by
both the actual voice “type” and the selection of repertoire for which the voice is ideally suited.
Within the five major voice types (Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Bass)
there is a further delineation into categories (Coloratura, Lyric, Spinto, Dramatic) that help to
define each particular instrument. The Coloratura is the highest within each voice type whose
extended upper range is complimented by extreme flexibility. The Lyric is the most common of the
“types.” This instrument is recognized more for the exceptional beauty of its tone rather than its
power or range. The Spinto is a voice, which combines the beauty of a lyric with the weight and
power of a Dramatic, which is the most “powerful” of the voices. The Dramatic instrument is
characterized by the combination of both incredible volume and “steely” intensity.
While the definition presented in the preceding paragraph may seem clearly outlined, many
voices combine qualities from each category, thus carving an unique niche in operatic history. Just as
each person is different from the next, so is each voice. Throughout her career Maria Callas defied
categorization as she performed and recorded roles associated with each category in the soprano
voice type. Joan Sutherland as well can be heard in recordings of soprano roles as diverse as the
coloratura Gilda in Rigoletto to the dramatic Turandot in Turandot. Below is a very brief outline of
voice types and categories with roles usually associated with the individual voice type.
Coloratura
Lyric
Spinto
Dramatic
Soprano
Norina (Don Pasquale)
Gilda (Rigoletto)
Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor)
Liu (Turandot)
Mimi (La Bohème)
Pamina (Magic Flute)
Tosca (Tosca)
Amelia (A Masked Ball)
Leonora (Il Trovatore)
Turandot (Turandot)
Norma (Norma)
Elektra (Elektra)
MezzoSoprano
Rosina (Barber of Seville)
Angelina (La Cenerentola)
Dorabella (Così fan tutte)
Carmen (Carmen)
Charlotte (Werther)
Giulietta (Hoffmann)
Santuzza (Cavalleria)
Adalgisa (Norma)
The Composer (Ariadne auf
Naxos)
Azucena (Il Trovatore)
Ulrica (A Masked Ball)
Herodias (Salome)
Tenor
Count Almaviva (Barber of Seville)
Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni)
Ferrando (Così fan tutte)
Alfredo (La Traviata)
Rodolfo (La Bohème)
Tamino (Magic Flute)
Calaf (Turandot)
Pollione (Norma)
Cavaradossi (Tosca)
Dick Johnson (Fanciulla)
Don Jose (Carmen)
Otello (Otello)
Baritone
Figaro (Barber of Seville)
Count Almavira (Le nozze di Figaro)
Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale)
Marcello (La Bohème)
Don Giovanni (Don
Giovanni)
Sharpless (Madama
Butterfly)
Verdi Baritone
Germont (La Traviata)
Di Luna (Il Trovatore)
Rigoletto (Rigoletto)
Scarpia (Tosca)
Jochanaan (Salome)
Jack Rance (Fanciulla)
Bass
Bartolo (Barber of Seville)
Don Magnifico (Cenerentola)
Dr. Dulcamara (Elixir of Love)
Leporello (Don Giovanni)
Colline (La Bohème)
Figaro (Marriage of Figaro)
Buffo Bass
Basso Cantate
Don Pasquale (Don
Pasquale)
Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte)
Oroveso (Norma)
Timur (Turandot)
Sarastro (Magic Flute)
Opera Production
Opera is created by the combination of myriad art forms. First and foremost are the actors
who portray characters by revealing their thoughts and emotions through the singing voice. The
next very important component is a full symphony orchestra that accompanies the singing actors
and actresses, helping them to portray the full range of emotions possible in the operatic format.
The orchestra performs in an area in front of the singers called the orchestra pit while the singers
perform on the open area called the stage. Wigs, costumes, sets and specialized lighting further
enhance these performances, all of which are designed, created, and executed by a team of highly
trained artisans.
The creation of an opera begins with a dramatic scenario crafted by a playwright or
dramaturg who alone or with a librettist fashions the script or libretto that contains the words the
artists will sing. Working in tandem, the composer and librettist team up to create a cohesive musical
drama in which the music and words work together to express the emotions revealed in the story.
Following the completion of their work, the composer and librettist entrust their new work to a
conductor who with a team of assistants (repetiteurs) assumes responsibility for the musical
preparation of the work. The conductor collaborates with a stage director (responsible for the visual
component) in order to bring a performance of the new piece to life on the stage. The stage director
and conductor form the creative spearhead for the new composition while assembling a design team
which will take charge of the actual physical production.
Set designers, lighting designers, costume designers, wig and makeup designers and even
choreographers must all be brought “on board” to participate in the creation of the new production.
The set designer combines the skills of both an artist and an architect using “blueprint” plans to
design the actual physical set which will reside on the stage, recreating the physical setting required
by the storyline. These blueprints are turned over to a team of carpenters who are specially trained in
the art of stage carpentry. Following the actual building of the set, painters following instructions
from the set designers’ original plans paint the set. As the set is assembled on the stage, the lighting
designer works with a team of electricians to throw light onto both the stage and the set in an
atmospheric as well as practical way. Using specialized lighting instruments, colored gels and a state
of the art computer, the designer along with the stage director create a “lighting plot” by writing
“lighting cues” which are stored in the computer and used during the actual performance of the
opera.
During this production period, the costume designer in
consultation with the stage director has designed appropriate clothing for
the singing actors and actresses to wear. These designs are fashioned into
patterns and crafted by a team of highly skilled artisans called cutters,
stitchers, and sewers. Each costume is specially made for each singer using
his/her individual measurements. The wig and makeup designer, working
with the costume designer, designs and creates wigs which will complement
both the costume and the singer as well as represent historically accurate
“period” fashions.
As the actual performance date approaches, rehearsals are held on the newly crafted set,
combined with costumes, lights, and orchestra in order to ensure a cohesive performance that will
be both dramatically and musically satisfying to the assembled audience.
Opera Etiquette
Have you ever been unsure of what is and isn't appropriate for you to do at the opera or
have you ever been annoyed by someone else's behavior there? If so, read on for some tips on
proper Opera Etiquette.
Dress Up
Most people like to dress up when they go to the opera because it's part of the fun! Nowadays
you can pretty much wear whatever you want. However, an evening at the opera is usually
considered to be a glamorous occasion, especially on an opening night.
Arrive On Time
You should always make sure you get to the opera house in plenty of time to get your tickets and
be seated before it starts. Thirty minutes before start time is usually sufficient. If you're late, the
ushers may let you in after the overture, but, if there isn't an overture, you may have to wait until
intermission and miss the entire first act!
Remain Quiet During the Performance
There's nothing worse than sitting near a chatterbox or a ringing cell phone during a
performance. Please turn off anything that can make noise, refrain from opening candy wrappers,
etc. Save your comments for intermission and, by all means, do not sing along!
Applaud When Appropriate
The correct times to applaud are when the conductor takes the podium at the very beginning of
the performance, after the overture, after a big aria, at the end of each act, and when the singers
come out to take a bow. If you are unsure of when those times are, it is best to wait and follow
the lead of other audience members.
Applaud Appropriately
Clapping while sitting or standing is always acceptable, and you can yell Bravo! to show
appreciation for a male singer, Brava! to show appreciation for a female singer, and Bravi! to
show appreciation for a group of singers. Yelling out anything other than those three words, as
well as screaming or whistling, is inappropriate.
Turn off Cell Phones, and Alarms.
This includes no photos with your cell phone or text messaging. Also, no cameras or recorders
should be used in the theatre.
No gum, food, or drinks in theatre.