Quote:
Originally Posted by skinmaan
Stage performance material sometimes gets its own classification or other times is lumped in with others. "Porgy & Bess" was a stage performance but is generally today classified as an English opera, which is a subset of classical. Ballets by Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky are similarly classical music. In contrast, we also have "Jazz Musicals" and "Rock Operas."
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A pet peeve of mine is calling a theater musical an opera, as though that somehow elevates it to a more important cultural realm. Certain of Stephen Sondheim's works, for example, are sometimes considered opera, but just because a musical is sung-through, it's not opera. Theater musicals are their own art form, even when performed by opera companies.