A Study Of The Characteristics Of Theatrical Music In The Conceptual Musical “Into The Woods”

Categorizing the major musical theatre is very important in the musical learning process.As one of the important schools in the musical,Steven Sondheim's Concept musical is different from the Book musicals,where the plot is developed primarily by the concepts.Typical the characteristics of theatrical music in the conceptual musical: the conceptual motif,non-linear narrative structure,conceptual music vocabulary,and conceptual subconsciousness are revealed in many of Sondheim's works.As the musical<Into the Woods>is a representative work of the mature period of Sondheim,where the characteristics of theatrical music are represented incisively.This article aims to explore how these four characteristics are demonstrated in his representative works via tracing the origin of conceptual musicals,analyzing Sondheim's creative style and interpreting the musical elements.Since the analysis of scripts and sheet music is the principal way to grasp the composer's creative style in-depth,the understanding of the artistic details of <Into the Woods> could help musical actors and creators to better perform similar works.