On The Historical Controversy Between Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Two Musicals

Andrew Lloyd Webber was the preeminent British musical composer in the second half of the twentieth century,and his "megamusical" wave in the 1970 s and1980s created a monumental myth.On the road to the decline of Broadway musicals,Webber’s distinctive musical style brought the long-silent British musicals to the forefront of the world.This led to the extraordinary commercial success of numerous musicals on Broadway,in London’s West End,and in the international market,and was a major driving force in bringing British musicals to the world,occupying a pivotal position in the development of musicals in the 20 th century.In contrast,Webber has often suffered negative critical responses in professional schools and in the media(especially in the American media),and critical discourse on his musicals has been mixed,with the controversy over Webber’s musicals reaching its peak mainly in the 1980 s.This paper takes two musicals,Jesus Christ Superstar,written in 1971,and The Phantom of the Opera,written in 1986,as entry points for observation.The former is Webber’s early rock musical,which is an original adaptation of the Passion of the Christ and presented on stage through rock music,with a full "rebellious" spirit,and was questioned from the very beginning.The latter is a musical written during Webber’s "golden age",whose eclectic style,suggestive melodies and commercial marketing methods all reflect the characteristics of Webber’s musicals.This paper analyzes the two musicals and their controversial statements by critics and the media,reflecting the controversial points of Webber’s musicals,and interpreting and distinguishing the controversial points based on the ontological analysis of the two musicals.Finally,the paper expands the perspective to a more macro level-the subtle competitive relationship between Britain and the United States,the negative critical relationship between serious and commercial music,and the change of musical aesthetic consciousness-to observe the controversial causes of Webber’s musicals and further understand the development of musical theatre in the second half of the 20 th century.