How Japanese Kabuki Art Affected Puccini's Opera Madame Butterfly and the West. On another "fine day" in 1904, European audiences witnessed the premiere of what would become one of the most beloved operas of all time, using a combination of Eastern and Chinese music. the West. Puccini's Madame Butterfly has captivated opera lovers with its exotic-sounding music. This music is actually a Western interpretation of the music found in the treasured Japanese art of Kabuki. It's not as far-fetched as you might think. Both cultures love melodramatic musical dramas. Kabuki and Opera are cultural forms of theater, music and dance combined. When you look at them “under the microscope”, they are not that different from each other. Perhaps the most difficult reconciliation between the two is their music, as Western and Eastern music can seem totally different from each other, but by listening to Madama Butterfly's music, one can find common ground between the two cultures. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Before discussing the opera itself, one must first “orientate” oneself with the music of Kabuki. The orchestra that performs alongside Kabuki is called Nagauta. It is said that “the growth of nagauta is closely linked to the evolution of kabuki theater in Tokyo.” (Malm 205) The first recorded performance of Kabuki took place in 15 96 when Okuni, a priestess, performed a lively version of a Buddhist festival dance, accompanied by the drums and flute used in Noh theater, as well than a little gong that she played herself. , plays. As Kabuki's popularity grew, it became a form of entertainment and advertising used by brothels and geisha houses. Most geishas and prostitutes had already mastered the samisen genre of kouta or “short songs.” These were lyrical but sometimes erotic poems accompanied by the samisen, a double-stringed instrument played similarly to a banjo. Most likely, the samisen was first used in a kabuki performance sometime before 1629, when women were banned from the stage, in order to incorporate the kouta into a performance. As kabuki dances developed, these "short songs" became insufficient. Thus, longer pieces were written and by 1740, the samisen had become one of the main instruments of the nagauta. In addition to kouta, nagauta began to incorporate several other genres of samisen music, including joruri, where the role of sung narration or commentary began in kabuki. Thus, “nagauta was born from the combination of the lyricism of shorter songs with the sustained power of longer narrative music.” (Willoughby, 165) Today, Nagauta consists of the samisen, the Noh flute, the bamboo flute (drawn from folk traditions), and various drums and other percussion instruments borrowed primarily from Noh or religious rituals. During a performance, the Nagauta can be classified into two main groups: the on-stage orchestra or debayashi, or the off-stage orchestra, also called geza. The debayashi consists of a row of singers and a row of samisen at the back of the stage. (Eight of each) and the drums and flutes, sometimes called hayashi, sit in front of them. In Contrast, the geza is in a room in a corner, stage right. This room is separated by a bamboo curtain, hiding the geza from public view, while allowing thegeza to watch the action on stage looking for cues. Most of the time, the geza consists of several samisens and debayashi singers, in addition to a myriad of percussion instruments ranging from temple drums to castanets and xylophones. Each of these instruments is used to produce a desired ambiance or sound setting. Musical instrumentation for the Nagauta has no dogmatic rules per se, although usually the singer and the samisen perform the main melodies. The bamboo flute will play pieces of these melodies to support them. The Noh flute, however, is used to play melodically, tonally and rhythmically different melodies and rhythms, alongside the samisen and singer who always sing the main melody. Other times, the Noh flute is used to create the mood for a particular scene and therefore may be incorporated into part of the geza. If, for example, the play were adapted from a Noh drama, then the flute would be part of the geza, playing original motifs of Noh music in analogy with the heritage of that play. In this case, the Noh flute is often played with the taiko drum and tsuzumi drums supporting the rhythm. In other cases, the tsuzumi and Noh flute play together while the tsuzumis accompany the samisen in a style called chirikaro. It is very likely that the samisen and tsuzumi are in rhythmic conjugation while the taiko and Noh flute are playing something different rhythmically, tonally and melodically. This is sometimes called the "sliding door effect" because each instrument can have its own internal rhythmic structure, but it doesn't have to start and end together. Like a sliding door, musicians seem to come and go as they please rather than exiting and entering as with a “swinging door” that most Western musicians follow. When Commodore Perry opened the doors to Japan, he started what was known as Meiji. Period, which lasted until 1912. The Meiji period was a time when the Western world rejoiced in the traditional arts of Japan, sparking a movement of "Japanism". Suddenly anything with a Japanese influence was in fashion. “Once the movement was launched, a swarm of amateurs followed” (Eric Chesnau in 1878. cited in van Rij). Likewise, the Japanese have adopted several characteristics of Western society, particularly in the area of music. Since then, Japan has supported two different musical cultures: the traditional music of the past, with its pentatonic melodies and soft nuances, and the polyphonic structure of the West, with its opposing counterpoints and chord progressions. As most people know. Western music, the central theory can be quickly described as follows. Music is made up of three major elements: melody, harmony and rhythm. The melody is the center of the music, which the rhythm highlights by supporting it or providing contrast. The function of harmony is to “color” the melody and impose movement on it by providing tension or releasing movement within a piece. This is accomplished through the use of chords related to the melody and its tonal context, also called a key. The melody itself may contain tension and release, but it is the harmony and rhythm that emphasize or diminish the potential tension and release present. This concept of tension and release in music is prevalent in music written for Western opera orchestras and that written for nagauta kabuki. In the case of Nagauta, although there is no polyphony, that is to say harmonic chords, as there would be in Western music (with the exception of intervalscoincident harmonics between the different melodies of the samisen and the noh flute). The noh flute and taiko, as previously described, serve the same function that harmonic chords might serve in the West. Furthermore, the tonal independence of nagauta instruments was a common phenomenon long before the first idea of bitonal music in the Western world, which, incidentally, was at the height of Japonism, and at the same time when Puccini wrote Madame Butterfly. When it comes to Puccini's instrumentation, he simply draws inspiration from what was popular at the time. It does not have any real Japanese instruments such as samisen or taiko in the score. This is partly understandable, because these instruments would be difficult to find in Italy and, furthermore, no one in this region would understand how to play them, while taking into account that there is a completely different notation system for these instruments. However, Puccini attempts to create some form of soundscape by using Western instruments capable of imitating those of the nagauta. "Instead, he combines the normal instruments of the orchestra to produce an exotic color, but it blends satisfactorily with the rest of the score." (Ashbrook 119) An example of this is at the entrance to Butterfly. The only instruments played at this time were the harp, piccolo, flute and bells, "all in unison, so they sounded like a small Japanese orchestra." (Ashbrook 119) These could imitate the samisen, Noh flute, bamboo flute, and geza bells, respectively. This happens again when Butterfly shows Pinkerton the goods she brought with her to the wedding; the instrumentation is the same as before. When Puccini is not imitating Japanese instruments, he still tries to maintain the intimate "chamber music" feel of many passages. This is accomplished by emphasizing simplicity and clarity of melody line, as is done in most nagauta music. A great example is the droning chorus. In this scene, Pinkerton's ship has been seen in the harbor, and Butterfly, confident that he will return to her as he promised three years ago, watches him anxiously and waits at the window for his return. In the orchestra, there is a single melody sung by the high choir and doubled by the muted strings. The woodwinds very gently play an ostinato that simply describes the potential chords implied by the melody, rather than polyphonically accompanying the melody as a complete chord, as most Western music is written. The piece is still played by a full orchestra, but the listener hears only two tunes: The fully developed melody, or ostinato, which, when played together, creates the same effect as the melodic line carried by the samisen, and the unity of the noh flute and taiko playing another tune, creating occasional harmony by playing two note intervals. Another common trait of Madame Butterfly and nagauta music is the use of musical themes. Whether in an Eastern or Western setting, the themes add to the intellectual entertainment of the listener, as one must already be familiar with the music. In a modern context, one might watch Bugs Bunny outsmart Elmer Fudd by disguising himself as a woman and flirting with him, while the viewer hears the orchestra playing the love theme from Tchaikavsky's Romeo and Juliet in the background. If one did not already know that this theme indicated love or passion, it has no effect on the scene. If we know the theme and its purpose, we can then understand why Elmer is so shy or turns red. In the case of Nagauta, thematic music is abundant. "Nagauta... makes extensive use of a series ofstereotypical melodic patterns." (Malm, 210) Whether they are called "melodic patterns" or themes, they can still be used in the same way as in much Western music. Most often, standard melodies describe certain moods or emotions. The nagauta might play a melody that implies death and tragedy, or they might play another melody that implies happiness and rejoicing "Some have said... the Nagauta composition is not a composition but. simply an arrangement." (Malm 210) This is because the themes themselves have strict meanings that are generally not meant to be broken or experienced. However, such a statement is too condescending, simply due to opinions East and West differ on what constitutes art. While the West values originality and improvisation, the East has limited its artistic material so that admiration can flow from it. he skill with which the musician operates within a carefully prescribed range. Another way to incorporate this theme into Nagauta is by involving a specific setting. As mentioned previously, one of the responsibilities of the geza is to provide background noise where a scene is taking place, thus aurally creating the setting. This can be accomplished effectively by using musical themes that the audience is already familiar with. For some context, Tsukada Island is a major island located at the mouth of the Sumida River in Tokyo. On the island there were many brothels and geisha houses. Guests boarded chartered boats to travel to the island. Meanwhile, boats full of samisen playing geishas, running alongside them, serenaded the passengers. One of the well-known songs that geishas played is called "Tsukada". Returning to the subject of thematic music produced by geza, if one were watching a Kabuki performance and heard the melody "Tsukada", one could assume several things: the setting most likely takes place along the Tsukada River, and the scene could be a geisha house our brothel. Comparing it to today's Western society, one might think the same thing when hearing "Lady Marmalade" and, thanks to Hollywood, immediately think of the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Anyone who has studied Puccini will find that he is one of the most famous people in the world. thematic composers, using melodic themes to represent characters, setting, emotion, and ideas. Madama Butterfly imitates the style of Kabuki in this regard, as Puccini generally uses themes for the setting most often. This is partly due to the opera's setting and the era in which it was written. As mentioned earlier, Japan, after spending so long in isolation, was a new curiosity to the Western world. Therefore, Puccini strove to bring authenticity to his listeners. "With characteristic thoroughness, Puccini took great pains to assimilate the musical background of Japan, a study in which we were greatly assisted by the wife of the Japanese ambassador in Rome." (Hughes, 114) Puccini's themes can be subdivided into three categories: those that are authentic and based on traditional folk songs, or those that may not be authentic but incorporate most of the characteristics of Japanese melodies, such as being based on pentatonic scales and having no major key. While Puccini tends to use the latter more, both are often used to refer to the setting or to evoke emotion, as in Kabuki, or they can be used even more to refer to events that took place or are coming. The first theme that is used in the »..

Essay / How Japanese Kabuki Art Affected Puccini's Opera Madame Butterfly and the West. On another "fine day" in 1904, European audiences witnessed the premiere of what would become one of the most beloved operas of all time, using a combination of Eastern and Chinese music. the West. Puccini's Madame Butterfly has captivated opera lovers with its exotic-sounding music. This music is actually a Western interpretation of the music found in the treasured Japanese art of Kabuki. It's not as far-fetched as you might think. Both cultures love melodramatic musical dramas. Kabuki and Opera are cultural forms of theater, music and dance combined. When you look at them “under the microscope”, they are not that different from each other. Perhaps the most difficult reconciliation between the two is their music, as Western and Eastern music can seem totally different from each other, but by listening to Madama Butterfly's music, one can find common ground between the two cultures. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay Before discussing the opera itself, one must first “orientate” oneself with the music of Kabuki. The orchestra that performs alongside Kabuki is called Nagauta. It is said that “the growth of nagauta is closely linked to the evolution of kabuki theater in Tokyo.” (Malm 205) The first recorded performance of Kabuki took place in 15 96 when Okuni, a priestess, performed a lively version of a Buddhist festival dance, accompanied by the drums and flute used in Noh theater, as well than a little gong that she played herself. , plays. As Kabuki's popularity grew, it became a form of entertainment and advertising used by brothels and geisha houses. Most geishas and prostitutes had already mastered the samisen genre of kouta or “short songs.” These were lyrical but sometimes erotic poems accompanied by the samisen, a double-stringed instrument played similarly to a banjo. Most likely, the samisen was first used in a kabuki performance sometime before 1629, when women were banned from the stage, in order to incorporate the kouta into a performance. As kabuki dances developed, these "short songs" became insufficient. Thus, longer pieces were written and by 1740, the samisen had become one of the main instruments of the nagauta. In addition to kouta, nagauta began to incorporate several other genres of samisen music, including joruri, where the role of sung narration or commentary began in kabuki. Thus, “nagauta was born from the combination of the lyricism of shorter songs with the sustained power of longer narrative music.” (Willoughby, 165) Today, Nagauta consists of the samisen, the Noh flute, the bamboo flute (drawn from folk traditions), and various drums and other percussion instruments borrowed primarily from Noh or religious rituals. During a performance, the Nagauta can be classified into two main groups: the on-stage orchestra or debayashi, or the off-stage orchestra, also called geza. The debayashi consists of a row of singers and a row of samisen at the back of the stage. (Eight of each) and the drums and flutes, sometimes called hayashi, sit in front of them. In Contrast, the geza is in a room in a corner, stage right. This room is separated by a bamboo curtain, hiding the geza from public view, while allowing thegeza to watch the action on stage looking for cues. Most of the time, the geza consists of several samisens and debayashi singers, in addition to a myriad of percussion instruments ranging from temple drums to castanets and xylophones. Each of these instruments is used to produce a desired ambiance or sound setting. Musical instrumentation for the Nagauta has no dogmatic rules per se, although usually the singer and the samisen perform the main melodies. The bamboo flute will play pieces of these melodies to support them. The Noh flute, however, is used to play melodically, tonally and rhythmically different melodies and rhythms, alongside the samisen and singer who always sing the main melody. Other times, the Noh flute is used to create the mood for a particular scene and therefore may be incorporated into part of the geza. If, for example, the play were adapted from a Noh drama, then the flute would be part of the geza, playing original motifs of Noh music in analogy with the heritage of that play. In this case, the Noh flute is often played with the taiko drum and tsuzumi drums supporting the rhythm. In other cases, the tsuzumi and Noh flute play together while the tsuzumis accompany the samisen in a style called chirikaro. It is very likely that the samisen and tsuzumi are in rhythmic conjugation while the taiko and Noh flute are playing something different rhythmically, tonally and melodically. This is sometimes called the "sliding door effect" because each instrument can have its own internal rhythmic structure, but it doesn't have to start and end together. Like a sliding door, musicians seem to come and go as they please rather than exiting and entering as with a “swinging door” that most Western musicians follow. When Commodore Perry opened the doors to Japan, he started what was known as Meiji. Period, which lasted until 1912. The Meiji period was a time when the Western world rejoiced in the traditional arts of Japan, sparking a movement of "Japanism". Suddenly anything with a Japanese influence was in fashion. “Once the movement was launched, a swarm of amateurs followed” (Eric Chesnau in 1878. cited in van Rij). Likewise, the Japanese have adopted several characteristics of Western society, particularly in the area of music. Since then, Japan has supported two different musical cultures: the traditional music of the past, with its pentatonic melodies and soft nuances, and the polyphonic structure of the West, with its opposing counterpoints and chord progressions. As most people know. Western music, the central theory can be quickly described as follows. Music is made up of three major elements: melody, harmony and rhythm. The melody is the center of the music, which the rhythm highlights by supporting it or providing contrast. The function of harmony is to “color” the melody and impose movement on it by providing tension or releasing movement within a piece. This is accomplished through the use of chords related to the melody and its tonal context, also called a key. The melody itself may contain tension and release, but it is the harmony and rhythm that emphasize or diminish the potential tension and release present. This concept of tension and release in music is prevalent in music written for Western opera orchestras and that written for nagauta kabuki. In the case of Nagauta, although there is no polyphony, that is to say harmonic chords, as there would be in Western music (with the exception of intervalscoincident harmonics between the different melodies of the samisen and the noh flute). The noh flute and taiko, as previously described, serve the same function that harmonic chords might serve in the West. Furthermore, the tonal independence of nagauta instruments was a common phenomenon long before the first idea of bitonal music in the Western world, which, incidentally, was at the height of Japonism, and at the same time when Puccini wrote Madame Butterfly. When it comes to Puccini's instrumentation, he simply draws inspiration from what was popular at the time. It does not have any real Japanese instruments such as samisen or taiko in the score. This is partly understandable, because these instruments would be difficult to find in Italy and, furthermore, no one in this region would understand how to play them, while taking into account that there is a completely different notation system for these instruments. However, Puccini attempts to create some form of soundscape by using Western instruments capable of imitating those of the nagauta. "Instead, he combines the normal instruments of the orchestra to produce an exotic color, but it blends satisfactorily with the rest of the score." (Ashbrook 119) An example of this is at the entrance to Butterfly. The only instruments played at this time were the harp, piccolo, flute and bells, "all in unison, so they sounded like a small Japanese orchestra." (Ashbrook 119) These could imitate the samisen, Noh flute, bamboo flute, and geza bells, respectively. This happens again when Butterfly shows Pinkerton the goods she brought with her to the wedding; the instrumentation is the same as before. When Puccini is not imitating Japanese instruments, he still tries to maintain the intimate "chamber music" feel of many passages. This is accomplished by emphasizing simplicity and clarity of melody line, as is done in most nagauta music. A great example is the droning chorus. In this scene, Pinkerton's ship has been seen in the harbor, and Butterfly, confident that he will return to her as he promised three years ago, watches him anxiously and waits at the window for his return. In the orchestra, there is a single melody sung by the high choir and doubled by the muted strings. The woodwinds very gently play an ostinato that simply describes the potential chords implied by the melody, rather than polyphonically accompanying the melody as a complete chord, as most Western music is written. The piece is still played by a full orchestra, but the listener hears only two tunes: The fully developed melody, or ostinato, which, when played together, creates the same effect as the melodic line carried by the samisen, and the unity of the noh flute and taiko playing another tune, creating occasional harmony by playing two note intervals. Another common trait of Madame Butterfly and nagauta music is the use of musical themes. Whether in an Eastern or Western setting, the themes add to the intellectual entertainment of the listener, as one must already be familiar with the music. In a modern context, one might watch Bugs Bunny outsmart Elmer Fudd by disguising himself as a woman and flirting with him, while the viewer hears the orchestra playing the love theme from Tchaikavsky's Romeo and Juliet in the background. If one did not already know that this theme indicated love or passion, it has no effect on the scene. If we know the theme and its purpose, we can then understand why Elmer is so shy or turns red. In the case of Nagauta, thematic music is abundant. "Nagauta... makes extensive use of a series ofstereotypical melodic patterns." (Malm, 210) Whether they are called "melodic patterns" or themes, they can still be used in the same way as in much Western music. Most often, standard melodies describe certain moods or emotions. The nagauta might play a melody that implies death and tragedy, or they might play another melody that implies happiness and rejoicing "Some have said... the Nagauta composition is not a composition but. simply an arrangement." (Malm 210) This is because the themes themselves have strict meanings that are generally not meant to be broken or experienced. However, such a statement is too condescending, simply due to opinions East and West differ on what constitutes art. While the West values originality and improvisation, the East has limited its artistic material so that admiration can flow from it. he skill with which the musician operates within a carefully prescribed range. Another way to incorporate this theme into Nagauta is by involving a specific setting. As mentioned previously, one of the responsibilities of the geza is to provide background noise where a scene is taking place, thus aurally creating the setting. This can be accomplished effectively by using musical themes that the audience is already familiar with. For some context, Tsukada Island is a major island located at the mouth of the Sumida River in Tokyo. On the island there were many brothels and geisha houses. Guests boarded chartered boats to travel to the island. Meanwhile, boats full of samisen playing geishas, running alongside them, serenaded the passengers. One of the well-known songs that geishas played is called "Tsukada". Returning to the subject of thematic music produced by geza, if one were watching a Kabuki performance and heard the melody "Tsukada", one could assume several things: the setting most likely takes place along the Tsukada River, and the scene could be a geisha house our brothel. Comparing it to today's Western society, one might think the same thing when hearing "Lady Marmalade" and, thanks to Hollywood, immediately think of the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Anyone who has studied Puccini will find that he is one of the most famous people in the world. thematic composers, using melodic themes to represent characters, setting, emotion, and ideas. Madama Butterfly imitates the style of Kabuki in this regard, as Puccini generally uses themes for the setting most often. This is partly due to the opera's setting and the era in which it was written. As mentioned earlier, Japan, after spending so long in isolation, was a new curiosity to the Western world. Therefore, Puccini strove to bring authenticity to his listeners. "With characteristic thoroughness, Puccini took great pains to assimilate the musical background of Japan, a study in which we were greatly assisted by the wife of the Japanese ambassador in Rome." (Hughes, 114) Puccini's themes can be subdivided into three categories: those that are authentic and based on traditional folk songs, or those that may not be authentic but incorporate most of the characteristics of Japanese melodies, such as being based on pentatonic scales and having no major key. While Puccini tends to use the latter more, both are often used to refer to the setting or to evoke emotion, as in Kabuki, or they can be used even more to refer to events that took place or are coming. The first theme that is used in the »..

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