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Thursday, October 02, 2025
West Side Story gets the Los Angeles Opera treatment
Los Angeles Times: In 1949, choreographer Jerome Robbins phoned Leonard Bernstein with an idea for updating “Romeo and Juliet” into a contemporary Broadway musical. Robbins didn’t know what it would be, but he knew what it wouldn’t be: An opera!
3 comments:
Emily R
said...
West Side Story will always be a classic and will always be connected to the current state of the world in some way due to the racial issue that the show is built around. I can see how this show can be seen as an opera based on the music and the insane notes that Maria hits, but it is very much not. West Side Story is a musical, even if it is in a theatre meant for opera, or having special enhancements with the orchestra, or even casting opera stars as the leads. I think it is pretty crazy that Maria and Tony in the show don't need to be mic'd due to their voices simply being loud enough. When thinking about it, I guess it makes sense because they are trained in opera, and that requires a lot of breathing and projecting from your diaphragm. I know some shows do this, but I think it is smart to have a group of singers backstage ready to fill in for actors who are out of breath due to the choreography.
It’s interesting that there is such a divide between opera and musical theatre. Is every opera a musical, absolutely not. Is every musical an opera or operetta, also no. The defining features that most people adhere to are the presence spoken words and the amount o f movement or dance. I would be really interested in seeing Los Angeles Opera doing West Side Story. Supporting vocals offstage is not new in either industry, in fact early productions of Phantom of the Opera used body doubles for Christine and Phantom to walk the multiple levels of the set down to the Phantom’s Lair. There was a time when musical theatre people were being asked to fill spaces without microphones and operas continue to do it, so it is possible. I think the most controversial thing about West Side Story will always remain the racial profiling and slanders written into the show and not whether or not an opera company should produce it.
I really enjoyed reading about the Los Angeles Opera’s take on West Side Story because it shows how timeless stories can be reshaped through different art forms. It is exciting to think of a Broadway musical being performed with opera singers and a full orchestra. I like when artists reimagine familiar pieces because it shows that creativity never stops, even with something as well known as this show. What stood out to me is how opera adds new emotion and power to the story, giving it a different kind of intensity. It made me think about how art evolves and how one version of a story does not cancel out another. Instead, it adds new meaning and keeps it alive for new generations. That blend of theater and opera feels like a perfect example of how collaboration can bring something classic into a new light.
3 comments:
West Side Story will always be a classic and will always be connected to the current state of the world in some way due to the racial issue that the show is built around. I can see how this show can be seen as an opera based on the music and the insane notes that Maria hits, but it is very much not. West Side Story is a musical, even if it is in a theatre meant for opera, or having special enhancements with the orchestra, or even casting opera stars as the leads. I think it is pretty crazy that Maria and Tony in the show don't need to be mic'd due to their voices simply being loud enough. When thinking about it, I guess it makes sense because they are trained in opera, and that requires a lot of breathing and projecting from your diaphragm. I know some shows do this, but I think it is smart to have a group of singers backstage ready to fill in for actors who are out of breath due to the choreography.
It’s interesting that there is such a divide between opera and musical theatre. Is every opera a musical, absolutely not. Is every musical an opera or operetta, also no. The defining features that most people adhere to are the presence spoken words and the amount o f movement or dance. I would be really interested in seeing Los Angeles Opera doing West Side Story. Supporting vocals offstage is not new in either industry, in fact early productions of Phantom of the Opera used body doubles for Christine and Phantom to walk the multiple levels of the set down to the Phantom’s Lair. There was a time when musical theatre people were being asked to fill spaces without microphones and operas continue to do it, so it is possible. I think the most controversial thing about West Side Story will always remain the racial profiling and slanders written into the show and not whether or not an opera company should produce it.
I really enjoyed reading about the Los Angeles Opera’s take on West Side Story because it shows how timeless stories can be reshaped through different art forms. It is exciting to think of a Broadway musical being performed with opera singers and a full orchestra. I like when artists reimagine familiar pieces because it shows that creativity never stops, even with something as well known as this show. What stood out to me is how opera adds new emotion and power to the story, giving it a different kind of intensity. It made me think about how art evolves and how one version of a story does not cancel out another. Instead, it adds new meaning and keeps it alive for new generations. That blend of theater and opera feels like a perfect example of how collaboration can bring something classic into a new light.
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