What did Bernstein do in West Side Story?
For each individual, Bernstein crafted music that mirrors those visions, whether romantic or sultry or combative. Members of the Sharks street gang dancing the choreography of Jerome Robbins to the music of Leonard Bernstein in West Side Story, 1961.
Which technique was used by Bernstein in West Side Story?
In West Side Story, composer Leonard Bernstein uses the common interval of the tritone throughout the entire score to represent the various forms of conflict in the drama that need resolution: the rival gangs, the forbidden love and the conflicted heart, the family schisms, etc.
What was Robbins’s original concept for West Side Story?
The original idea for “West Side Story” dates back to 1949 when Jerome Robbins conceived of a musical update of “Romeo & Juliet.” Originally set on the New York’s East Side, and conceived as a societal war between Jews and Gentiles, “West Side Story” eventually morphed into a tale of two street gangs, the mostly Puerto …
What other famous work is the plot of West Side Story based on?
Inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.
What is the best known composition of Bernstein for stage Why?
His best-known work is the Broadway musical West Side Story, which continues to be regularly performed worldwide, and has been adapted into two (1961 and 2021) feature films.
What are the key themes explored in West Side Story?
West Side Story is truly everywhere — and with its themes of love striving to rise above hatred; the fear of immigrants; and the toxicity of racism, West Side Story speaks to us today as urgently as ever.
What is the main message of West Side Story?
Why they’ve succeeded as well as they have here is simple: They realize the core message of West Side Story is that in world racked by racism, nativism, impossible division, poverty and a lack of hope, there is still the possibility that maybe, just maybe, love can prevail.
Why was Bernstein important?
Bernstein was the first American-born conductor to lead a major American symphony orchestra. He was music director of the New York Philharmonic and conducted the world’s major orchestras, generating a significant legacy of audio and video recordings.
What is the lesson learned in West Side Story?
Tensions between the two only increased when Tony and Maria fell in love. Their love story unleashed a series of tragic events brought about solely by racism and discrimination. The movie’s tragic ending reveals the devastating consequences that racism can have in the lives of people.
What is the main conflict in West Side Story?
The Conflict in West Side Story is the rivalry between the two rival gangs, the Jets and the Sharks, and the developing relationship between Tony of the Jets and Maria of the Sharks. This conflict ends up not being completely resolved. The two rival gangs agree to have a rumble to settle their dispute once and for all.
What are the two themes in West Side Story?
“’West Side Story’ deals with themes of racism and bigotry — themes you’d think would no longer still be relevant in 2016,” says James. “But unfortunately, we are still dealing with these same bigotries.”
Is West Side Story based on a true story?
Story Sources. It is widely known that West Side Story (WSS) is based directly on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (R&J). Far less well known is the fact that Shakespeare based his play (1594) on other material, particularly a narrative poem by Arthur Brooke entitled The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562).
How did West Side Story influence Sondheim’s music?
The operatic innovations introduced by the WSS creative quartet: broader song dimensions, simultaneities in complex counterpoint, etc. became grist to the Sondheim mill. Symphonic Dances Form West Side Story was premiered by the New York Philharmonic on February 13, 1961, but the conductor was Lukas Foss.
When did West Side Story become a classic?
Those headlines turned the trick, triggering the imaginations of the collaborators. The locale swiftly shifted to New York’s West Side, and in 1957 WSS exploded onto the American State. In the decades that have passed, WSS has become a contemporary classic.
Who was the conductor of West Side Story?
Symphonic Dances Form West Side Story was premiered by the New York Philharmonic on February 13, 1961, but the conductor was Lukas Foss.