Scarlet Masque Theatre Journal New Beginnings and Fond Farewells Vol. 1 | Page 36

Composers subscribing more directly to the dramatic and compositional
conventions of New York opera such as Kurt Weil and Leonard Bernstein, represent the
last real wave of the sub-genre’s creative force. Weil found his greatest success in his
1947 opera, Street Scene. Within the opera, Weil develops what he called, “blending of
drama and music, in which the singing continues naturally where the speaking stops,
and the spoken word, as well as the dramatic action, is embedded in the over all music
structure.” (Dizikes, 1993). Once again, we see this concept of integrating music and
dialogue in a way that allows the best version of a particular narrative to be told. At face
value, this continues to defy the traditional, grandiose nature of opera where spectacle
was very much a part of the experience. Rather, as stated previously, composers seem
to (perhaps inadvertently) subscribe to the Opera Reform ideology and place the
highest premium on the commingling of score and libretto.
Bernstein, an accomplished classical conductor and composer found his greatest
commercial success with his 1957 musical drama, West Side Story (Dizikes, 1993).
Dizikes writes, “For years he had thought of composing a music drama, based on some
sort of significant American social conflict, which would aim for greater depth of feeling
without becoming ‘operatic.’” (Dizikes, 1993). As can be seen, Bernstein actively plays
into the convention of New York opera at the time by portraying the essence of opera
without it ever becoming a direct representation of the art form. Furthermore, West Side
Story represented a considerable stretching of the New York opera compositional
conventions of Rodgers and Hammerstein and alike, relying on, “highly stylized realism
and a passionate, agitated musical score.” (Dizikes, 1993). By portraying the very tense
relationship between the first-generation Polish gang and the immigrant Puerto Rican
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