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Pages turning, dreams begin. Every sound's a song [music] within. Learn to laugh, to talk, to see. English for you, the place to be. [music] Say it out loud. Say for you.
Explore the differences between opera and musicals, their history, and how musicals blend acting, singing, and dancing to tell stories.
Key Takeaways
- Opera is primarily classical singing with minimal spoken dialogue, originating in Italy about 400 years ago.
- Musicals combine acting, singing, and dancing, with spoken dialogue and songs highlighting emotional moments.
- Microphones in musicals help performers be heard clearly and allow diverse singing styles.
- Musicals evolved from stage plays and popular songs, differentiating them from operas.
- A 'triple threat' performer excels in acting, singing, and dancing.
What the video covers
- The video compares opera and musicals, highlighting opera's origins 400 years ago in Italy and its focus on singing with little to no spoken dialogue.
- Musicals are a modern form of theater from the 19th century that combine spoken dialogue, singing, and dancing.
- Musical performers use microphones to enhance sound clarity and allow for varied singing styles like pop, rock, and hip-hop.
- Musicals developed from entertaining stage plays and popular songs, unlike opera which is more classical and continuous singing.
- Key moments in musicals are emphasized through songs that express intense emotions such as love, conflict, or farewell.
- Popular musicals mentioned include The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, Grease, Singing in the Rain, and La La Land.
- The video explains the term 'triple threat' for performers skilled in acting, singing, and dancing.
- Musicals use music as a storytelling tool, punctuating the narrative with songs and dances to enhance emotional impact.
- The hosts share personal favorites and discuss how musicals remain popular both on stage and in film adaptations.
- Both opera and musicals aim to tell stories through music and performance, but musicals incorporate more varied entertainment elements.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and Opera Overview
- 01:16Differences Between Opera and Musicals
- 02:46What is a Triple Threat Performer?
- 04:06Musicals’ Origins and Characteristics
- 05:49Popular Musicals and Songs
- 06:43How Musicals Use Singing and Dancing
- 07:46Use of Microphones and Singing Styles in Musicals
- 09:40Conclusion: Opera vs Musicals
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Every word is something new. Say [music] it out loud. Say it true. The world is waiting [music] just for you.
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It's all for you. [music] [music] Hello everyone. Welcome to English for You. I am Mike.
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And I'm Laura. And finally, it's my favorite musicals. Musicals. All singing, all dancing, all music here on AMC English for you. Yeah.
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So, we're going to be talking and you're Laura and I'm Mike and we're talking about musicals today. We talked about opera yesterday, that great Italian born uh music style of 400 years ago, combining classical music, orchestras and all that with singing on stage to
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tell big stories often about gods and you know great events or myths or legends or something. And in an opera, as we learned yesterday, it is almost all singing. They will sing all the lines. There was very little sort of
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acting and no talking almost. And that is the way people were entertained for a very long time until about just over a hundred years ago when this other style that we're going to learn about today.
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Musicals when they began and now musicals are doing very well. Of course, you can see them in the theater and we're seeing more and more musicals coming to our screens in big Hollywood musicals just like back in the 40s and
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50s when they were popular, too. Okay. But I have a pop question for you [clears throat] guys.
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So what do we call a performer who can act, sing, and dance? Annoying. Jenny, Jenny, Jenny, Jenny. No, it's like Jenny. Jenny.
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I know, but they're annoying cuz they're so talented. That's what I call them. I wish I could act and sing and dance. I'm just jealous.
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Yes. Actually, we do have a term for that. And it's going to come up and the answer is not Jenny. Jenny Jenny.
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Who is Jenny from? Oh, Jenny. Jenny. Jenny. Can she she can act? Yeah, she can act.
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Yeah, she's in something in a drama. I believe you. I believe you. A look at opera and musicals.
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Musicals, however, are different. They are a modern type of show from the 19th century. These shows developed from entertaining stage plays and popular songs. In a musical, the actors both speak and sing. They sing at important moments, for example, when the story
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becomes emotionally intense. Unlike opera, musical performers usually use microphones. This helps the audience hear them clearly over the music. It also allows these performers to use varied singing styles. Audiences might hear styles like pop, rock, or even hip-hop during the performance.
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All right, so opera, we know Italian born 400 years ago. Very similar to classical music. Lots of singing, no talking to our article today. It kind of picks up right where we left off yesterday. That's why I wanted to remind
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everyone what we talked about and learned about with opera. Musicals, however, are different from opera. Like we were just saying and reading yesterday, musicals, however, are different. They are a modern type of show from the 19th century. And for
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those of you who can't do math, that's the 1800s. So, [snorts] you know, just a little over a hundred years ago.
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Okay. 150 years ago. Okay. Maybe 200 years ago. Okay. musicals. All right. Now, were musicals just like a updated modern version of opera? Well, no, not exactly. It says these shows developed from entertaining stage plays and popular songs. Interesting. So they
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did have opera, but musicals developed from something different from opera. Entertaining stage plays with more talking and popular songs. So let's have a play where they talk and occasionally the people in the place sing a song, but then they go back to the acting and
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talking part. I love that. Kind of sounds [clears throat] like a musical to me. Yeah.
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Yes. the entertaining and I want to share something. Speaking of popular plays and songs, some of my favorite musicals were The Sound of Music, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, Greece One and two and La because Michelle Feifer is an adult. I like her.
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But that's not a good movie. True. What about Singing in the Rain? Hello. Okay. Sing in the rain.
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Singing in the Rain. Yeah. These popular musical An American in Paris. Oh yeah, that's a good one. Right.
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So I I was going to say I still remember songs like do from childhood and of course Dancing Queen from Yeah. Mama Mia in Mamma Mia.
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I know. I know. Somewhere over the rainbow. Where the rainbow? This [clears throat] is my favorite when I was young. Summer nights from Greece.
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Tell me more. [singing] Tell me more. We're going to get sued. We're going to have to pay people money. Also, Annie, don't forget Annie. Tomorrow.
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I love you tomorrow. Okay. Anyways, we're good. We're going to be in all the musicals because clearly we have all the talent because it says in a musical the actors both speak and sing. They often dance too, but we're not going to do that for
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you. So, you're welcome. But yes, the actors both speak and sing in a musical.
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Remember, in an opera, it's almost all singing. Musicals are different. So, what do they do? It says they sing at important moments. for example, when the story becomes emotionally intense or when there's just a good reason to have
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a nice fun singing song with some dancing and stuff like that. But yeah, they kind of use the uh the music kind of like a highlight or like a punctuation mark in the story, right? So when the two actors finally meet each
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other and fall in love, they will sing, "I'm now finding my love for you." And it's a very intense moment. Intense meaning powerful. Both the sound of the voice could be intense, but the feeling in the story is intense. When they
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fight, when they fall in love, when they say goodbye forever, moments like that. Intense.
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And I already said this a hundred times. I really love it when actors sudden suddenly stop talking and just start singing and dancing out of nowhere.
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A lot of people think that's kind of silly and funny, but I'm with you. I think it's kind of cool.
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For example, one of my favorite scenes in La La Land, a modern musical film, is A Lovely Night. It shows Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone walking on a hill singing. They did tap dancing. Remember, kind of arguing at the same time. They
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act like they're not interested in each other, but you can clearly feel their chemistry. It feels like mix of singing, dancing, teasing, and slowly falling in love all at the same time.
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Interesting. Tell Pow that you guys have to check it out. Now, even though it's a movie, it still works like a musical because the characters sing and dance to tell the story instead of just speaking.
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Interesting. Yeah, you're right. By kind of putting that in one of those scenes where they're falling in love, it kind of shows us their emotions in a in a clearer way and also in a fun way. It says also unlike opera, musical
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performers usually use microphones. Of course, here we're talking about in a live show, not when they're filming it.
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But yeah, if you go to the theater, the musical the musical performers will often use a microphone. Often it's like taped to their face and it's really really small and you can't see it. But you know they want people to hear the
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words to the songs because they help to explain the story. As it says this helps the audience hear them clearly over the music. Sometimes that music is made with an orchestra like in an opera but more and more musicals like you were saying
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with Mama Mia they must have like almost a rock band there right with drums and electric instruments like a like a rock and roll band. So that music could be quite loud right and it might be hard for people to hear all the words. So
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they do have a little help with the microphones, but of course musical performers, they're wonderful at singing and their voices are great, too.
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Yes. Yes. Okay. Mhm. And another thing about those microphones, it also allows these performers to use varied singing styles.
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Yeah. They can re
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they have we are the champion. So rock style music or even hiphop during the performance of course in the famous modern musical Hamilton right there's rapping and stuff like that. So they have to have their voices heard in all
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of these different styles in one show. Wow. pop rock. What's your favorite music genre, Mike?
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How much time do we have? Oh, okay. Yeah. Not not enough time. I like all musical genres along as long as the music is good.
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There you go. I will listen to good music in any genre. Me too. For example, my grandma always says life was much simpler in the last century before smartphones took over everything.
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My friend Debbie developed a habit of checking her phone every five minutes and now she can't stop.
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[sighs and gasps] Or we also saw the word emotionally. I get emotionally attached to drama characters and I feel sad when the show ends.
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[sighs and gasps] The audience went crazy when the singer finally came on stage. Wow.
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Very. She has a very varied She has a very varied playlist from K-pop to old English songs. Wow.
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language in focus. For example, or for instance, They sing at important moments. For example, when the story becomes emotionally intense.
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For instance, I like to relax in many ways. For instance, I watch dramas and eat snacks.
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like or such as. Okay. such as such. Audiences might hear styles like pop, rock, or even hip-hop during the performance.
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This cafe sells drinks such as matcha latte and fruit tea. Wow. Dancing is also a key part of a musical.
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Performers often need to act, dance, and sing well. Actors with these three skills are often called triple threats in show business.
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In conclusion, opera is mainly about classical singing and music, but musicals blend speaking, singing, and dancing. Still both styles share the same purpose. They use great music and performance to tell a story.
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Okay. So in musicals we have singing and we have acting. As we just read they'll often act part of a scene and then when becomes important or intense or something they suddenly start to sing and soon after they start singing you
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might notice they're also dancing. As it says, dancing is also a key part of a musical. Operas will not have much dancing. In fact, in Europe, at sometimes it was against the law to have dancing in an opera. Mozart got in
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trouble for it. They had ballet, which was dancing. They had opera, which was singing, but they often didn't mix the two. But with musicals, yes, they will mix the acting and the singing and the dancing. So, as it says, performers
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often need to act, dance, and sing well. Actors with these three skills are often called triple threats in show business.
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You are a triple threat. You can both sing, dance, and act. Wow. You're going to be a big star.
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Okay. Okay. business triple threats. Now, speaking of triple threads, I want to talk about one of my favorite Korean actor, singer, slash Yeah, she does a lot of things. IU IU can sing.
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Wait, wait, wait. Her name is IU. Okay. I can sing, act, and perform on stage.
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She's definitely a triple threat. Triple threat. You can call this person a multi-talented performer.
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They are allround performer. An all round performer. He or she can do it all.
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Like she can act, sing and dance. She can do it all. Do it all. Okay.
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A full package. Michael Jackson is often described as a full package because he could sing, dance, and perform at an extremely high level.
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But you know what? Nowadays, many K-pop idols like members of BTS and Black Pink are basically triple threats. They don't just sing. They act, dance, and perform everything. And they act a lot in Korean dramas.
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Very, very cool. Well, it's just kind of a way of saying they're very talented at one thing, right? And we can also use this outside of performance and arts. In baseball, a triple thread, well, show Otani. He can hit well, he can pitch
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well, and he can run fast to steal bases and do stuff like that. Or basketball, maybe if you can, if you're strong, you can slam dunk. You're good at three-point shooting from way out and you can block shots or something as
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well, you can play defense well. So, you're really good at all of the skills that you need to be amazing at whatever you're trying to do. You're a triple threat. There you go. So, in conclusion, getting back to our article, opera is
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mainly about classical singing, and music, but musicals blend speaking, singing, and dancing. And another thing, you can also think they don't write a lot of new operas these days. Most of the new shows that you see are probably
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more popular or of course if they're making a film. I don't remember the last time they have they ever made an opera as a movie? I'm not sure. But musicals are very popular. So you can also see them at the movie theater.
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Okay. In conclusion, or in summary, in conclusion, I still think staying at home and watching Netflix is the best plan for weekends.
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Okay. Can we watch Singing in the Rain? Yes, we can. Okay. We also saw the verb blend.
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Mhm. Still, back to our article. Both styles share the same purpose. They use great music and performance to tell a story. Absolutely they do.
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[clears throat] I sing in the rain. Sing in the rain. Let's go watch it. Okay. It's really good. Have you seen it before? Of course. It's amazing.
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purpose. I started exercising just for fun, but now it has become an important part of my daily purpose.
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Okay pop [music] for you chat. Okay guys, we have a chat question for you. Imagine you are producing a new musical today. Which music style are you going to choose to tell your story and why?
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Definitely pop [clears throat] music, right? Because it's catchy and easy for the audience to connect with.
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Also, pop songs can express emotions clearly. So, the story would feel more real and relatable. Oh, I guess.
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Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. Would you want to write new pop songs? Maybe you could get some of the best artists, you know, get Billy Isish and Ed Sheeran and, you know, people like that to write the songs. Or would you do the popular
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form of musical? We call this a jukebox musical, like the machines used to put a coin in and play a song, but like Mama Mia and the one with the music from Queen and, you know, all the other ones.
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Uh, would you want to do it with famous pop songs and just put them into a show?
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Could I have both? [laughter] You could. I guess you could. Yeah, I guess you could. Yeah. I mean, it's nice to see new music, but what if people don't like the songs?
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Classic pop songs are classic. Exactly. The audience already knows them and likes them and stuff like that, but it's kind of boring, right? Just to go there and see other people singing these songs. So, it's a tough choice. And then
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you'd al also of course have to come up with a story to your musical and that might be an interesting thing too. So what about you guys? If you were going to make your own music a musical, what story would you
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have in there? And what kind of music would you like to have to tell that story with? Have a chat about that. And if you can keep your eyes open, go catch a musical in your neighborhood, in your
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town if possible. They do come to Taiwan. They are often here just for a few days. They move around. You know, I've seen Cats and Phantom of the Opera and Notam Miserab. I just saw the Romeo and Juliet
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from France, which was quite good. So, yeah, do go and try to catch one because it is very interesting. Even if you don't like it, it's a nice night out at the theater watching some talented people perform their best for you. A
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just like we do. Okay, that's right. Bye. Bye. Bye. [music] [music] [music] [music]
Topics:operamusicalsmusical theateractingsingingdancingtriple threatmusical historyperformance artsEnglish learning
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