The role of the reprise in musical theater: Examining the compositional technique common to several stage works: Yoko MARUYAMA

• Time and Date: June 14th (Sat.) 2025, 16:30 – 18:00 (JST)
• Format: HyFlex (On-Campus and Online meeting (Zoom))
• Venue: Waseda University, Nishi-Waseda Campus, Room 204 of Building 54
• Presenter: Yoko MARUYAMA
• Affiliation: Tokyo University of the Arts
• Moderator: Tokiko INOUE
• Language: Japanese
• Organized by: Waseda Institute for Research in Opera and Music Theatre (WIROM)

Comment: There were 25 participants; 6 in-person and 19 online.

Abstracts

The use of reprise in musical theater is an important compositional technique that has attracted scholarly attention in the analytical studies of various stage works. Focusing on Les Misérables, the speaker investigated the functions of reprises, including both short melodies and phrases or numbers, as they contribute to plot development and demonstrate what is left unsaid in the dialogue.
However, under the present academic circumstances (i.e., the lack of extensive compositional analytical studies of musical theater), much remains to be explored. This includes the functions of the reprise in each stage work, general stylistic features of the reprise common to many works, and historical changes of such features.
In this presentation, after introducing certain functions of the reprise based on previous studies, the usage of the reprise common to several works will be discussed, namely the reprise of melodies or numbers in which the character’s name is repeatedly sung with emphasis. The speaker will present examples to suggest potential effects within the context of the entire story and identify challenges that require further investigation.

Contact

Waseda Institute for Research in Opera and Music Theatre (WIROM), Comprehensive Research Organization, Waseda University: https://prj-opera-mt.w.waseda.jp/
e-mail address: operaken-uketsuke[at]list.waseda.jp　([at] = @)
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Profile of Presenter

Yoko Maruyama studied musicology, the history of the arts, and aesthetics at Keio University (earning a BA and MA in Philosophy). She earned her PhD from the University of Vienna. From 2018 to 2021, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo University of the Arts. Currently, she works as an adjunct lecturer at several universities in Japan and is a board member at the Beethoven Kreis Japan. Her primary research focuses on Beethoven’s compositional style in relation to that of his contemporaries, chamber music of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the arrangement of musical compositions. Recently, she edited a critical score (prepared for publication) and has begun researching musical theater.