Beyond Concept Musical:Re-interpretaion Of Stephen Sondheim’s Musicals

Sondheim is usually regarded as the representative of "Concept Music",and his works are also regarded as the representative works of "Concept Music".The core idea of "Concept Music" is that Sondheim’s works are nonlinear narrative with a center.But in fact,the term"Concept Music" has always been controversial.The term itself is ambiguous,leading to a generalization of its meaning,so it is not widely used in western academia."Concept Musical" very succinctly sums up some of the most striking features of Sondheim’s work.However,when Sondheim and his musicals are widely used under the term "concept musicals",other features are relatively obscure.To some extent,this has led to the"misreading" of Sondheim and his works,which has been criticized by Sondheim himself and his collaborators.Sondheim gained a relatively stable understanding from the perspective of "Concept Music".It’s easy to overlook some angles of thought that aren’t considered as "Concept Musicals." Thus,trying to break out of the paradigm of "Concept Music" is one way to understand Sondheim’s musicals.Sondheim is the successor of Broadway,inheriting the comedy tradition of Broadway musicals in style tone,showing the external characteristics of lighthearted humor.Sondheim’s comedy has rich humanistic connotation and complex ideological connotation while pursuing vivid expression.On the technical level,with an avant-garde consciousness,Sondheim actively explores the methods of musical alienation,multiple narrative strategies and verbal expression with the characteristics of postmodernism.In the aspect of drama and poetry,Sondheim always adheres to the aesthetic principle of "integration",pursues the close combination of music,drama and lyrics,and pursues the unity of works.And bring the integrated musicals of Rogers and Hammerstein II to a new level.The creation of Sondheim’s musicals has provided many useful inspirations and references for Chinese original musicals.While Sondheim’s work is a treasure in itself,so it deserves more and more valuable study.