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A rock opera or rock musical is a musical production in the form of an opera or a musical in a modern rock and roll style rather than more traditional forms. It differs from conventional rock and roll music, which is often a song that is unlinked in plot or story with other songs, but overlaps considerably with concept album, song cycle, or rock musical. More recent developments include metal opera and rap opera.
Which of these categories a particular work falls into is largely defined by the intent and self-definition of the work by its creator. The formal distinction may be that the rock opera tells a coherent (if sometimes sketchy) story, often with first-person lyrics sung by characters, while a concept album or song cycle sets a mood or maintains a theme, but some albums share aspects of both of these cases. The rock musical is generally first performed as a theatrical production rather than appearing as an album, has little or no identification with a particular band and a generally stronger air of show business. The categories are flexible, to say the least.
Pete Townshend, both with and without his band The Who, is arguably the single artist most associated with the term rock opera. The earliest example of the form was seen in the track "A Quick One While He's Away" from The Who's second album, A Quick One (1966), a nine-minute suite of song snippets telling an operatic story. In 1968 The Pretty Things released S.F. Sorrow, thought to be the first attempt at a single thematic concept expressed over an album's worth of songs. Less than a year later The Who returned with Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera. Tommy remains the most famous rock opera, with concert, film and theatrical productions mounted over the course of three decades. The Who would later release Quadrophenia, also made into a film.
Townshend is also considered the originator of the term itself. In 1966, he played a comedy tape to his friends called "Gratis Amatis". One of his friends made the comment that the odd song was "rock opera." Kit Lambert, the Who's producer, is than believed to have said "Now there's an idea!"
Rock operas
Examples of notable rock operas include:
- Pretty Things, S.F. Sorrow (1968): Either the first rock opera or the first concept album
- The Who, Tommy (1969): The album which arguably popularized the term rock opera. Later a movie and revival as well, in a Broadway production
- The Who, Quadrophenia (1973)
- Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974): Famous prog-rock opera.
- Pink Floyd, The Wall (1979)
- Styx, Kilroy Was Here (1983)
- The Residents, Mark of the Mole (1981)
- The Residents, The Tunes of Two Cities (1982)
- The Residents, (1983)
- Pete Townshend, White City (1986): Subtitled "A novel", a video was released in conjunction with this album.
- Pete Townshend, Lifehouse, Abandoned, then revived sci-fi rock opera.
- The Residents, God in Three Persons (1988)
- Pete Townshend, The Iron Man (1989): A "musical" based on Ted Hughes' book The Iron Man (which was also the basis for the animated film The Iron Giant)
- Pete Townshend, Psychoderelict (1993): An album of linked songs with dialogue advancing the story between the music, a version without the dialogue was also released
- Blind Guardian, Nightfall in Middle Earth (1998): The first power metal opera based on the J.R.R. Tolkien Book The Silmarillion. Blind Guardian's first and only completely Tolkien-influenced LP release.
- Spock's Beard, Snow (album) (2002): Has a storyline and themes very similar to The Who's Tommy
- Neil Young, Greendale (2003)
- Green Day, American Idiot (2004): A punk rock opera depicting the story of Bay Area holy figures, Jesus of Suburbia and St. Jimmy.
This list does not include song cycles or concept albums that often include some of the characteristics of rock operas.
Rock musicals
Examples of notable rock musicals include:
- James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot, Hair (1967)
- Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)
- Stephen Schwartz, Godspell, (1971)
- Stephen Schwartz, Pippin (1972)
- Charlie Smalls, The Wiz (1975)
- Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita (1976)
- Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, Little Shop of Horrors (1982)
- Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, Chess (1984)
- Jonathan Larson, Rent (1996)
- Abba, Mama Mia, a book musical with the story built around Abba songs
- Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Smoky Joe's Cafe, a review with dozens of Lieber and Stoller songs
- The Rocky Horror Show
- Hedwig and the Angry Inch
- Acda en de Munnik, Ren Lenny Ren (2004)
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