West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein)

Question 1

date

Answer 1

1957

Question 2

genre

Answer 2

musical theatre

Question 3

source of plot

Answer 3

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

Question 4

Librettist

Answer 4

Arthur Laurents (playwright) and Stephen Sondheim (lyricist)

Question 5

Choreographer

Answer 5

Jerome Robbins

Question 6

Film

Answer 6

directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins (1961)

Question 7

plot summary

Answer 7

Maria and Tony (from rival gangs) fall in love at a dance. Tony (a Jet) kills Bernardo (Maria’s brother, a Shark). In the final scene, Tony is stabbed.

Question 8

Maria: character singing

Answer 8

Tony (tenor)

Question 9

Maria: setting

Answer 9

outside the gym, after the dance

Question 10

Maria: key

Answer 10

B major, E flat major

Question 11

Maria: time signature

Answer 11

C

Question 12

Maria: introduction

Answer 12

melody opens with chant-like intonation suggesting Tony’s worshipful adoration. Repeated D-sharps supported by modal harmony and free rhythm

Question 13

Maria: verse

Answer 13

tritone on “Maria” - this angular motif runs throughout, conveying strife, yearning, and star-crossed love. melody traces a broad arc before returning to opening theme

Question 14

Maria: orchestration

Answer 14

lush strings doubling voice part, timpani used to heighten musical climaxes

Question 15

America: character singing

Answer 15

Anita (mezzo-soprano), Rosalia (soprano), and other Puerto Rican girls

Question 16

America: setting

Answer 16

an alley behind Bernardo and Maria’s house

Question 17

America: summary

Answer 17

Rosalia expresses homesickness for Puerto Rico, Anita declares her love for Manhattan. Lyrics extol both virtues and false promises of The American Dream

Question 18

America: form/structure

Answer 18

Intro + Verse-Chorus structure

Question 19

America: key signature

Answer 19

Intro: 2 flats, ambiguous tonality (modal inflections in melodic lines). Chorus etc: C major

Question 20

America: instrumentation

Answer 20

claves (wood blocks) and guiro establish Latin ambience with cross-rhythms and rhythmic ostinato. Spanish guitar and celesta provide undulating lines in parallel thirds in rising and falling triplets.

Question 21

America: Intro

Answer 21

Rosalia (long phrases and free rhythm convey yearning and nostalgia)(doubled by flute), and Anita (acerbic response)(doubled by oboe)

Question 22

America: word painting

Answer 22

breezes (glissandi on string harmonics and arched motive based on whole tone scale)

Question 23

America: Chorus

Answer 23

sudden jazzy modulations. short syncopated phrases (A-me-ri-ca), call and response pattern.

Question 24

America: hemiola

Answer 24

choruses and verses alternate 6/8 and 3/4 pattern, establishing hemiola effect

Question 25

America: verse-chorus instrumentation

Answer 25

latin = guitar, claves, maracas

Question 26

review and reflection

Answer 26

jazz influence, use of modal scales (maria?)