Lecture on Leonard Bernstein, New York University (Italian Program) - Florence
The lecture focuses on the production of the musical West Side Story; in particular, it discusses how the original idea was realized on stage and the many transformations that the original idea underwent in progress.
The musical was conceived by Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim, and debuted on Broadway on September 26th 1957, but the project began many years before, in 1949, when Robbins contacted Bernstein and Laurents proposing to adapt Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to a contemporary setting.
The lecture provides some examples useful to understand the transformations that the original idea underwent in order to be realized on stage. In many cases, authors’ intents had to interact with Broadway conventions, that are always generated by an implicit agreement between audience and authors.
Recorded musical examples: LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1891-1964) · Gee, officer Krupke (original Broadway cast recording) · Maria (original Broadway cast recording) · One hand, one heart (directed by Bernstein, video excerpt) · Tonight quintet and chorus (film version, video excerpt)
Readings: excerpts from L. Bernstein, Findings; O. L. Guernsey Jr., Broadway song & story: playwrights, lyricists, composers discuss their hits; L. Bernstein, The making of West Side Story, booklet.
Lorenzo Puliti, author and editor of the presentation texts.
