A monodrama is a theatrical or

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic piece played by a single

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

or singer, usually portraying one character.

In opera

In opera, a monodrama was originally a

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

with one role such as

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

's '' Pygmalion'', which was written in 1762 and first staged in Lyon in 1770, and

Georg Benda Georg Anton Benda ( cz, Jiří Antonín Benda, italic=no, link=no; 30 June 17226 November 1795) was a composer, violinist and Kapellmeister of the classical period from the Kingdom of Bohemia. Biography Born into a family of notable musicia ...

's work of the same name (1779). The term monodrama (sometimes mono-opera) is also applied to modern works with a single soloist, such as

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

's '' Die glückliche Hand'' (1924), which besides the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

has two additional silent roles as well as a

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

prologue and epilogue. ''

Erwartung ' (''Expectation''), Op. 17, is a one-act monodrama in four scenes by Arnold Schoenberg to a libretto by . Composed in 1909, it was not premiered until 6 June 1924 in Prague conducted by Alexander Zemlinsky with Marie Gutheil-Schoder as the sop ...

'' (1909) and ''

La voix humaine ' (English: ''The Human Voice'') is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958. The work is based on the play of the same name by Jean Cocteau, who, along with French soprano Denise Duval, worked ...

'' (1959) closely follow the traditional definition, while in ''

Eight Songs for a Mad King ''Eight Songs for a Mad King'' is a monodrama by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies with a libretto by Randolph Stow, based on words of George III. The work was written for the South-African actor Roy Hart and the composer's ensemble, the Pierrot Player ...

'' (1969) by

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Musi ...

, the instrumentalists are brought to the stage to participate in the action. Twenty-first century examples can be found in '' Émilie'' (2008) by

Kaija Saariaho Kaija Anneli Saariaho (; ; born 14 October 1952) is a Finnish composer based in Paris, France. During the course of her career, Saariaho has received commissions from the Lincoln Center for the Kronos Quartet and from IRCAM for the Ensemble Inte ...

and ''Four Sad Seasons Over Madrid'' (2008) or ''God's Sketches'' (2011) both of them by

Jorge Grundman Jorge Grundman Isla (born 1961) is a Spanish classical composer, musicologist, musician and professor who has helped to recover the music of Robert Kahn and Adalbert Gyrowetz among others through the non-profit music foundation created by him. Mus ...

In spoken drama

In England the first example of monodrama was on a mythological theme, in this case

Frank Sayers Frank Sayers (1763–1817) was an English poet and metaphysical writer. Life Born in London on 3 March 1763, being baptised at St Margaret Pattens on 3 April, he was son of Francis Sayers, an insurance broker, by his wife Anne, daughter of John ...

' ''Pandora'' (1790), in the form of a recitation with off-stage voices.

Robert Southey Robert Southey ( or ; 12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a ra ...

took up the new form, producing eleven pieces so titled between 1793-1804; so did Matthew Lewis in his publicly performed and highly melodramatic ''The Captive''. Few others actually appeared on stage and monodrama soon lost its connection with music. The term "

dramatic monologue Dramatic monologue is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character. M.H. Abrams notes the following three features of the ''dramatic monologue'' as it applies to poetry: Types of dramatic monologue One of the mo ...

" came to be applied to such works, although the term "monodrama" remained in critical currency. Half a century later Tennyson himself referred to his '' Maud'' (1855) as a monodrama, and William Lancaster ( John Warren, 3rd Baron de Tabley) published a verse collection titled ''Eclogues and Monodramas'' in 1864. Nevertheless,

Nurul Momen Nurul Momen (25 November 1908 – 16 February 1990) was a Bangladeshi playwright, educator, director, broadcast personality, academician, satirist, essayist, translator and poet.Bangla Natyashahitter Itihash, the most authoritative reference boo ...

(''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The ...

'', 1944),

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and Tragicomedy, tr ...

('' Krapp's Last Tape'', 1958) and

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

('' On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco'', 1886, 1902), among others, have written monodramas in this sense. Patrick Süskind has one person speak to the audience in ''

Der Kontrabaß ''Der Kontrabaß'' (''The Double Bass'') is a play by Patrick Süskind. The monologue in one act premiered in 1981. History The manuscript of the play by Patrick Süskind dates back to 1980. The monologue in one act, the author's first work f ...

'' (1981). A more recent example is '' A Night in November'' (1994) by Irish playwright

Marie Jones Sarah Marie Jones (born 1951) is a Belfast-based actress and playwright. Born into a working-class Protestant family, Jones was an actress for several years before turning her hand to writing. Her plays have been staged on Broadway as well as ...

. As developed by

Russian symbolist Russian symbolism was an intellectual and artistic movement predominant at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. It arose separately from European symbolism, emphasizing mysticism and ostranenie. Literature Influences Primary ...

Nikolai Evreinov (1879–1953) and encapsulated in his book ''The Theatre in Life'' (1927), it is a dramatic representation of what passes in an individual mind. Everything one witnesses on stage is portrayed from the mental state of the given protagonist. The largest solo theatre festival in the world,

United Solo United Solo Theatre Festival is the world's largest solo theatre festival. It takes place at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in New York City. Its founder and artistic director is Omar Sangare. The festival presents many categories of solo shows, inc ...

takes place annually in New York City at Theatre Row. In 2013 it featured over 120 productions. In

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, Germany, an international theatre festival for monodramas takes place regularly, the Thespis International Monodrama Festival.

References

{{Authority control Opera genres Opera terminology

In opera

In spoken drama

See also

References