A sung-through or through-sung

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, or other work of

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

is one in which songs entirely or almost entirely replace any spoken

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American and British English spelling differences, American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literature, literary and theatrical form that depicts suc ...

. Conversations, speeches, and musings are communicated musically, for example through a combination of

recitative Recitative (, also known by its Italian name recitativo () is a style of delivery (much used in operas, oratorios, and cantatas) in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms and delivery of ordinary speech. Recitative does not repeat lines ...

aria In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

, and arioso. Early versions of this include the Italian genre of

opera buffa Opera buffa (, "comic opera"; : ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramma bernesc ...

, a light-hearted form of opera that gained prominence in the 1750s. A through-sung opera or other form of narrative work with continuous music may also be described as

through-composed In the theory of musical form, through-composed music is a continuous, non- sectional, and non- repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to instrumental music. While most musical forms such as te ...

List of fully sung-through musicals

*'' Art Thief Musical!'' *'' Bare: A Pop Opera'' *'' Bumblescratch'' *''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'' *'' Une chambre en ville'' *''

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

'' *'' Les Dix Commandements'' *'' Epic: The Musical'' *''Evening-1910'' *'' Evita'' *'' Falsettos'' *'' The Human Comedy'' *''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' *''

Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek Spiritus ...

'' *'' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' *'' Katy! the Musical'' *'' Keating!'' *''

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

'' *'' Marry Me a Little'' *'' Metalocalypse: The Doomstar Requiem'' *''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' *''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

'' *'' Murder Ballad'' *'' Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'' *''

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

'' *'' Ordinary Days'' *'' Quadrophenia'' *'' Repo! The Genetic Opera'' *'' Song and Dance'' *'' Songs for a New World'' *''

Starlight Express '' Starlight Express'' is a 1984 musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern locomotives of diesel and el ...

'' *'' Starmania'' *'' Tell Me on a Sunday'' *'' The Ten Commandments: The Musical'' *'' The Umbrellas of Cherbourg''

List of sung-through musicals with occasional spoken lines

* '' Ain't Misbehavin''' * '' American Idiot'' * '' Annette'' * '' Aspects of Love'' * '' Caroline or Change'' * '' Dance of the Vampires'' * '' Elisabeth'' * '' The Golden Apple'' * '' Hadestown'' * '' Hamilton: An American Musical'' * '' In Trousers'' * '' Jekyll & Hyde'' * '' Jerry Springer: The Opera'' * '' John & Jen'' * '' The Last 5 Years'' * '' Love Never Dies'' * '' Martin Guerre'' * '' The Most Happy Fella'' * '' A New Brain'' * ''

Next to Normal ''Next to Normal'' is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her fam ...

'' * '' Once on This Island'' * '' Passing Strange'' * '' The Phantom of the Opera'' * '' Pink Floyd—The Wall '' * '' The Pirate Queen'' * ''

Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

'' * '' Razia's Shadow'' * '' Rent'' * '' Seussical'' * '' Side Show'' * '' Soon'' * '' The Stingiest Man in Town'' * '' Suffs'' * '' Sunset Boulevard (musical)'' * ''

Superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

'' * '' The Who's Tommy'' * '' The Woman in White''

List of sung-through musicals depending on the production

* ''

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

'' ** Originally starting off as a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

, the musical has a reputation for being re-written during every new production that is staged around the world. Some productions are completely sung-through, some have scattered lines, and some (notably the original Broadway production) are staged as book musicals. * '' Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'' Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (film)#Soundtrack

References

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