Musica melodrammatica e sincronizzazione

Melodrama – both as a genre and as a mode – has been redefined and reevaluated since the early Seventies by scholars such as Thomas Elsaesser and Peter Brooks. Despite the importance of orchestral accompaniment in theatrical and cinematic melodramas, one which has long been considered evident, melodramatic music has received much less musicological attention than it deserves. My purpose in this article is to present some preliminary reflections on music synchronization for both the melodramatic stage and screen. The close relationship between music and action in melodrama, at times criticized as being tautological and redundant, is not as banal as it might seem. In melodramatic expression, which combines mimetic music with text and/or image, there is no musical intervention without dramaturgical consequences. Even the contrapuntal/anempathetic sound – often utilized as melodramatic effect – is an exception, which confirms the rule of music and drama synchronization