SADLY, the religious dimensions of operetta and musical theatre have attracted practically no interest among theologians. In 2004, however, Ian Bradley’s book You’ve Got to Have a Dream (2004) broke fresh ground in showing not only that musicals are rife with “rumours of the transcendent”, but that they also shape the functional theology of thousands today.
Now, this extraordinarily prolific author follows that work up with another engaging study, in which he pairs musicals with operetta. The link is important; for the operetta — emerging in the late 19th century, and associated with composers such as Franz Lehár, Jacques Offenbach, and Arthur Sullivan — is regarded by many as the most obvious precursor to the 20th-century musical.
Bradley’s aim is to throw into relief the “religious influences and spiritual resonances” of these two art forms, against those who dismiss them both as lightweight and superficial. The result is a stimulating and absorbing read, with an array of material that makes one wonder why no one has written something like this before.
Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame) is clearly a favourite of Bradley’s. In earlier writing, he showed that Sullivan was deeply affected by his upbringing in the liberal Anglican Broad Church tradition. Here he shows how, despite the dark side to Sullivan’s character (he harboured a fascination with death), his positive affirmation of life seems to have won through: “Sullivan was incapable of writing a line of music that was pessimistic, cynical, cruel, or morbid.”
Alamy © 20th Century Fox. All rights reservedJulie Andrews and Peggy Wood in the film The Sound of Music (20th Century Fox, 1965), available on DVD and to stream on digital platforms
Bradley unearths a wide range of equally intriguing material as he works through his primary sources: for example, Offenbach’s Catholicism and Jewish influences, Lehár’s profound Christian faith, the lengths to which Rodgers went to understand Catholic liturgical singing for The Sound of Music, and the enduring influence of High Church Anglicanism on Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Admittedly, the phrase “religious influences and spiritual resonances” is expansive and very soft-edged: Bradley is especially aware of the notorious looseness of the term “spiritual”. But, when it comes to handling his key players, his strong historical instincts enable him to keep his feet firmly on the ground. He is mercifully free of special pleading, careful not to overplay what often may be no more than fleeting gestures toward the divine.
As Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History at the University of St Andrews, Bradley still teaches regularly on these themes. Long may that continue. We can only hope that his students will follow his lead and carry forward his work in fresh and compelling ways.
The Revd Dr Jeremy Begbie is Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology at Duke University, North Carolina.
Music of the Night: Religious influences in operetta and musical theatre
Ian Bradley
OUP £25.99
(978-0-19-769974-4)
Church Times Bookshop £23.39