Yes I think he does get it from opera. The payoff is (although this likely drives other bonkers) the extended musical sequences he has at the end of his shows where new songs are not really introduced, but instead the melodies we've heard throughout the evening are woven together in snippets, and it's usually dramatically rewarding. Phantom, Evita, Sunset, Aspects, Love Never Dies, all have this.
Or in the example I gave above it makes sense for Lady's Paying and ...Suffering to use the same melody because they are each a song about either Joe's or Norma's physical transformation, one in each act, accompanied by a handful of either male or female ensemble members. There is a nice symmetry there. I think two ensemble songs in Aspects give a similar vibe (Everybody Loves a Hero/Journey of a Lifetime). But it makes no sense for a slower ballad/lullabye version of that melody to be used for Norma to sing to her dead Chimp who is about to be buried. Just seems like he didn't want to write another unique melody. |
