Rock opera

A rock opera or rock musical is a musical production in the form of an opera or a musical in a modern rock and roll style rather than more traditional forms. It differs from conventional rock and roll music, which is often a song that is unlinked in plot or story with other songs, but overlaps considerably with concept album, song cycle, or rock musical. More recent developments include metal opera and rap opera.

Rock operas and rock musicals

Examples of notable rock operas and rock musicals include:

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• James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot, Hair (1967)
• The Electric Prunes, Mass in F Minor (1968)
• Pretty Things, S.F. Sorrow (1968): The first album-length rock opera.
• The Who, Tommy (1969): The album which arguably popularized the term rock opera. Later a movie and revival as well, in a Broadway production.
• Gwar, America Must Be Destroyed (1992)
• Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)
• Pete Townshend, Lifehouse; Abandoned, then revived sci-fi rock opera. Many of the songs originally appeared on the 1971 album, Who's Next.
• Stephen Schwartz, Godspell, (1971)
• Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, Grease, (1972)
• Stephen Schwartz, Pippin (1972)
• The Who, Quadrophenia (1973)
• Richard O'Brien, The Rocky Horror Show (1973)
• Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974): Famous prog-rock opera.
• David Bowie, Diamond Dogs (1974): Diamond Dogs was originally written as a rock opera version of George Orwell's novel 1984, but Bowie was denied the rights to produce it by Orwell's estate. He used the completed tracks on Diamond Dogs without alteration
• Charlie Smalls, The Wiz (1975)
• Alexander Zhurbin, Orpheus and Eurydice (1975)
• Rush, 2112 (1976): The first half of this album is a space rock opera with an overture as in The Who's Tommy.
• Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, Evita (1976)
• Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell (1977): Bat Out of Hell was a modernized adaptation of Peter Pan similar to West Side Story's treatment of Romeo and Juliet. It was never staged and only the album was released. However, the tracks are fragments of an earlier musical that the composer/writer (Jim Steinman) of the album had written.
• Jeff Wayne, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (1978)
• Frank Zappa, Joe's Garage (1979)
• Pink Floyd, The Wall (1979)
• The Residents, Mark of the Mole (1981)
• Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, Little Shop of Horrors (1982)
• Styx, Kilroy Was Here (1983)
• Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, Chess (1984)
• Szorenyi, Levente/Brody,Janos, Istvan a Kiraly (1984)
• Pete Townshend, White City (1986): Subtitled "A novel," a video was released in conjunction with this album.
• Tom Waits, Franks Wild Years (1987)
• The Residents, God in Three Persons (1988)
• Queensrÿche, ', (1988): A story of love, sex, death, power, religion, corruption, betrayal, greed, and madness.
• Pete Townshend, The Iron Man (1989): A "musical" based on Ted Hughes' book The Iron Man (which was also the basis for the animated film The Iron Giant).
• Jon English and David Mackay, Paris (1990)
• Savatage, ' (1991)
• Pete Townshend, Psychoderelict (1993): An album of linked songs with dialogue advancing the story between the music; a version without the dialogue was also released.
• Meat Loaf, ' (1993): A sequel to Bat Out of Hell written/composed again by Jim Steinman.
• Randy Newman, Faust (1995)
• Fear Factory, Demanufacture (1995)
• Jonathan Larson, Rent (1996)
• Marilyn Manson, Antichrist Superstar (1996)
• Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman, Whistle Down the Wind (1996)
• Jim Steinman, Tanz der Vampire (1997): A Rock opera musical about Vampires, based on the Roman Polanski movie with the same name.
• Blind Guardian, Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998): The first power metal opera based on the J.R.R. Tolkien book The Silmarillion. Blind Guardian's first and only completely Tolkien-influenced LP release.
• Marilyn Manson, Mechanical Animals (1998)
• Ayreon, Into the Electric Castle (1998): About a unlikely group of people trapped in a strange dimension and their struggle to get back to their homeworld. Although dubbed "A Space Opera" by the creator Arjen Anthony Lucassen, it has all the features of a Rock Opera.
• Dream Theater, ' (1999): A story involving love, lust, murder, and reincarnation.
• Marilyn Manson, Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000)
• John Cameron Mitchell, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
• Kamelot, Karma (2001)
• Nikolo Kotzev, Nostradamus (2001)
• Drive-By Truckers, Southern Rock Opera (2001) Based on the myths of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and of an Alabama man.
• Spock's Beard, Snow (2002): Has a storyline and themes very similar to The Who's album Tommy.
• Kamelot, Epica (2003)
• Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Greendale (2003): The story of the Green family (Grandpa, Jed, and Sun)
• Acda en de Munnik, Ren Lenny Ren (2004)
• Say Anything, Say Anything is a Real Boy (2004): The story of a boy who is cursed by having all his innermost thoughts and feelings burst forth from him in the form of fully-orchestrated rock anthems. http://www.sayanythingmusic.com
• Green Day, American Idiot, (2004): A Punk Rock opera criticizing popular American culture.
• My Chemical Romance, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, (2004): A rock opera about a man who has to give the Devil 1000 souls to reunite with his loved one.
• Fiery Furnaces, Blueberry Boat, (2004): An indie rock opera from a band highly influenced by The Who.
• Kayak, Nostradamus - Fate of Man (2005): About French author of prophecies Nostradamus.
• Kamelot, The Black Halo (2005): Based on Faust by Geothe.
• Studio Pierrot, Bleach (2005): based on Bleach by Tite Kubo

This list does not include song cycles or concept albums that often include some of the characteristics of rock operas and/or rock musicals, or musical revues working new plots around existing songs.

Related Topics:
Song cycles - Concept albums - Musical revue

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