“Popularart”hasanumberofmeanings,impossibletodefinewithanyprecision,whichrangefromfolkloretojunk.Thepolesareclearenough,butthemiddletendstoblur.TheHollywoodWesternofthe1930’s,forexample,haselementsoffolklore,butisclosertojunkthantohighartorfolkart.Therecanbegreattrash,justasthereisbadhighart.ThemusicalsofGeorgeGershwinaregreatpopularart,neveraspiringtohighart.SchubertandBrahms,however,usedelementsofpopularmusic—folkthemes—inworksclearlyintendedashighart.ThecaseofVerdiisadifferentone:hetookapopulargenre—bourgeoismelodramasettomusic(anaccuratedefinitionofnineteenth-centuryopera)—and,withoutalteringitsfundamentalnature,transmuteditintohighart.Thisremainsoneofthegreatestachievementsinmusic,andonethatcannotbefullyappreciatedwithoutrecognizingtheessentialtrashinessofthegenre. Asanexampleofsuchatransmutation,considerwhatVerdimadeofthetypicalpoliticalelementsofnineteenth-centuryopera.Generallyintheplotsoftheseoperas,aheroorheroine—usuallyportrayedonlyasanindividual,unfetteredbyclass—iscaughtbetweentheimmoralcorruptionofthearistocracyandthedoctrinairerigidityorsecretgreedoftheleadersoftheproletariat.Verditransformsthisnaiveandunlikelyformulationwithmusicofextraordinaryenergyandrhythmicvitality,musicmoresubtlethanitseemsatfirsthearing.Therearescenesandariasthatstillsoundlikecallstoarmsandwereclearlyunderstoodassuchwhentheywerefirstperformed.Suchpieceslendanimmediacytotheotherwiseveiledpoliticalmessageoftheseoperasandcallupfeelingsbeyondthoseoftheoperaitself. OrconsiderVerdi’streatmentofcharacter.BeforeVerdi,therewererarelyanycharactersatallinmusicaldrama,onlyaseriesofsituationswhichallowedthesingerstoexpressaseriesofemotionalstates.Anyattempttofindcoherentpsychologicalportrayalintheseoperasismisplacedingenuity.Theonlycoherencewasthesinger’svocaltechnique:whenthecastchanged,newariaswerealmostalwayssubstituted,generallyadaptedfromotheroperas.Verdi’scharacters,ontheotherhand,havegenuineconsistencyandintegrity,evenif,inmanycases,theconsistencyisthatofpasteboardmelodrama.Theintegrityofthecharacterisachievedthroughthemusic:oncehehadbecomeestablished,Verdididnotrewritehismusicfordifferentsingersorcountenancealterationsorsubstitutionsofsomebodyelse’sariasinoneofhisoperas,aseveryeighteenth-centurycomposerhaddone.Whenherevisedanopera,itwasonlyfordramaticeconomyandeffectiveness. Accordingtothepassage,oneofVerdi’sachievementswithintheframeworkofnineteenth-centuryoperaanditsconventionswasto_____.
A.limit the extent to which singers influenced the musical compositions and performance of his operas
B.use his operas primarily as forums to protest both the moral corruption and dogmatic rigidity of the political leaders of his time
C.portray psychologically complex characters shaped by the political environment surrounding them
D.incorporate elements of folklore into both the music and plots of his operas
正确答案是A