“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,theimmediacyofthepoliticalmessageinVerdi’soperasstemsfromthe_____.
A.vitality and subtlety of the music
B.audience’s familiarity with earlier operas
C.verisimilitude of the characters
D.individual talents of the singers
正确答案是A