| |
Musical (Meta)Theatrics:
Chico Buarque’s Roda Viva and Ópera do Malandro
Marco Alexandre de Oliveira
Chico Buarque, as a preeminent figure
in Brazilian music and culture, has achieved the revered status of a
living legend. His prolific career is the result of an artistic production,
spanning the course of forty years, that is distinguished by its somewhat
unique ability to reconcile the erudite and the popular, appealing to
virtually all social types and classes, as well as generations. His
songs are renowned for an exceptional lyrical quality that foregrounds
the poetic possibilities inherent in the fusion of words and music.
The forms these so-called “musical texts” assume vary across
genres, but are generally indicative of the profound influence both
samba and Bossa Nova share in his artistic formation. Equally diverse
is the thematic content of his songs, which range from questions of
individual and social identity to actions of political repression or
protest. These often times emanate from the perspective of the marginalized,
excluded or historically neglected, representing in this manner various
segments of the population. Most would furthermore agree that there
is something fundamentally Brazilian about his work and its significance,
inasmuch as identity and culture constitute a construct.
It has been suggested that Chico Buarque’s work surpasses the
limits of musical creation and should therefore also be understood in
literary terms (Mello 48). Indeed, many of his songs consist of dramatic
monologues or dialogues, or comprise certain narrative techniques, both
of which are characteristic of the theatrical and literary art forms.
Chico has also maintained a credible level of success in both genres
by staging four popular plays (Roda Viva, Calabar,
Gota d’Agua, Ópera do Malandro) and by
publishing several novels which have been critically acclaimed (Estorvo,
Benjamim, Budapeste). This paper will attempt to present
a few of the metatheatrical and vanguard elements of two of Chico Buarque’s
celebrated plays, as well as examine the theatrical role music “plays”
within the works. It will also briefly question the relationship between
text and performance, particularly in the case of the musical.
As a musician, Chico exploded into a real phenomenon in the 1960’s.
His success created a virtual popular icon in part due to his handsome
and youthful figure, and literally set the stage for the critically
controversial Roda Viva to appear on the scene in 1968. Roda
Viva (1967) is a musical comedy about the rise and fall of a national
idol, and as such constitutes a candid criticism of “showbiz”
and the entire “pop” industry by one of its supposed “stars.”
The play represents the construction of a popular icon by the same forces
and mechanisms which overtly lead to its eventual destruction. Based
partly on personal experiences, this combination of farce and parody
(Silva 46) is not necessarily auto-biographical, since the protagonist
Benedito Silva bears little if any resemblance to Chico. As the main
character is molded by his manager (Anjo da Guarda), he is either hailed
or assailed by the overbearing and virtually omnipresent press (Capeta),
while his wife (Juliana) and best friend (Mané) either helplessly
or indifferently watch as he is transformed first into the internationally
appealing pop-rocker Ben Silver, and then into the folkloric roots activist
Benedito Lampião. The play concludes with Benedito being forced
by a disgruntled public to disappear altogether by committing suicide,
while his widow follows the trail of his success by becoming the next
peace-loving hippie sensation Juju.
Roda Viva was performed in 1968 amidst much confusion and controversy.
The play itself was radically adapted for the stage by the influential
director José Celso Martinez Corrêa of the group Teatro
da Oficina. As such, Roda Viva was considered by many to be
the “the definitive mark of the vanguard’s establishment”
(Maciel 231) in Brazilian theater. Zé Celso effectively transformed
Chico’s text into “an especially aggressive spectacle”
(Maciel 233), even though it was said that the author himself accompanied
the entire process and did not disapprove of the result. It was actually
a part of Zé Celso’s philosophy to create a “violent
and anarchic spectacle” (Silva 47) as part of his provocative
proposition for a “theater of cruelty .” Due to the extreme
controversy surrounding the spectacle, the increasingly repressive dictatorship
eventually banned the play altogether.
The experience of Roda Viva offers some remarkably striking
contrasts, a few of which may be summarily related. One is the tremendous
difference between the author’s version of the play, and the director’s
adaptation. Although most accredited Zé Celso with the scandalous
stage antics brought to the theater, many questioned Chico Buarque’s
role in the affair. The stunning contrast between author and director
inevitably leads us to consider the problematic differentiation of text
and performance. Which is the “authentic” version? Does
it matter if the author accompanies the process of adaptation to the
stage? And what if – as with Chico Buarque’s theatrical
production – a text must necessarily be performed due to its inherently
musical elements, or otherwise lack an essential quality of its being
and thereby undermine its very capacity to adequately signify and communicate
potential horizons of meaning?
Chico Buarque himself would perhaps recognize that the actual text of
Roda Viva was “fragile” and “juvenile”
in many respects (Silva 47). The radicalized performance, however, became
a hallmark of Brazilian vanguard theater in the late 1960s. In Roda
Viva, the fundamental differences between text and performance
are accentuated even further due to its classification as a musical
comedy. A musical is a theatrical event that combines drama and song.
It is rather difficult, if not impossible, to fully appreciate any musical
text unless it is performed. Written lyrics do not constitute a song
unless supplemented by musical notation. Even so, as an art form, music
manifests its potentiality of expression only through performance. The
text in and of itself prescribes an abstract representation of a concrete
possibility that is only fully realized in the performance act. The
text of Chico Buarque’s Roda Viva therefore becomes inherently
more significant when its musical qualities are taken into consideration,
for it is well acknowledged that: “in Chico the text is intrinsically
tied to his poetic-musical creation” (Rodrigues 97). In all of
his plays, it appears as though theater itself has become a means of
expressing the inherently musical, as the songs are inevitably foregrounded over the dramatic elements of the text, in part because of
Chico’s prestige as a composer.
There are elements of both the author’s text and the director’s
performance of Roda Viva that approximate it to the tradition
of the theatrical vanguard both in Europe and in Brazil. Chico Buarque’s
preoccupation with combining music and drama was similarly shared by
Bertolt Brecht in his productions. The critic Martin Esslin states that
in Brechtian theater, “the non-literary elements of the production
. . . also retain their independence; instead of serving as mere auxiliaries
of the text . . . they are raised to the level of autonomous elements”
(135). In addition, “the musical numbers and songs are used to
interpret the action and give the audience a chance to reflect”
(144). Music is thus construed as a structural element that offers commentary
on the dramatic action (Rodrigues 98). Another significant aspect Roda
Viva shares with the avant-garde is that the illusion of reality
is consistently violated by involving the spectator in the action (Maciel
232). It is indeed characteristic of metatheater to challenge the conventional
barriers between the audience and stage, and for drama to become conscious
of itself as performance. There is a scene in Roda Viva, for
instance, in which the actors pass around a manifesto for the audience
to support the character Benedito against persecution. Also, there is
a moment when the drunkard Mané refers to the course of events
as merely a “play.” One last element both Chico and Brecht
share in common is the idea that theater’s didactic purpose must
be attained through entertainment, for both viewed humor in theater
as an effective means of social criticism.
It is with the tremendously successful Ópera do Malandro (1978) that Chico Buarque makes a definitive encounter with Brecht’s
epic theater (Rodrigues 99). The play is a musical comedy historically
situated in the 1940’s, during the industrial era of the populist
president and eventual dictator Getúlio Vargas. The characters
themselves are caricatures, and thus portray types instead of individuals.
Chico himself reveals that the text of Ópera do Malandro
is based on The Beggar’s Opera (1728) by John Gay, and
on The Threepenny Opera (1928) by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill.
All three plays share a preoccupation with social and political criticism
of their respective eras, illustrating the corruption and hypocrisy
evident on all levels, independent of class or status. While this inherent
underhandedness affects all aspects of society, all three plays choose
to focus on the lowest-class social misfit, a nuisance and purported
criminal (Rodrigues 100). Chico Buarque adapts this character to the
clever and sly figure of the malandro, by nature and trade
a trickster, who despite his apparent marginalization is well integrated
into Brazilian society. In this manner, there is the adaptation of both
European texts to a particularly Brazilian social reality and culture.
The result is that in Ópera do Malandro, written during
the current brutal dictatorship and situated in another, Chico Buarque
was able to draw from a host of influences and traditions and create
an entirely unique and innovative production.
Chico Buarque’s Ópera do Malandro opens with an
introduction similar to that of John Gay’s The Beggar’s
Opera. In both there is a dialogue between a fictitious author
and producer. Thus the producer begins by addressing the audience, proclaiming
that a national theater should promote social awareness. He then declares
that it is time to promote the “autor nacional,” and proceeds
to introduce the unknown malandro author of the unedited play,
João Alegre, whose name is a literal translation of the actual
John Gay. Finally, in a prologue the malandro João Alegre
sings and dances to the samba “O Malandro,” a free adaptation
of Brecht and Weill’s “Die Moritat Von Mackie Messer”
from The Threepenny Opera, which also opens with a prologue.
The song chronicles a sequence of events that both begin and end with
the malandro, depicting a chain of actions which demonstrate
that, despite the fact that institutional corruption or trickery is
apparent in all levels of society – from the lower to the upper
classes – it is only the lower class malandro who is
held accountable and finally punished.
As in Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera,” Chico Buarque’s Ópera do Malandro has three different endings. The first
is when a strike organized by the brothel owners Duran and Vitória
– including the working-class prostitutes – grows out of
control, as all the marginalized and discontent segments of the population
decide to participate in a protest against corruption. The strike itself
was conceived as a sort of blackmail in order to get the inspector Chaves,
who represents the law and order, to imprison and then assassinate his
childhood friend and accomplice Max Overseas, the malandro protagonist, who has secretly married Duran’s daughter Teresinha.
In a deliberate act of desperation and frustration, Vitória suspends
the action of the play, and demands an explanation. Meanwhile the character
who plays Duran – this time assuming the role of producer –
summons the author João Alegre, who actively participates in
the protest. The malandro is then blamed and held responsible
for the confusion, and is finally fired and conducted off-stage for
refusing to incorporate the “happy end” as was rehearsed.
In the second ending, an epilogue, João Alegre returns in comic
fashion to institute the desired “happy end” by unexpectedly
delivering a telegram confirming the legal establishment of the multinational
firm Maxtertex, thereby signifying the official institutionalization
of the malandro Max Overseas and his contraband operation.
Interestingly enough, the same form of “happy end” also
occurs in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera and Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera, the latter utilizing the common technique
of deus ex machina (Rodrigues 105). In Chico Buarque’s
version this “happy end” becomes a parody of the traditional
opera, sung and performed with classical music. The characters resolve
all their differences and display an unbridled happiness with exaggerated
voices, repeatedly exclaiming: “Ai, meu Deus do céu/me
sinto tão feliz” (Hollanda 189).
The final ending is the “epílogo do epílogo.”
João Alegre appears once again alone on-stage, and returns to
the theme elucidated in the prologue. In his concluding song “O
Malandro nº 2”, he reveals the miserable fate of the malandro
from where he previously left off. Despite the brutal demise of the
malandro, the last couple of verses are ambiguous enough to
suggest that the figure he characterizes will always be alive and present.
As in Roda Viva, the metatheatrical aspects of Ópera
do Malandro are more than self-evident. The action of the play
confirms this observation as the characters undermine any illusion of
reality to the spectacle whatsoever, and reveal the theater as theater.
Both Roda Viva and Ópera do Malandro abound
in extra-textual references, which are also significant factors for
interpretation. In the former, the text refers to fictitious performers
in an allusion to famous Brazilian singers, including Chico Buarque
himself. The latter presents several characters with suggestive titles
that emphasize their status as caricatures of multinationals. The cast
of malandros therefore includes Max Overseas, Johnny Walker,
Phillip Morris, and General Electric. We might also question whether
the genre of parody itself is inherently meta-fictional, as a fiction
that refers both to fiction and to a reality external to fiction. In
Roda Viva, the play parodies the experience of its real author
Chico Buarque, whereas in Ópera do Malandro the action
parodies both itself and the socio-economic realities of Brazil.
Roda Viva and Ópera do Malandro are both musical
comedies in which the music plays an essential role. The dramatic text
complements songs that are theatrically performed. As in Brecht’s
theater, music becomes a significant structural element in the composition
of the overall text and performance. An analysis of the musical qualities
of songs is therefore necessary in order to interpret possible meanings
beyond the limitations of textually represented lyrics. In Ópera
do Malandro, for instance, the fact that the performed songs vary
across several musical genres is of utmost significance. Of the seventeen
songs from the play released on the official soundtrack, there are examples
of samba, progressive rock / reggae, bolero, acalanto, tango, chorinho,
mambo, fox trot, and xaxado. Two songs are perhaps best classified as
lyrical ballads, while another resembles a hybrid between the Portuguese
fado and Spanish music (Gouveia 199). Finally, there is the opera parody
which concludes the action and precedes the “epilogue of epilogues.”
Arguably, this diversity and influence of styles – national and
international – structurally reflects the social and cultural
realities of Brazil that the play strives to represent thematically.
As such, the integration of these varieties of music to the dramatic
text conveys meaning in and of itself.
*Originally presented at the sixth conference
on Latin American Theater Today (April 6-9, 2005)
Bibliography:
Betz, Albrecht. “Brecht e a música.” Brecht no
Brasil. Ed. Wolgang Bader. Rio de Janeiro : Paz e Terra, 1987. 65-76.
Esslin, Martin. Brecht; the man and
his work. New York : The Norton Library, 1974.
Gouveia, Arturo. “A malandragem estrutural.”
Chico Buarque do Brasil. Ed. Rinaldo de Fernandes. Rio de Janeiro, Garamond, 2004. 187-204
Hollanda, Chico Buarque de. Chico Buarque, letra e música:
incluindo Gol de Letras de Humberto Wernick e Carta ao Chico de Tom Jobim. São Paulo
: Companhia das Letras, 1989.
--- Roda Viva. Rio de Janeiro
: Sabiá, 1968.
--- Ópera do Malandro.
3 ed. São Paulo : Livraria Cultura, 1980.
Maciel, Diógenes André Vieira.
“O teatro de Chico Buarque.” Chico Buarque do Brasil.
Ed. Rinaldo de Fernandes. Rio de Janeiro, Garamond, 2004. 229-39
Marques, Fernando. “As ilusões
perdidas.” Cult 69 (2003) : 60-63.
Mello, Heitor Ferraz. “Alegorias
do vazio.” Cult 69 (2003) : 48-53.
Pinto, Manuel de Costa. “Lirismo
e resistência.” Cult 69 (2003) : 54-59.
Rodrigues, Selma Calasans. “John
Gay, Bertolt Brecht e Chico Buarque: a malandragem em três tempos.” Brecht no Brasil. Ed. Wolfgang
Bader. Rio de Janeiro : Paz e Terra, 1987. 97-106
Silva, Fernando de Barros e. Chico
Buarque. São Paulo : Publifolha, 2004. – (Folha explica)
Tarasti, Eero. Signs of Music: a guide
to musical semiotics. New York : Mouton de Gruyter, 2002.
|
|
.gif)