“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. TheauthorreferstoSchubertandBrahmsinordertosuggest_____.
A.that their achievements are no less substantial than those of Verdi B.that their works are examples of great trash C.the extent to which Schubert and Brahms influenced the later compositions of Verdi D.that popular music could be employed in compositions intended as high art正确答案D
