Pantomime

What it means

Pantomime designates a stage work in which the plot is presented without speech — through movement, gesture, and facial expression alone, accompanied by music. The term means both the art form and individual scenes of this kind within larger works. In ballet and opera, pantomime designates those sections in which acting takes place instead of dancing or singing and the music carries the action.

Musical use

When no text explains the plot, the music takes on this task. From this a manner of writing of its own follows: short, characteristic motifs that designate characters or events, distinct changes at every scene change, precise timing coordinated with the movement. Music of this kind is closely bound to the action and is often set up by seconds and steps. In ballet scores, pantomime scenes are clearly distinguished from the dance numbers: there, not a continuous rhythm prevails but adaptation to the events.

Performance practice

Rehearse such scenes together with the performers and not from the score alone; the music must follow the action, and tempos are often only finally fixed on stage. Keep motifs characteristic and shape changes sharply, so that the audience can follow the plot. Reckon with adjustments from performance to performance and write agreed reference points into the parts. Watch the balance, because with silent action every musical detail becomes audible.

Bear in mind that tempos in such scenes are only finally fixed on stage: what seems coherent in the orchestra can be too fast or too slow for the movement. Watch for points where gestures and music must be synchronized, and mark them as fixed meeting points. Note that ballet scores of the nineteenth...

Clarify who keeps eye contact with the stage during such scenes, because the orchestra must follow the events.

Also check whether the score contains indications of the stage action, because they explain tempo and entries.