Not until the third act does the great Wagner arbitrate in the struggle between amateurishness and theatricality in the music, though at all points his epoch-making stagecraft asserts itself with a force that tempts us to treat the whole work as if it were on the Wagnerian plane of Tannhauser's account of his pilgrimage in the third act.
The idea of theatricality is prominent in American visual culture.
The rather louche carvings, turquoise and claret sheet roof and, of course, mirrors, add a special theatricality to the ambiance.
While ABT is known for its theatricality, NYCB was originally founded as a vehicle for Balanchine's neo-classical approach to ballet which emphasizes form and musicality over theatricality.
