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Pop Star to Opera Star: labour, skill and value in musical performance

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 02:31 authored by Nicholas TillNicholas Till
The British TV show Pop Star to Opera Star (2010/2011) was a contribution to a well-worn reality TV genre in which people are challenged to undertake a professional activity in which they have no prior experience. In this article I examine the way in which popular challenge programmes such as Pop Star to Opera Star, which suggest that highly skilled activities can be ‘faked’ with no more than a few day’s training, stage what art theorist John Roberts describes as ‘the generalised deskilling of labour under capitalism’. And I argue that in particular, the historical transvaluation of musical performance skills throughout the capitalist era exposes the contradictions that are inherent in both social and cultural constructions of the value of labour under capitalism.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Studies in Musical Theatre

ISSN

1750-3159

Publisher

Intellect

Issue

2

Volume

10

Page range

209-226

Department affiliated with

  • Music Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-08-12

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-01-02

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-08-12

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