Performance In Prisons An Effective Way To Alleviate Stres (Term Paper Sample)

Opera Performance in Prisons
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Introduction
Opera consists of theatrical work in music that comprises of dramatic text. Opera is a genre of the classical music that has its origin in Italy. Performers of this genre may choose to stage it with scenery, costume, and sometime may incorporate dance in the performance. Opera music is common in the art of criticism and its detractors argue that it does not display dramatic verisimilitude. Today, there is a version of English Opera other than the traditional Italian version. For over 30 years now, prisons have been engaging the inmates in a number of outdoor activities and training to improve their personalities and keep themselves busy. However, none of these previous efforts has made a consideration on eliminating anxiety and depression among the prisoners. The purpose of introducing Opera performance in prisons is to cater for the mental health of the inmates and help them overcome anxiety and depression.
In most cases, Opera music involves vocals and tunes that intertwine with the emotions of both the performers and the audience of this art. Prisoners undergo a lot of emotional imbalances and agony while in prison. McCorkel (2016) argue that prisoners are not machines for artistry work only. Inmates are people with brains, rational thinking and are not different from other people.
Psychological research by Denson (2011) shows that most inmates tend to be aggressive and intolerant because there has been little to no room for expression of one’s feelings and thoughts. Through Opera performance, inmates have a platform to communicate their feelings in form of writing and singing. Chong (2010) affirms that singing out one’s feeling is one of the best ways of stress management. Social stigma and injustice are the major causes of anxiety disorders, which eventually culminates into depression.
Prisoners are people who might have come from backgrounds that were faced with domestic violence and radical activities. In most parts of the world, prisoners are perceived as outcasts and heartless people. This phenomenon limits their ability to express themselves like other human beings.
Opera performance and other genres of music help in captivating the inner part of an individual giving a reminiscence of the person in their best versions. Music can feature a variety of mood and allows on the prisoners write and perform what they feel easing tension level within themselves. According to Joyce (2017), group singing is quite instrumental in revitalizing one’s happiness and forgetting the daily agonies of life. She travels around to many prisons and coaches the prisoners opera performance in groups. She depicts that music helps most of the inmates living a remorseful life of “what ifs” shed their worries and feel appreciated. Joyce and her colleague guides the inmates at Sing Sing Correctional Centre to write lyrics to their songs and coaches them how to stage the song in a theatre.
Science associates pleasure obtained from group singing to release of endorphin and other “feel good” hormones in the body. According to Chong (2010), listening to music with a relevant message to what is going through a person’s mind elevates happiness but active performance helps the person revitalize positive energy to counter the mental stress.
Oxytocin is another hormone released during singing that lessens tension and anxiety in the body during singing. This hormone is also responsible for the generation of trust feelings and creation of bonds, explaining why further studies found that singing helps alleviate feelings of anger, tension, and depression. Moreover, in a correctional center, where inmates tend to be quite violent, singing can be used as a method of alleviating loneliness. Clift et al., (2010) says that group singing does not require good instruments to bring out the intended purpose, neither does it rely on the voices of the performers.
Hypothetically, group singing has numerous benefits. In a recent study by, musicians and singers are found to have fewer levels of cortisol hormones, thus having less stress. Cortisol is an adrenal hormone that is responsible for various body responses. According to Eisenegger et al (2010), inmates have high levels of this hormone, explaining the reason why most prisoners live under fear, full of remorse and other downgrading attributes. The study explains why most inmates are violence instigators. The prisons aim at applying the same study to alleviate levels of aggression in correctional centers. Inmates might not have very impressive voices but [cite] asserts that reaping the benefits of singing is independent of the vocals. He insists that the message conveyed in the music and reality of thoughts is what is important. Studies by Lord and colleague (2010) reveal that singing produces therapeutic sensation despite the quality of vocal instrument used.
Stuckey (2012) proposes that proper music is an instrumental remedy to relieve daily tension and worries that culminate in anxiety disorders and eventually depressions. Insel et al.,(2014) reports that the good news is that anxiety disorders of all the type and depression are curable with time. Other researchers argue that singing help individuals connect with their instincts and this way people are able to find themselves back. Singing a relevant song for a rhyming situation ties the prisoner to the emotional background of the message. Joyce (2017) advocates for opera performance as a great way of meditation. Moreover, when performed in a group, sin...