MYTH, MEANING AND STRUCTURE: A LÉVI-STRAUSSIAN ANALYSIS OF THAI-LANGUAGE OPERAS

Abstract

Background and Objectives: This research examines four Thai-language Western-style operas: Ngau Pa (2000) by Pathorn Srikaranonda, The Lunch Box (2009) by Thanapoom Sirichang, and The Story of the Long-Gone Animals (2008) and Covido The Opera (2021), both by Krisada and Napisi Reyes. Though relatively new, they already play a key role in Thailand’s opera tradition, bringing together old stories, Buddhist ideas and issues from modern life. The research employed Claude Lévi-Strauss’s theory of myth to examine ways operas use story patterns, and how their narrative structures maintain cultural values and tradition, while incorporating modern issues. The study aims to highlight inclusions such as family responsibility, love, grief, sacrifice, despair and renewal, as well as symbolic and supernatural entities which bring about transformation. As a result, the study shines a light on the ways Thai-language operas remain tied to tradition while integrating contemporary issues. Methods: The research employs Lévi-Strauss’s structuralist method of analysis, in which each opera is first segmented into minimal narrative units (mythemes) based on libretti, synopses, and available performance materials. These units are then grouped into binary oppositions according to narrative tension, such as filial rejection versus maternal devotion or stasis versus reconnection. The oppositions are subsequently arranged into vertical columns to map how narrative relationships shift and develop across each work. This process enables rigorous comparison across the four operas while revealing underlying structural coherence. Secondary sources on structuralism, mythology, and opera provide contextual support and guide interpretation in line with Lévi-Strauss’s approach. Results: The findings indicate that all four operas follow a consistent four-part mythic structure, demonstrating the continued influence of traditional narrative logic in Thai-language opera. Across the works, binary oppositions such as love versus duty, despair versus support, and isolation versus engagement are consistently shaped through symbolic or supernatural figures. These elements drive narrative transformation and allow contemporary concerns, including environmental crisis, mental health, and pandemic-induced isolation, to be expressed within enduring mythic patterns. Conclusions: This research demonstrates that Thai-language opera functions as a contemporary vehicle for myth, using structural oppositions and symbolic elements to negotiate both traditional values and modern social issues. By applying Lévi-Straussian analysis, the research highlights how inherited narrative structures remain active and adaptable within a Southeast Asian operatic context. While limited by the small number of available works, the findings position Thai-language opera as a dynamic site of ethnomusicology in which cultural continuity and contemporary relevance intersect.