World classical music is unthinkable without the works of Russian composers. Russia, a great country with a talented people and its own cultural heritage, has always been among the leading locomotives of world progress and art, including music. The Russian school of composition, the successor of the traditions of which was the Soviet and today's Russian schools, began in the 19th century with composers who combined European musical art with Russian folk melodies, linking together the European form and the Russian spirit.
You can tell a lot about each of these famous people, all of them have not simple and sometimes tragic fates, but in this review we tried to give only a brief description of the life and work of composers.
1. Mikhail I. GLINKA (1804—1857)
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is the founder of the Russian classical music and the first Russian classical composer to achieve world fame. His works, based on the centuries-old traditions of Russian folk music, were a new word in the musical art of our country.
Born in the Smolensk province, he received his education in St. Petersburg. The formation of the worldview and the main idea of \u200b\u200bMikhail Glinka's work was facilitated by direct communication with such personalities as A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Griboyedov, A.A. Delvig. A creative impulse to his works was added by a long-term trip to Europe in the early 1830s and meetings with the leading composers of the time - V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, F. Mendelssohn and later with G. Berlioz, J. Meyerbeer. Success came to MI Glinka after staging the opera "Ivan Susanin" ("Life for the Tsar") (1836), which was enthusiastically received by everyone, for the first time in world music, Russian choral art and European symphonic and operatic practice were organically combined, as well as a hero appeared similar to Susanin, whose image summarizes the best features national character... VF Odoevsky characterized the opera "a new element in Art, and a new period begins in its history - the period of Russian music".
The second opera, the epic Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842), which was worked on against the background of Pushkin's death and in the difficult living conditions of the composer, due to the profoundly innovative essence of the work, was met ambiguously by the audience and the authorities and brought MIGlinka hard feelings ... After that he traveled a lot, alternately living in Russia and abroad, without stopping to compose. His legacy includes romances, symphonic and chamber works. In the 1990s, Mikhail Glinka's Patriotic Song was the official anthem of the Russian Federation.
Mikhail Glinka's quote: "To create beauty, one must be a pure soul."
Quote about MI Glinka: "The entire Russian symphony school, just like the whole oak in an acorn, is contained in the symphonic fantasy" Kamarinskaya ". P.I. Tchaikovsky
An interesting fact: Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was not in good health, despite this he was very easy-going and knew geography very well, perhaps if he had not become a composer, he would have become a traveler. He knew six foreign languages, including Persian.
2. Alexander Porfirevich BORODIN (1833—1887)
Alexander Porfirevich Borodin, one of the leading Russian composers of the second half of the 19th century, besides his talent as a composer, was a chemist, doctor, teacher, critic and had a literary talent.
Born in St. Petersburg, from childhood everyone around him noted his unusual activity, enthusiasm and ability in various directions, primarily in music and chemistry. A.P. Borodin is a Russian composer-nugget, he did not have professional music teachers, all his achievements in music thanks to independent work on mastering the technique of composition. The formation of A.P. Borodin was influenced by the work of M.I. Glinka (as, by the way, for all Russian composers of the 19th century), and the impulse for a dense occupation with composition in the early 1860s was given by two events - firstly, an acquaintance and marriage with the talented pianist E.S. Protopopova, and secondly, a meeting with MA Balakirev and joining the creative community of Russian composers known as "The Mighty Handful". In the late 1870s and in the 1880s, A.P. Borodin traveled and toured a lot in Europe and America, met the leading composers of his time, his fame was growing, he became one of the most famous and popular Russian composers in Europe at the end of the 19th th century.
The central place in the work of A.P. Borodin is occupied by the opera "Prince Igor" (1869-1890), which is an example of the national heroic epic in music and which he himself did not have time to finish (it was completed by his friends A.A. Glazunov and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov). In "Prince Igor", against the background of majestic pictures of historical events, the main idea of \u200b\u200ball the composer's work is reflected - courage, calm greatness, spiritual nobility of the best Russian people and the mighty strength of the entire Russian people, manifested in the defense of the homeland. Despite the fact that A.P. Borodin left a relatively small number of works, his work is very diverse and he is considered one of the fathers of Russian symphonic music, who influenced many generations of Russian and foreign composers.
Quote about A.P. Borodin: "Borodin's talent is equally powerful and striking both in the symphony and in the opera and in the romance. His main qualities are gigantic strength and breadth, colossal scope, swiftness and impetuosity, combined with amazing passion, tenderness and beauty ". V.V. Stasov
An interesting fact: the chemical reaction of silver salts of carboxylic acids with halogens, resulting in halogenated hydrocarbons, which he first investigated in 1861, was named after Borodin.
3. Modest Petrovich MUSORGSKY (1839—1881)
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is one of the most brilliant Russian composers of the 19th century, a member of the "Mighty Handful". Musorgsky's innovative work was far ahead of its time.
Was born in the Pskov province. Like many talented people, from childhood he showed aptitude in music, studied in St. Petersburg, was family tradition, the military. The decisive event that determined that Mussorgsky was born not for military service, but for music, was his meeting with MABalakirev and joining the "Mighty Handful". Mussorgsky is great in that in his grandiose works - the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, he captured in music dramatic milestones in Russian history with a radical novelty that Russian music did not know before him, showing in them a combination of popular folk scenes and a diverse wealth of types, the unique character of the Russian people. These operas, in numerous editions, both by the author and by other composers, are among the most popular Russian operas in the world. Another outstanding work of Mussorgsky is the cycle of piano pieces "Pictures at an Exhibition", colorful and inventive miniatures are permeated with the Russian theme-refrain and the Orthodox faith.
There was everything in Mussorgsky's life - both greatness and tragedy, but he was always distinguished by genuine spiritual purity and selflessness. His last years were difficult - disorder in life, lack of recognition of creativity, loneliness, addiction to alcohol, all this determined his early death at 42, he left relatively few works, some of which were completed by other composers. The specific melody and innovative harmony of Mussorgsky anticipated some features of the musical development of the 20th century and played an important role in the formation of the styles of many world composers.
Quote by MP Mussorgsky: "The sounds of human speech, as external manifestations of thought and feeling, should, without exaggeration and violence, become true, accurate, but artistic, highly artistic music."
Quote about M.P. Mussorgsky: "Primordially Russian sounds in everything that Mussorgsky did" N.K. Roerich
An interesting fact: at the end of his life, Mussorgsky, under pressure from the "friends" of Stasov and Rimsky-Korsakov, gave up copyright to his works and presented them to Tertiy Filippov
4. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840—1893)
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, perhaps the greatest Russian composer of the 19th century, raised Russian musical art to unprecedented heights. He is one of the most important composers of world classical music.
A native of Vyatka province, although paternal roots in Ukraine, Tchaikovsky showed musical talent from childhood, but his first education and work was in the field of jurisprudence. Tchaikovsky was one of the first Russian “professional” composers - he studied music theory and composition at the new St. Petersburg Conservatory. Tchaikovsky was considered a "Western" composer, in contrast to the folk figures of the "Mighty Handful", with whom he had good creative and friendly relations, but his work is no less imbued with the Russian spirit, he managed to uniquely combine the Western symphonic heritage of Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann with the Russians traditions inherited from Mikhail Glinka.
The composer led an active life - he was a teacher, conductor, critic, public figure, worked in two capitals, toured in Europe and America. Tchaikovsky was a man quite emotionally unstable, enthusiasm, despondency, apathy, hot temper, violent anger - all these moods changed in him quite often, being a very sociable person, he always strove for loneliness.
It is a difficult task to single out something best from Tchaikovsky's work, he has several works of equal size in almost all musical genres - opera, ballet, symphony, chamber music. The content of Tchaikovsky's music is universal: with inimitable melodism it embraces the images of life and death, love, nature, childhood, works of Russian and world literature are revealed in a new way, deep processes of spiritual life are reflected in it.
Quote from the composer:
"I am an artist who can and should bring honor to my Motherland. I feel a great artistic power in me, I have not yet done a tenth of what I can do. And I want to do it with all my heart."
"Life has charm only when it consists of alternation of joys and sorrow, from the struggle between good and evil, from light and shadow, in a word - from diversity in unity."
"Great talent requires a lot of hard work."
Quote about the composer: "I am ready day and night to stand guard of honor at the porch of the house where Pyotr Ilyich lives - to such an extent I respect him" A.P. Chekhov
An interesting fact: the University of Cambridge in absentia and without defending a thesis awarded Tchaikovsky the title of Doctor of Music, and the Paris Academy of Fine Arts also elected him a corresponding member.
5. Nikolay Andreevich RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844—1908)
Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov is a talented Russian composer, one of the most important figures in the creation of an invaluable Russian musical heritage. His peculiar world and worship of the eternal all-embracing beauty of the universe, admiration for the miracle of life, unity with nature have no analogues in the history of music.
Born in the Novgorod province, by family tradition he became a naval officer, on a warship he went around many countries of Europe and the Americas. He received his musical education first from his mother, then taking private lessons from the pianist F. Canille. And again, thanks to MABalakirev, the organizer of The Mighty Handful, who introduced Rimsky-Korsakov to the musical community and influenced his work, the world has not lost a talented composer.
The central place in the legacy of Rimsky-Korsakov is made up of operas - 15 works demonstrating a variety of genre, stylistic, dramatic, compositional decisions of the composer, nevertheless having a special style - with all the richness of the orchestral component, melodic vocal lines are the main ones. Two main directions distinguish the composer's work: the first is Russian history, the second is the world of fairy tales and epics, for which he received the nickname "storyteller".
In addition to direct independent creative activity N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov is known as a publicist, compiler of collections of folk songs, to which he showed great interest, and also as the finalizer of the works of his friends - Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky and Borodin. Rimsky-Korsakov was the founder of the composer school, as a teacher and head of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, he graduated about two hundred composers, conductors, musicologists, among them Prokofiev and Stravinsky.
Quote about the composer: "Rimsky-Korsakov was a very Russian person and a very Russian composer. I believe that this primordially Russian essence of his, his deep folklore-Russian basis should be especially appreciated today." Mstislav Rostropovich
The work of Russian composers of the late 19th - first half of the 20th century is an integral continuation of the traditions of the Russian school. Along with this, the concept of an approach to the "national" belonging of this or that music appeared, there is practically no direct citation of folk melodies, but the intonational Russian basis, the Russian soul, remained.
6. Alexander Nikolaevich SKRYABIN (1872 - 1915)
Alexander Nikolaevich Scriabin is a Russian composer and pianist, one of the brightest personalities of Russian and world musical culture. Scriabin's original and deeply poetic creativity stood out for its innovation even against the background of the birth of many new trends in art associated with changes in social life at the turn of the 20th century.
Born in Moscow, his mother died early, his father could not pay attention to his son, as he served as ambassador to Persia. Scriabin was brought up by his aunt and grandfather; from childhood he showed musical talent. At the beginning he studied in the cadet corps, took private piano lessons, after graduating from the corps he entered the Moscow Conservatory, his fellow student was S.V. Rachmaninov. After graduating from the Conservatory, Scriabin devoted himself entirely to music - as a concert pianist-composer he toured in Europe and Russia, spending most of his time abroad.
The peak of Scriabin's composer's creativity was 1903-1908, when the Third Symphony ("Divine Poem"), the symphonic "Poem of Ecstasy", "Tragic" and "Satanic" piano poems, 4 and 5 sonatas and other works were released. The "Poem of Ecstasy", consisting of several themes-images, concentrated the creative ideas of Sriabin and is his brilliant masterpiece. It harmoniously combines the composer's love for the power of a large orchestra and the lyrical, airy sound of solo instruments. The colossal vital energy, fiery passion, volitional power embodied in the "Poem of Ecstasy" makes an irresistible impression on the listener and to this day retains the strength of its influence.
Another masterpiece of Scriabin is Prometheus (Poem of Fire), in which the author completely renewed his harmonic language, deviating from the traditional tonal system, and for the first time in history this work was supposed to be accompanied by color music, but the premiere, for technical reasons, took place without light effects.
The last unfinished "Mystery" was the idea of \u200b\u200bScriabin, a dreamer, romantic, philosopher, to appeal to all mankind and inspire him to create a new fantastic world order, to unite the Universal Spirit with Matter.
Quote by A. N. Skryabin: "I am going to tell them (people) that they ... expect nothing from life except what they can create for themselves ... I am going to tell them that there is nothing to grieve, that there is no loss So that they are not afraid of despair, which alone can give rise to real triumph. Strong and mighty is the one who experienced despair and defeated it. "
Quote about A. Scriabin: "Scriabin's work was his time, expressed in sounds. But when the temporary, the transitory finds its expression in the work of a great artist, it acquires a permanent meaning and becomes permanent." G.V. Plekhanov
7. Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov (1873 - 1943)
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff is the world's largest composer of the early 20th century, a talented pianist and conductor. The creative image of Rachmaninov as a composer is often defined by the epithet "the most Russian composer", emphasizing in this brief formulation his merits in uniting the musical traditions of the Moscow and St. Petersburg composing schools and in creating his own unique style, which stands out in the world musical culture.
Born in the Novgorod province, since four years began to study music under the guidance of his mother. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, after 3 years of study he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory and graduated with a large gold medal. He quickly became known as a conductor and pianist, and composed music. The failed premiere of the groundbreaking First Symphony (1897) in St. Petersburg caused a creative composer crisis, from which Rachmaninov emerged in the early 1900s with a mature style that united Russian church song, outgoing European romanticism, modern impressionism and neoclassicism - and all this is saturated with complex symbolism. During this creative period his best works were born, including 2 and 3 piano concerts, the Second Symphony and his most favorite work - the poem "Bells" for choir, soloists and orchestra.
In 1917, Rachmaninov and his family were forced to leave our country and settle in the United States. Almost ten years after his departure, he did not write anything, but he toured extensively in America and Europe and was recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the era and the greatest conductor. For all the stormy activities, Rachmaninov remained a vulnerable and insecure person, striving for solitude and even loneliness, avoiding the intrusive attention of the public. He sincerely loved and yearned for his homeland, thinking if he had made a mistake by leaving it. He was constantly interested in all the events taking place in Russia, read books, newspapers and magazines, helped financially. His latest works - Symphony No. 3 (1937) and "Symphonic Dances" (1940) were the result of his creative path, absorbing all the best of his unique style and the mournful feeling of irreparable loss and homesickness.
Quote from S.V. Rachmaninov:
"I feel like a ghost wandering lonely in a foreign world."
"The highest quality of any art is its sincerity."
"Great composers have always and above all paid attention to melody as the leading principle in music. Melody is music, the main basis of all music ... Melodic ingenuity, in the highest sense of the word, is the main goal of the composer in life ... for this reason, the great composers of the past have shown so much interest in the folk melodies of their countries. "
Quote about S.V. Rachmaninov:
"Rachmaninov was created from steel and gold: Steel is in his hands, gold is in his heart. I cannot think of him without tears. I not only worshiped the great artist, but loved the person in him." I. Hoffman
"Rachmaninov's music is the Ocean. His waves - musical - begin so far beyond the horizon, and lift you so high and so slowly lower you ... that you feel this Power and Breath." A. Konchalovsky
An interesting fact: during the Great Patriotic War, Rachmaninov gave several charity concerts, the money collected from which he sent to the Red Army fund to fight the Nazi invaders.
8. Igor Fyodorovich STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky is one of the most influential world composers of the 20th century, the leader of neoclassicism. Stravinsky became a "mirror" of the musical era, his work reflects a plurality of styles, constantly intersecting and difficult to classify. He freely combines genres, forms, styles, choosing them from centuries of musical history and subjecting them to his own rules.
Born near St. Petersburg, studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, independently studied musical disciplines, took private lessons from N.A.Rimsky-Korsakov, it was the only Stravinsky school of composition, thanks to which he mastered the composing technique to perfection. He began to compose professionally relatively late, but his rise was rapid - a series of three ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913) immediately brought him to the ranks of composers of the first magnitude.
In 1914 he left Russia, as it turned out almost forever (in 1962 he toured the USSR). Stravinsky is a cosmopolitan, forced to change several countries - Russia, Switzerland, France, in the end he stayed to live in the United States. His work is divided into three periods - "Russian", "neoclassical", American "mass production", the periods are not divided by the time of life in different countries, but according to the author's "handwriting".
Stravinsky was a very highly educated, sociable person, with a great sense of humor. His circle of acquaintances and correspondents included musicians, poets, artists, scientists, businessmen, statesmen.
The last highest achievement of Stravinsky - "Requiem" (Memorial chants) (1966) absorbed and combined the previous artistic experience of the composer, becoming the true apotheosis of the master's work.
In the work of Stavinsky, one unique feature stands out - "unrepeatability", it is not for nothing that he was called "the composer of a thousand and one style", the constant change of genre, style, direction of the plot - each of his works is unique, but he constantly returned to constructions in which Russian origin is visible, audible Russian roots.
Quote by IF Stravinsky: "I have been speaking Russian all my life, my syllable is Russian. Maybe in my music this is not immediately visible, but it is in it, it is in its hidden nature."
Quote about IF Stravinsky: "Stravinsky is a truly Russian composer ... The Russian spirit is ineradicable in the heart of this truly great, multifaceted talent, born of the Russian land and closely related to it ..." D. Shostakovich
Interesting fact (bike):
Once in New York, Stravinsky took a taxi and was surprised to read his name on the sign.
- You are not a relative of the composer? he asked the driver.
- Is there a composer with such a surname? - the driver was surprised. - I hear it for the first time. However, Stravinsky is the name of the taxi owner. I have nothing to do with music - my name is Rossini ...
9. Sergei Sergeevich PROKOFIEV (1891—1953)
Sergei Sergeevich Prokofiev is one of the largest Russian composers of the 20th century, pianist, conductor.
Born in Donetsk region, from childhood he became involved in music. Prokofiev can be considered one of the few (if not the only) Russian musical "prodigies", from the age of 5 he was engaged in composing, at the age of 9 he wrote two operas (of course, these works are still immature, but they show a desire to create), at the age of 13 he passed exams in St. Petersburg Conservatory, among his teachers was N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. The beginning of his professional career caused a storm of criticism and misunderstanding of his individual, fundamentally anti-romantic and extremely modernist style, the paradox is that, having ruined the academic canons, the structure of his compositions remained true classical principles and subsequently became the restraining force of modernist overwhelming skepticism. From the very beginning of his career, Prokofiev performed and toured a lot. In 1918, he went on an international tour, including visiting the USSR, and finally returned to his homeland in 1936.
The country has changed and Prokofiev's "free" creativity was forced to yield to the realities of new demands. Prokofiev's talent blossomed with renewed vigor - he writes operas, ballets, music for films - sharp, strong-willed, extremely accurate music with new images and ideas, laid the foundation for Soviet classical music and opera. In 1948, almost simultaneously three tragic events occurred: on suspicion of espionage, his first Spanish wife was arrested and exiled to the camps; the Resolution of the Polybureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was issued, in which Prokofiev, Shostakovich and others were attacked and accused of "formalism" and the harm of their music; there was a sharp deterioration in the composer's health, he retired to the dacha and practically did not leave it, but continued to compose.
Some of the brightest works of the Soviet period were the operas "War and Peace", "The Story of a Real Man"; ballets "Romeo and Juliet", "Cinderella", which have become a new standard of world ballet music; oratorio "On guard of the world"; music for the films "Alexander Nevsky" and "Ivan the Terrible"; symphonies No. 5,6,7; piano works.
Prokofiev's work is striking in its versatility and breadth of topics, the originality of his musical thinking, freshness and originality made up an entire era in the world musical culture of the 20th century and had a powerful impact on many Soviet and foreign composers.
Quote from S.S. Prokofiev:
"Can an artist stand aside from life? .. I adhere to the conviction that a composer, like a poet, sculptor, painter, is called to serve man and the people ... He, first of all, must be a citizen in his art, praise human life and lead a person to a brighter future ... "
"I am a manifestation of life, which gives me the strength to resist everything unspiritual"
Quote about SS Prokofiev: "... all facets of his music are beautiful. But there is one completely unusual thing here. We all seem to have some setbacks, doubts, just a bad mood. And at such moments , even if I don’t play or listen to Prokofiev, but just think about him, I get an incredible charge of energy, I feel a great desire to live, to act ”E. Kisin
Interesting fact: Prokofiev was very fond of chess, and enriched the game with his ideas and achievements, including the "nine" chess invented by him - a 24x24 field board with nine sets of pieces placed on it.
10. Dmitry Dmitrievich SHOSTAKOVICH (1906 - 1975)
Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich is one of the most significant and performed composers in the world, his influence on contemporary classical music is immeasurable. His creations are true expressions of the inner human drama and the chronicle of difficult events of the 20th century, where the deeply personal is intertwined with the tragedy of man and humanity, with the fate of his native country.
Born in St. Petersburg, received his first musical lessons from his mother, graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, upon admission to which its rector Alexander Glazunov compared him to Mozart - this is how he impressed everyone with his wonderful musical memory, delicate ear and composer's gift. Already in the early 1920s, by the time he graduated from the Conservatory, Shostakovich had the baggage of his own works and became one of the best composers in the country. World fame came to Shostakovich after winning the 1st International Chopin Competition in 1927.
Until a certain period, namely before the staging of the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, Shostakovich worked as a free artist - an "avant-garde", experimenting with styles and genres. The harsh distribution of this opera, arranged in 1936, and the repressions of 1937 marked the beginning of the subsequent constant internal struggle of Shostakovich for the desire to express his views by his own means in the conditions of imposing trends in art by the state. In his life, politics and creativity are very closely intertwined, he was praised by the authorities and persecuted by them, held high positions and was removed from them, was awarded and was on the verge of arrest himself and his relatives.
A gentle, intelligent, delicate person, he found his own form of expression of creative principles in symphonies, where he could speak the truth about time as openly as possible. Of all Shostakovich's extensive work in all genres, it is the symphonies (15 works) that occupy the central place, the most dramatically saturated are the 5,7,8,10,15 symphonies, which became the pinnacle of Soviet symphonic music. A completely different Shostakovich opens up in chamber music.
Despite the fact that Shostakovich himself was a "domestic" composer and practically did not travel abroad, his music, which was humanistic in essence and truly artistic in form, quickly and widely spread throughout the world and was performed by the best conductors. The magnitude of Shostakovich's talent is so immense that the full comprehension of this unique phenomenon of world art is still ahead.
Dmitry Shostakovich's quote: "Real music is capable of expressing only humane feelings, only advanced humane ideas."
Opera(ital.opera- business, work, work; lat.opera- works, products, works, plural. from opus) - a genre of musical and dramatic art in which the content is embodied by means of musical drama, mainly through vocal music ... The literary basis of the opera is libretto... The word "orega" translated from Italian literally means work, composition. In this musical genre, poetry and dramatic art, vocal and instrumental music, facial expressions, dance, painting, scenery and costumes are fused into a single whole.
The composer writes an opera based on a plot borrowed from literature, for example “ Ruslan and Ludmila», « Eugene Onegin". The verbal text of the opera is called libretto.
Almost every opera begins overture- a symphonic introduction, which, in general terms, introduces the listener to the content of the entire action.
History of the genre
Opera appeared in Italy, in mysteries, that is, spiritual performances in which episodically introduced music was at a low level. Spiritual Comedy: The Conversion of St. Paul "( 1480 ),Beverini, is already a more serious work, in which music accompanied the action from beginning to end. In the middle XVI centurywere very popular pastoralsor pastoral games, in which the music was limited to choirs, in the character of a motet or madrigal. At Amfiparnasso, Orazio Vecchichoral singing behind the stage, in the form of a five-part madrigal, served to accompany the performance of actors on the stage. This "Commedia armonica" was given for the first time at the Modena court in 1597 year.
Jacopo Peri
In the end XVI centuryattempts to introduce monophonic singing into such compositions ( monody) brought opera on the path on which its development quickly went forward. The authors of these attempts named their musical and dramatic works drama in musicaor drama per musica; the name "opera" came to be applied to them in the first half 17th century... Later, some opera composers such as Richard Wagner, again returned to the title "musical drama".
The first opera house for public performances was opened in 1637 yearin Venice; previously, the opera was only for court entertainment. The first major opera can be considered "Eurydice" Jacopo Periperformed in 1597 ... In Venice, since the opening of public shows, 7 theaters have appeared in 65 years; 357 operas have been written for them by various composers (up to 40). The pioneers of opera were: in Germany - Heinrich Schütz("Daphne", 1627 ), in France - Camber("La pastorale", 1647), in England - Purcell; in Spain the first operas appeared at the beginning XVIIIcenturies; in Russia, Araya was the first to write an opera (Mullet and Procrida) on an independent Russian text (1755). The first Russian opera, written in Russian customs - "Tanyusha, or Happy Meeting", music by FG \u200b\u200bVolkov (1756).
IN 1868 yeararmenian composer Tigran Chukhajyancreates the opera “ Arshak II"- the first opera in musical history East.
Ancient tragedy can also be considered the sources of the opera. Opera emerged as an independent genre in Italy at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries in a circle of musicians, philosophers and poets in the city of Florence. The circle of art lovers was called "Camerata"... The “camerata” participants dreamed of reviving ancient Greek tragedy, combining drama, music and dance in one performance. The first such performance was given in Florence in 1600 and told about Orpheus and Eurydice. There is a version that the first musical performance with singing was staged in 1594 on the plot ancient greek myth about the struggle of the god Apollo with the serpent Python. Opera schools gradually began to appear in Italy in Rome, Venice, Naples. Then the opera spread rapidly throughout Europe. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the main varieties of opera were formed: opera - seria (large serious opera) and opera - buffa (comic opera).
Opera in Russia
Opera in Russia appeared at the end of the 18th century, when the Russian Theater was opened in St. Petersburg. At first, only foreign operas were performed. The first Russian operas were comic. Fomin is considered one of the founders. In 1836, the premiere of Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar took place in St. Petersburg. Opera in Russia has acquired a perfect form, its features have been determined: vivid musical characteristics of the main characters, the absence of spoken dialogues. In the 19th century, all the best Russian composers turn to opera.
Probably every lover of Russian music asked the following question: when was the first Russian opera sounded, and who were its authors? The answer to this question has never been a secret. The first Russian opera "Cephalus and Procris" was written by the Italian composer Francesco Araya on the verses of the Russian poet of the 18th century - Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov, and its premiere took place exactly 263 years ago, on February 27, 1755.
Sumarokov Alexander Petrovich (1717-1777), Russian writer, one of the prominent representatives of classicism. In the tragedies "Khorev" (1747), "Sinav and Truvor" (1750) raised the problem of civic duty. Comedies, fables, lyric songs.
It was on this day that St. Petersburg music lovers saw and heard the first production of an opera to Russian text.
Poet Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov prepared a libretto based on the love story of two heroes from Ovid's Metamorphoses - Kefal and his wife Procrida. The plot was popular in European art - paintings (Correggio), plays and operas (Chiabrera, Ardi, Calderon, and then Gretri, Reichard, etc.) were painted on it. The new opera was called Cephalus and Prokris (this is how the names of the main characters were pronounced then). In the interpretation of Sumarokov ancient myth has not changed in essence: Tsarevich Cephalus, betrothed to the Athenian Prokris, rejects the love of the goddess Aurora - he is faithful to his wife, does not fear threats and trials; but one day, while hunting, he accidentally pierces the unfortunate Prokris with an arrow. The choir concludes the performance with the words: “When love is useful, it is sweet, but if love is tearful, which is given to sorrow” ...
The talented librettist ensured the success of the production. But well-trained theatrical actors and singers contributed to this no less.
Araia (Araia, Araja) Francesco (1709-c. 1770), Italian composer. In 1735-1762 (with interruptions) he headed the Italian troupe in St. Petersburg. The operas The Power of Love and Hate (1736), Cephalus and Procris (1755; the first opera to a Russian libretto by A.P. Sumarokova; performed by Russian artists), etc.
Two years earlier, after one of the concerts, Shtelin wrote in his memoirs: “Among the performers was one young singer from Ukraine, named Gavrila, who owned an elegant manner of singing and performed the most difficult Italian opera arias with artistic cadenza and exquisite decorations. Subsequently he performed in concerts of the court and also enjoyed enormous success. " The author of the notes often referred to some Russian singers only by their first names. In this case, he had in mind the remarkable soloist Gavrila Martsinkovich, who performed the part of Cephal in Sumarokov's opera.
Accustomed to the sophisticated Italian style, the listener was pleasantly surprised, firstly, by the fact that all the arias were performed by Russian actors, who, moreover, had not studied anywhere in foreign lands, and secondly, that the eldest was “no more than 14 years old”, and, finally, thirdly, that they sang in Russian.
Giuseppe Valeriani. Set design for the opera "Cephalus and Procris" (1755)
Prokris - a tragic role - was played by the charming young soloist Elizaveta Belogradskaya. Stehlin also calls her "a virtuoso harpsichordist." Elizabeth belonged to the already well-known musical and artistic dynasty. Her relative, Timofey Belogradsky, was famous as an outstanding lute player and singer who performed "with the art of a great master the most difficult solos and concerts." Known, thanks to all the same Shtelin, the names of the other actors: Nikolai Klutarev, Stepan Rashevsky and Stepan Evstafiev. "These young opera artists amazed listeners and connoisseurs with their precise phrasing, clean performance of difficult and lengthy arias, artistic transmission of cadenzas, their recitation and natural facial expressions." Cefala and Prokris was received with delight. After all, the opera was understandable even without a program. And although the music did not “stick” with the text, because its author, Francesco Araya, did not know a word in Russian and all the librettos were translated for him thoroughly, the production showed and proved the possibility of the existence of a domestic opera house. And not only because the Russian language, according to Shtelin, "as you know, in its tenderness and beauty and euphoniousness is closer to Italian than all other European languages \u200b\u200band, therefore, has great advantages in singing", but also because the musical theater in Russia could be based on the richest choral culture, which was an integral essence of the life of the Russian people.
The first step was passed. There were only two decades left before the birth of a real Russian musical opera house ...
Empress Elizaveta Petrovna "appreciated" the successful action. Shtelin meticulously recorded that she "granted all the young artists fine cloth for their costumes, and Araya an expensive sable fur coat and one hundred semi-imperial gold (500 rubles)."
Fans of classical music are certainly interested in the question of what are the most famous operas in the world today. It is difficult to single out the most popular among the huge number of masterpieces created by composers over the course of several centuries. However, of all, it is possible to identify the undisputed leaders, who got into the top ten below. These operas have been translated into several languages \u200b\u200band are regularly performed on the stages of the world's best theaters.
10 Norm. Vincenzo Bellini
Norma (Vincenzo Bellini) opens the list of the most popular operas in the world. It is a lyrical tragedy in two acts, which was based on the work of A. Soume "Norm, or Infanticide". The opera was first presented in Milan and almost immediately gained wide popularity among opera lovers. The title part is considered one of the most difficult in the soprano's repertoire. "Norma" was written by the composer in the 31st year of the 19th century, and is still popular worldwide.
9 Eugene Onegin. P. I. Tchaikovsky
"Eugene Onegin" (PI Tchaikovsky) is the most famous opera of the world famous Russian composer. The work was created based on the novel of the same name by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and is based on the libretto by Konstantin Shilovsky. The opera was presented to the general public at the Moscow Maly Theater. Before writing his masterpiece, Tchaikovsky spent a long time in search of an opera plot that would represent a strong drama. The plot, by coincidence, was inspired by the composer singer Lavrovskaya.
8 Figaro's wedding. W. A. \u200b\u200bMozart
The Marriage of Figaro (W. A. \u200b\u200bMozart) is a popular opera by the Austrian virtuoso composer, which has gained worldwide fame. Based on the play of the same name by Beaumarchais. Mozart began writing a piece of music in the 86th year of the 18th century. The creation of the score lasted for five months. After the first presentation to the public, it did not gain much popularity. Glory and laurels came after the opera was staged in Prague. The opera was first translated into Russian by Pyotr Ilyich Chukovsky. The opera includes four acts in total. The plot of the work is connected with the preparation for the wedding of Suzanne's maid and valet Figaro.
7 The Magic Flute. W. A. \u200b\u200bMozart
The Magic Flute (W. A. \u200b\u200bMozart) is one of the best operas in the world, written by the composer in two acts. It was first presented to the public in 1791 in Vienna. In the center of the plot is Prince Tamino, who has to go through many difficulties and trials in order to be worthy to be near his beloved - the daughter of the queen of the night. Goethe was so delighted with this work that he made attempts to write a continuation of this libretto.
6 The Barber of Seville. Gioacchino Rossini
The Barber of Seville (Gioacchino Rossini) is one of the best operas that has gained worldwide popularity. It includes two acts that were based on the comedy of the same name by Pierre Boramsche. In the beginning, the libretto bore such a title as "Almaviva, or A vain precaution". The musical piece is set in Seville in the 18th century. The opera begins with the appearance of Count Almaviva, who is under the windows of his beloved. For her, he performs a small opera aria "Soon the East will shine brightly with a golden dawn." The beloved's guardian does not allow her to go to the balcony, so Alvamiva's attempts are in vain.
5 Bohemia. Giacomo Puccini
La Boheme (Giacomo Puccini) is one of the world's musical masterpieces, presented to the public back in 1896. The opera includes four acts. It was based on Henri Murger's Scenes from the Life of Bohemia. The actions in the libretto take place in Paris in the 30s of the 19th century. The first act begins with the poor poet Rudolph and his artist friend Marcel spend the evening by the cold fireplace, which has nothing to melt. The artist wants to burn the last chair, but Rudolph stops him, donating one of his manuscripts. The action ends with the poet meeting his love.
4 Lucia di Lammermoor. G. Donizetti
Lucia di Lammermoor (G. Donizetti) is one of the most popular operas in the world. Tragic musical composition by the Italian composer in three acts. The libretto is based on the novel "Lammermoor Bride" by W. Scott. A little later, the composer also wrote a French version of the opera. She thundered all over the world, becoming one of the best. The plot of the novel was used by several composers before Donizetti, but his creation completely supplanted all the previous ones. The libretto is set in Scotland in the 18th century. In total, the work includes two parts: "Departure" and "Marriage Contract".
3 Carmen. Georges Bizet
Carmen (Georges Bizet) opens the top three operas in the world, which was written by the composer based on the novel of the same name by Prosper Mérimée. New sketches of the score appeared in the 74th year of the 19th century. The premiere took place for the first time in France, where it suffered a complete fiasco. The opera, unrecognized by the French public and critics, left the stage for a long time and only in 83rd returned to the stage, having found world fame for itself. Tchaikovsky himself said that this is truly a masterpiece, which after a while will gain widespread fame.
2 War and peace. S. Prokofiev
"War and Peace" (S. Prokofiev) is one of the most famous operas that have thundered all over the world. It was written based on the novel of the same name by the outstanding writer of the 19th century Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. In total, the work includes thirteen paintings. The opera begins with the appearance on the stage of Bolkonsky, who is visiting the estate of Count Rostov. He can hear the voice of Count Natasha's daughter, who amazes him with her beautiful singing. The thirteenth final picture tells about the remnants of the retreating army of Bonaparte. The composer had been hatching ideas to write an opera based on the famous novel for a long time. The first sketches appeared in 1941, and on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater she thundered in 59, becoming one of the best world operas.
1 La Traviata. Giuseppe Verdi
La Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi) completes the list of the best operas in the world. Translated into Russian, the word traviata means “lost” or “fallen”. The composer was inspired to write it by Alexandre Dumas' novel The Lady of the Camellias. For the first time presented to the public, "La Traviata" suffered a complete fiasco, but after a radical revision, it gained worldwide popularity. A feature of this opera is the unusual choice of the heroine for that time - a fallen woman who is on her deathbed. La Traviata is set in Paris in the middle of the 19th century. In the center of attention is a courtesan, rejected by society and not unnecessary to anyone. The original score includes three acts.
The content of the article
RUSSIAN OPERA.The Russian opera school - along with the Italian, German, French - is of global importance; this mainly concerns a number of operas created in the second half of the 19th century, as well as several works of the 20th century. One of the most popular operas on the world stage at the end of the 20th century. - Boris Godunov M.P. Mussorgsky, is often put also The Queen of Spades P.I. Tchaikovsky (less often his other operas, mainly Eugene Onegin); is well known Prince Igor A.P. Borodin; of 15 operas by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov appears regularly The Golden Cockerel... Among the operas of the 20th century. most repertoire Fire Angel S.S. Prokofiev and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk D.D. Shostakovich. Of course, this does not in any way exhaust the wealth of the national opera school.
The emergence of opera in Russia (18th century).
Opera was one of the first Western European genres to take hold on Russian soil. Already in the 1730s, an Italian court opera was created, for which foreign musicians who worked in Russia in the second half of the century wrote, public opera performances appeared; operas are also staged in serf theaters. The first Russian opera is considered Miller - sorcerer, deceiver and matchmaker Mikhail Matveyevich Sokolovsky on the text of A.O. Ablesimov (1779) - a household comedy with musical numbers of a song character, which laid the foundation for a number of popular works of this genre - early comic opera. Among them are the operas of Vasily Alekseevich Pashkevich (c. 1742-1797) ( Stingy, 1782; St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor, 1792; The misfortune of the carriage, 1779) and Evstigney Ipatovich Fomin (1761-1800) ( Coachmen on a stand, 1787; Americans, 1788). In the genre of the opera-series, two works by the greatest composer of this period, Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky (1751-1825), were written in French librettos - Falcon (1786) and The Rival Son, or Modern Stratonica (1787); there are interesting experiences in the genres of melodrama and music for a dramatic performance.
Opera before Glinka (19th century).
In the next century, the popularity of the opera genre in Russia increased even more. Opera was the pinnacle of the aspirations of Russian composers of the 19th century, and even those of them who did not leave a single work in this genre (for example, M.A. Balakirev, A.K. Lyadov), for many years, pondered certain operatic projects. The reasons for this are clear: first, opera, as Tchaikovsky noted, was a genre that made it possible to “speak the language of the masses”; secondly, the opera made it possible to artistically illuminate major ideological, historical, psychological and other problems that occupied the minds of Russian people in the 19th century; finally, in the young professional culture there was a strong gravitation towards genres that included, together with music, word, stage movement, painting. In addition, a certain tradition has already developed - a legacy left in the musical and theatrical genre of the 18th century.
In the first decades of the 19th century. the court and private theater died out, the monopoly was concentrated in the hands of the state. The musical and theatrical life of both capitals was very lively: the first quarter of a century was the heyday of Russian ballet; in the 1800s there were four theater companies in St. Petersburg - Russian, French, German and Italian, of which the first three staged both drama and opera, the last only opera; several troupes worked in Moscow. The Italian enterprise proved to be the most stable - even in the early 1870s, young Tchaikovsky, performing in the critical field, was forced to fight for the decent position of Moscow Russian opera in comparison with Italian; Raek Mussorgsky, in one of the episodes of which the passion of the Petersburg public and criticism for famous Italian singers is ridiculed, was also written at the turn of the 1870s.
Boaldieu and Cavos.
Among the foreign composers invited to Petersburg in this period, the names of the famous French author Adrien Boaldieu ( cm... BUALDIEU, FRANCOIS ADRIEN) and the Italian Caterino Cavos (1775-1840) , who in 1803 became the conductor of Russian and Italian opera, in 1834-1840 he headed only the Russian opera (and in this capacity contributed to the production of Lives for the king Glinka, although in 1815 he composed his own opera on the same plot, which had significant success), was an inspector and director of all the orchestras of the imperial theaters, wrote a lot on Russian subjects - like fairy tales ( Invisible prince and Ilya the Bogatyr on libretto by I.A. Krylov, Svetlana on the libretto by V.A. Zhukovsky and others), and patriotic ( Ivan Susanin on libretto by A.A. Shakhovsky, Cossack poet on a libretto by the same author). The most popular opera of the first quarter of the century also belonged to the "fairy tale", enchanting line - Lesta, or Dnieper mermaid Kavos and Stepan Ivanovich Davydov (1777-1825). In 1803, the Viennese singspiel was staged in St. Petersburg Danube mermaid Ferdinand Cauer (1751-1831) with additional musical numbers by Davydov - in translation Dnieper mermaid; in 1804, the second part of the same singspiel with inserted numbers of Kavos appeared in St. Petersburg; then were composed - already by Davydov alone - Russian sequels. The confusion of the fantastic, the real-national and the balagan-clownish plans lingered for a long time in the Russian musical theater (in Western European music, the early romantic operas of K.M. Weber can serve as analogies - Free shooter and Oberonbelonging to the same type of fabulous singspiel).
As the second leading line of operatic creativity in the first decades of the 19th century. the everyday comedy stands out from the "folk" life - also a genre known from the last century. This includes, for example, one-act operas Yam, or Postal Station(1805), Gatherings, or a consequence of the Yama (1808), Bachelorette party, or Filatkina's wedding (1809) by Alexei Nikolaevich Titov (1769–1827) on the libretto by A.Ya. Knyazhnin, plotting a trilogy. Opera has been in the repertoire for a long time Vintage Christmastide Czech Franz Blima on the text of the historian A.F. Malinovsky based on the folk rite; the "song" operas by Daniil Nikitich Kashin (1770-1841) were successful Natalia, boyar's daughter (1803) based on the story of N.M. Karamzin as revised by S.N. Glinka and Olga the Beautiful (1809) on a libretto by the same author. This line flourished especially in the era of the war of 1812. Musical-patriotic performances, composed in haste and combining a very simple, "topical" plot basis with dance, singing and conversations (names are characteristic: Militia, or Love for the Fatherland, Cossack in London, Celebration in the camp of the allied armies at Montmartre, Cossack and Prussian volunteer in Germany, Return of the militia), laid the foundation for the divertissement as a special musical and theatrical genre.
Verstovsky.
The greatest Russian opera composer before Glinka was A. N. Verstovsky (1799-1862) ( cm... VERSTOVSKY, ALEXEY NIKOLAEVICH). Chronologically, the era of Verstovsky coincides with the era of Glinka: although the first opera of the Moscow composer - Pan Tvardovsky (1828) appeared earlier Lives for the king, the most popular piece is Askold's grave - in one year with Glinka's opera, and Verstovsky's last opera, Thunderbreaker (1857), after Glinka's death. The great (though mostly purely Moscow) success of Verstovsky's operas and the "vitality" of the most successful of them - Askold's grave - is explained by the attractiveness for contemporaries of plots based on the motives of "the most ancient Russian-Slavic legends" (of course, interpreted very conditionally), and music, in the intonation structure of which national-Russian, West Slavic and Moldovan-Gypsy intonations are motley combined. It is obvious that Verstovsky did not possess a large operatic form: in almost all of his operas, musical "numbers" alternate with lengthy conversational scenes (the composer's attempts to write recitatives in his later works do not change matters), orchestral fragments are usually not interesting and not picturesque, nevertheless, operas this composer, in the words of a contemporary, "sounded like something familiar", "delightfully familiar." The "noble feeling of love for the fatherland" evoked by these "legendary" operas can be compared to the impressions of the public from the novels of Zagoskin, the composer's constant librettist.
Glinka.
Although the music of the pre-Linkin era has now been studied in sufficient detail, the appearance of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka (1804–1857) never ceases to seem like a miracle. The fundamental qualities of his gift are deep intellectualism and subtle artistry. Glinka soon came up with the idea of \u200b\u200bwriting a "great Russian opera", meaning by this a work of a high, tragic genre. Initially (in 1834), the theme of the feat of Ivan Susanin, indicated to the composer V.A. Zhukovsky, took the form of a stage oratorio of three paintings: the village of Susanin, a clash with the Poles, a triumph. However, then Life for the king (1836) became a real opera with a powerful choral beginning, which corresponded to the tradition of national culture and largely predetermined the further path of Russian opera. Glinka was the first Russian author to solve the problem of stage musical speech, and as for the musical "numbers", they, written in traditional solo, ensemble, choral forms, turned out to be filled with such new intonation content that associations with Italian or other models were overcome. Besides, in Lives for the king the stylistic diversity of the previous Russian opera was overcome, when genre scenes were written “in Russian”, lyric arias “in Italian”, and dramatic moments “in French” or “in German”. However, many Russian musicians of the next generations, paying tribute to this heroic drama, still preferred Glinka's second opera - Ruslan and Ludmila (according to Pushkin, 1842), seeing in this work a whole new direction (it was continued by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A.P. Borodin). The tasks of the opera Ruslana - completely different from those in Pushkin's work: the first recreation of the Old Russian spirit in music; The "authentic" East in its various guises - "languid" and "warlike"; fantasy (Naina, Chernomor's castle) is completely original and in no way inferior to the fantasy of the most advanced contemporaries of Glinka - Berlioz and Wagner.
Dargomyzhsky.
Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky (1813–1869) began the career of an opera composer very young, in the second half of the 1830s, when, inspired by the premiere Lives for the king, began to write music to the French libretto by V. Hugo Esmeralda.
The plot of the next opera arose before the production Esmeralda (1841), and it was Pushkin's Mermaid, which, however, appeared on the stage only in 1856. Pushkin's play was published by the composer, which is more related to modernity than to antiquity, and the language Mermaids also turned out to be close to modern musical life. Unlike Glinka's virtuoso instrumentation, Dargomyzhsky's orchestra is modest, beautiful folk choirs Mermaids are quite traditional in nature, and the main dramatic content is concentrated in solo parts and especially in magnificent ensembles, moreover, in the melodic color, the Russian elements proper are combined with Slavic - Little Russian and Polish. Dargomyzhsky's last opera, Stone guest (after Pushkin, 1869, staged in 1872) is a completely innovative, even experimental work in the genre of "conversational opera" (opera dialogue). The composer dispensed with developed vocal forms such as aria (the only exceptions are two songs by Laura), without a symphonic orchestra, and the result was an unusually sophisticated work in which the shortest melodic phrase or even one consonance can acquire great and independent expressiveness.
Serov.
Later Dargomyzhsky, but earlier the Kuchkists and Tchaikovsky, Alexander Nikolaevich Serov (1820-1871) declared himself in the operatic genre. His first opera, Judith (1863), appeared when the author was already over forty (before that Serov had gained considerable fame as a music critic, but as a composer he did not create anything remarkable). The play by P. Giacometti (written specifically for the famous tragic actress Adelaide Ristori, who in this role made a splash in St. Petersburg and Moscow) on the biblical story about a heroine saving her people from slavery, was quite consistent with the agitated state of Russian society at the turn of the 1860s ... The colorful contrast of harsh Judea and Assyria, drowning in luxury, was also attractive. Judith belongs to the genre of “grand opera” of the Meyerbeer type, which was also new on the Russian stage; it has a strongly oratorical beginning (unfolded choral scenes, which are most in keeping with the spirit of the biblical legend and have support in the classical oratorio style of the Handel type) and at the same time theatrical and decorative (divertissements with dances). Mussorgsky named Judith the first "seriously interpreted" opera after Glinka on the Russian stage. Encouraged by a warm welcome, Serov immediately set to work on a new opera, now on a Russian historical plot, - Rogned... "Historical libretto" according to the chronicle caused a lot of accusations of improbability, distortion of facts, "stamping", falsity of the allegedly common language, etc .; the music, in spite of the mass of "commonplaces", contained spectacular fragments (among which the first place is, of course, the Varangian ballad of Rogneda - it is still found in the concert repertoire). After Rognedy (1865) Serov made a very sharp turn, turning to the drama from modern life - the play by A.N. Ostrovsky Don't live the way you want and thus becoming the first composer who decided to write an "opera from the present" - The enemy's power (1871).
The Mighty Bunch.
The appearance of the last operas by Dargomyzhsky and Serov is only slightly ahead of the staging of the first operas by the composers of The Mighty Handful. The Kuchkist opera has some "generic" features that are manifested by such different artists as Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin: a preference for Russian themes, especially historical and mythological ones; great attention not only to the "reliable" development of the plot, but also to the phonetics and semantics of the word, and in general to the vocal line, which is always, even in the case of a very developed orchestra, in the foreground; a very significant role of choral (most often - "folk") scenes; A "through", not a "numbered" type of musical drama.
Mussorgsky.
Operas, like other genres associated with vocal intonation, make up the bulk of the legacy of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839-1881): as a young man, he began his career in music from the operatic plan (unrealized opera Ghan Icelander according to V. Hugo) and passed away, leaving two operas unfinished - Khovanshchin and Sorochinskaya fair (the first was completely finished in the clavier, but almost not instrumented; in the second, the main scenes were composed).
The first major work of the young Mussorgsky in the second half of the 1860s was the opera Salammbô (according to G. Flaubert, 1866; remained unfinished; in a later autobiographical document, the work is designated not as "opera", but as "scenes" and it is in this capacity that it is being performed today). A completely original image of the East was created here - not so much the exotic "Carthaginian" as the Russian-Biblical, which has parallels in painting ("biblical sketches" by Alexander Ivanov) and in poetry (for example, Alexei Khomyakov). The opposite "anti-romantic" direction is represented by Mussorgsky's second unfinished early opera - Marriage (after Gogol, 1868). This, according to the author's definition, "study for a chamber test" continues the line Stone guest Dargomyzhsky, but sharpens it as much as possible by choosing prose instead of poetry, a plot that is completely "real", moreover, "modern", thus enlarging to the scale of an opera genre those experiments of the "romance-scene" that Dargomyzhsky ( Titular Counselor, Worm and others) and Mussorgsky himself.
Boris Godunov
(1st edition - 1868-1869; 2nd edition - 1872, staged in 1874) has a subtitle "after Pushkin and Karamzin", based on Pushkin's tragedy, but with significant insertions by the composer. Already in the first, more chamber version of the opera, focused on the drama of the personality as a drama of "crime and punishment" ( Boris Godunov - contemporary Crime and Punishment F.M. Dostoevsky), Mussorgsky departed very far from any operatic canons - both in the sense of the tension of drama and the sharpness of language, and in the interpretation of the historical plot. Working on the second edition Boris Godunov, which included both a somewhat more traditional "Polish act" and a scene of a popular uprising ("Under the Kromy"), completely unusual in the opera, Mussorgsky may have already kept in mind the further development of the Time of Troubles precedent - Razin's uprising, Streltsy riots, schism, Pugachevism , i.e. possible and only partially embodied plots of their future operas - musical-historical chronicle of Russia. Of this program, only the schism drama was carried out - Khovanshchina, which Mussorgsky started immediately after the end of the second edition Boris Godunov, even simultaneously with its completion; at the same time in the documents appears the idea of \u200b\u200b"a musical drama with the participation of the Volga Cossacks", and later Mussorgsky marks the recordings of folk songs made by him "For the last opera Pugachevshchina».
Boris Godunov, especially in the first edition, represents a type of opera with a through development of musical action, where the completed fragments appear only being conditioned by the stage situation (the chorus of praise, the lament of the princess, the polonaise at the ball in the palace, etc.). IN Khovanshchina Mussorgsky set the task of creating, in his words, a "meaningful / justified" melody, and the song became its basis, i.e. not instrumental in nature (as in the classical aria), but a stropic, freely varying structure - in its "pure" form or in combination with a recitative element. This circumstance largely determined the form of the opera, which, while maintaining the unity, fluidity of the action, included much more "completed", "rounded" numbers - and choral ( Khovanshchina much more than Boris Godunov, choral opera - "folk musical drama"), and solo.
Unlike Boris Godunovwho walked on stage Mariinsky theater several years and was published during the life of the author, Khovanshchina sounded for the first time in the edition of Rimsky-Korsakov a decade and a half after the death of the author, in the late 1890s it was staged at the Moscow Private Russian Opera by S. I. Mamontov with the young Chaliapin as Dositheus; at the Mariinsky Theater Khovanshchina appeared, thanks to the efforts of the same Chaliapin, in 1911, almost simultaneously with the performances of the opera in Paris and London by the Diaghilev Entreprise (three years earlier, Diaghilev's Parisian production had a sensational success Boris Godunov). In the 20th century. attempts to resurrect and complete Marriage and Sorochinskaya fair in different editions; for the second of them, V.Ya. Shebalin's reconstruction became the reference.
Rimsky-Korsakov.
In the legacy of Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), many of the main musical genres are represented, but his greatest achievements are associated, like Mussorgsky's, with opera. It runs through the composer's entire life: from 1868, the beginning of the composition of the first opera ( Pskovite), until 1907, the completion of the last, fifteenth opera ( The Golden Cockerel). Rimsky-Korsakov worked especially hard in this genre from the mid-1890s: over the next decade and a half he created 11 operas. Until the mid-1890s, all the premieres of Rimsky-Korsakov's operas were staged at the Mariinsky Theater; later, from the mid-1890s, the collaboration of the composer with the Moscow private Russian opera S.I. Mamontov, where most of Korsakov's later operas were staged, starting with Sadko... This cooperation played a special role in the formation of a new type of design and directorial solution of a musical performance (as well as in the creative development of such artists of the Mamontov circle as K.A. Korovin, V.M. Vasnetsov, M.A. Vrubel).
Rimsky-Korsakov's editorial activity is completely unique: thanks to him, for the first time, Khovanshchina and Prince Igorthat remained unfinished after the death of Mussorgsky and Borodin (the version of the Borodino opera was made together with A.K. Glazunov); he instrumental Stone guest Dargomyzhsky (and twice: for the premiere in 1870 and again in 1897-1902) and published Getting married Mussorgsky; in his edition has gained worldwide fame Boris Godunov Mussorgsky (and although nowadays more and more preference is given to the author's version, the Korsakov version continues to run in many theaters); finally, Rimsky-Korsakov (together with Balakirev, Lyadov and Glazunov) twice prepared Glinka's opera scores for publication. Thus, in relation to the operatic genre (as in a number of other aspects), Rimsky-Korsakov's work forms a kind of core of Russian classical music, connecting the era of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky from the 20th century.
Among 15 operas by Rimsky-Korsakov, there are no genres of the same type; even his fairy-tale operas are very different from each other: Snow Maiden(1882) - "spring tale", The Tale of Tsar Saltan (1900) - "just a fairy tale", Koschei the Immortal (1902) - "autumn tale", The Golden Cockerel (1907) - "fiction in persons". This list can be continued: Pskovite (1873) - opera-chronicle, Mlada (1892) - opera-ballet, Christmas Eve (1895) - by the author's definition, "true-carol", Sadko (1897) - opera epic, Mozart and Salieri (1898) - chamber "dramatic scenes", The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia (1904) - opera-legend (or "liturgical drama"). The more traditional types of opera are lyric comedy. May night (after Gogol, 1880), a lyrical drama on a Russian historical plot Tsar's bride (after L.A. May, 1899; and the prologue to this opera Noblewoman Vera Sheloga, 1898) and two lesser-known (and indeed less successful) operas of the turn of the 20th century. - Pan voivode (1904) on Polish motives and Servilia (1902) based on a play by May, which takes place in Rome in the first century AD.
In essence, Rimsky-Korsakov reformed the operatic genre - on the scale of his own creativity and without proclaiming any theoretical slogans. This reform was associated with reliance on the already established laws of the Russian school (on Ruslana and Lyudmila Glinka and the aesthetic principles of Kuchkism), folk art in its various manifestations and the most ancient forms of human thinking - myth, epic, fairy tale (the latter circumstance undoubtedly brings the Russian composer closer to his older contemporary, Richard Wagner, although the main parameters of his own opera concept Rimsky-Korsakov came completely independently, before he got acquainted with tetralogy and Wagner's later operas). A typical feature of Rimsky-Korsakov's "mythological" operas associated with the Slavic solar cult ( May night, Christmas Eve, Mlada, opera-fairy tales), is "many-worlds": the action unfolds in two or more "worlds" (people, natural elements and their personifications, pagan deities), and each "world" speaks its own language, which corresponds to Rimsky-Korsakov's self-assessment as composer of the "objective" warehouse. For operas of the middle period, from May night before The nights before Christmasthe saturation of the musical action with ceremonial and ritual scenes is characteristic (associated with the holidays of the ancient peasant calendar - in general, the whole pagan year is reflected in Rimsky-Korsakov's operas); in later works, ritualism, "ordinance" (including Christian Orthodox, and often - a synthesis of "old" and "new" popular faith) appears in a more mediated and refined form. Although the composer's operas were performed regularly in the 19th century, they received real appreciation only at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. and later, in the Silver Age, to which this master was most in tune.
Borodin.
Design Prince Igor Alexander Porfirievich Borodin (1833-1877) belongs to the same era as the ideas Boris Godunov, Khovanshchyna and Pskov women, i.e. by the end of the 1860s - beginning of the 1870s, however, for various reasons, the opera was not completely finished by the time of the author's death in 1886, and its premiere (edited by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov) took place almost simultaneously with The Queen of Spades Tchaikovsky (1890). It is characteristic that, unlike his contemporaries, who turned for historical opera plots to the dramatic events of the reigns of Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov and Peter the Great, Borodin took as a basis the most ancient epic monument - A word about Igor's regiment... Being a great natural scientist, he applied a scientific approach to the opera libretto, taking up the interpretation of difficult places of the monument, studying the era of action, collecting information about the ancient nomadic peoples mentioned in Word... Borodin had a balanced and realistic view of the problem of operatic form and did not strive to completely transform it. The result was the emergence of a work not only beautiful in general and in detail, but also, on the one hand, slender and balanced, and on the other, unusually original. In Russian music of the 19th century. it is difficult to find a more "authentic" reproduction of peasant folklore than in the Chora of the Villagers or the Lament of Yaroslavna. Choral Prologue to the opera, where, as it were, the “fairy tale” intonation of Old Russian scenes from Glinka's Ruslana, similar to a medieval fresco. Eastern motives Prince Igor ("Polovtsian section") in terms of the strength and reliability of the "steppe" flavor have no equal in world art (the latest research has shown how sensitive Borodin was to Eastern folklore, even from the point of view of musical ethnography). And this authenticity is most naturally combined with the use of quite traditional forms of a large aria - the characteristics of a hero (Igor, Konchak, Yaroslavna, Vladimir Galitsky, Konchakovna), a duet (Vladimir and Konchakovna, Igor and Yaroslavna) and others, as well as with elements introduced into Borodin's style from Western European music (for example, "Schumannism", at least in the same aria of Yaroslavna).
Cui.
In the review of the Kuchkist opera, the name of Caesar Antonovich Cui (1835-1918) should also be mentioned as the author of almost two dozen operas on a wide variety of subjects (from Caucasian captive based on Pushkin's poem and Angelo by Hugo before Mademoiselle Fifi by G. de Maupassant), which appeared and were staged on stage for half a century. By now, all of Cui's operas are firmly forgotten, but an exception should be made for his first mature work in this genre - William Ratcliff by G. Heine. Ratcliff became the first opera of the Balakirevsky circle to see the stage (1869), and here for the first time the dream of a new generation about an opera-drama was embodied.
Tchaikovsky.
Like Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) throughout his life felt a strong gravitation towards the operatic (and also, unlike the Kuchkists, and towards the ballet) genre: his first opera, Voivode (according to A.N. Ostrovsky, 1869), refers to the very beginning of independent creative activity; premiere of the last, Iolanta, took place less than a year before the composer's sudden death.
Tchaikovsky's operas are written on a variety of subjects - historical ( Oprichnik, 1872; Maiden of orleans, 1879; Mazepa, 1883), comic ( Blacksmith Vakula, 1874, and the second author's version of this opera - Cherevichki, 1885), lyrical ( Eugene Onegin, 1878; Iolanta, 1891), lyric-tragic ( Enchantress, 1887; The Queen of Spades, 1890) and in accordance with the theme have a different look. However, in Tchaikovsky's comprehension, all the plots he chose acquired a personal, psychological connotation. He was comparatively little interested in the local flavor, the depiction of the place and time of the action - Tchaikovsky entered the history of Russian art primarily as the creator of a lyrical musical drama. Tchaikovsky, like the Kuchkists, did not have a single, universal operatic concept, and he freely used all known forms. Although the style Stone guest always seemed to him "excessive", he was somewhat influenced by the idea of \u200b\u200bopera dialogue, which was reflected in the preference for musical drama of a continuous, continuous type and melodized chanting speech instead of "formal" recitative (here Tchaikovsky, however, came not only from Dargomyzhsky, but even more from Glinka, especially from the deeply revered by him Lives for the king). At the same time, Tchaikovsky, to a much greater extent than for Petersburgers (with the exception of Borodin), is characterized by a combination of the continuity of musical action with the clarity and dismemberment of the internal forms of each scene - he does not abandon traditional arias, duets and other things, masterfully owns the form of a complex "final" ensemble (which reflected Tchaikovsky's passion for the art of Mozart in general and his operas in particular). Not accepting Wagner's plots and stopping in bewilderment in front of Wagner's operatic form, which seemed absurd to him, Tchaikovsky nevertheless approaches the German composer in his interpretation of the opera orchestra: the instrumental part is saturated with a strong, effective symphonic development (in this sense, the later operas are especially remarkable, primarily The Queen of Spades).
In the last decade of his life, Tchaikovsky enjoyed the fame of the greatest Russian opera composer, some of his operas were staged in foreign theaters; Tchaikovsky's later ballets also had triumphant premieres. However, success in musical theater did not come to the composer immediately and later than in instrumental genres. Conventionally, three periods can be distinguished in the musical and theatrical heritage of Tchaikovsky: early, Moscow (1868-1877) - Voivode, Oprichnik, Blacksmith Vakula, Eugene Onegin and Swan Lake; middle, until the end of the 1880s - three large tragic operas: Maiden of orleans, Mazepa and Enchantress (and also rework Blacksmith Vakula in Cherevichkiwhich significantly changed the face of this early opera); late - The Queen of Spades, Iolanta (Tchaikovsky's only "small" - one-act, chamber opera) and ballets sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker... The first real, major success accompanied the Moscow premiere Eugene Onegina by the students of the conservatory in March 1879, the St. Petersburg premiere of this opera in 1884 became one of the heights of the composer's career and the beginning of the tremendous popularity of this work. The second, and even higher, peak was the premiere The Queen of Spades in 1890.
Anton Rubinstein.
Among the phenomena that do not fit into the main directions of the development of Russian musical theater in the 19th century, one can name the operas of Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein (1829–1894): 13 operas proper and 5 spiritual oratorios. The best of the composer's musical and theatrical works are associated with an "oriental" theme: a monumental, decorative, oratorical opera Maccabees (1874, staged 1875), lyric Daemon (1871, staged 1875) and Shulamith (1883). Daemon (according to Lermontov) - the undisputed pinnacle of Rubinstein's opera heritage and one of the best Russian and most popular lyric operas.
Blaramberg and Napravnik.
Among other opera authors of the same era are the Moscow composer Pavel Ivanovich Blaramberg (1841–1907) and the St. Petersburg composer Eduard Frantsevich Napravnik (1839–1916), the famous and irreplaceable conductor of Russian opera at the Mariinsky Theater for half a century. Blaramberg was self-taught and tried to follow the precepts of the Balakirev circle, at least in the choice of subjects, mostly Russian (his historical melodrama was the most successful Tushintsy from the Time of Troubles, 1895). Unlike Blaramberg, Napravnik was a high-class professional and undoubtedly mastered the technique of composition; his first opera Nizhny Novgorod on the national-patriotic theme (1868) appeared on the stage a little earlier than the first Kuchkist historical operas - Boris Godunov and Pskov women and before their premieres enjoyed some success; the next opera work by Napravnik, Harold (1885), created under the distinct influence of Wagner, while the most successful and still sometimes found in the theatrical repertoire of this author's opera Dubrovsky (after Pushkin, 1894) was inspired by the work of Tchaikovsky, the favorite Russian composer Napravnik (he conducted a number of Tchaikovsky's opera and symphonic premieres).
Taneyev.
At the end of the 19th century. the only opera (opera-trilogy) by Sergei Ivanovich Taneev (1856-1915) was born Oresteia (on the plot of Aeschylus, 1895). The libretto of the opera generally departs far from the ancient source, in the sense of "psychologism" unusual for antiquity, in the romantic interpretation of the central female image... Nevertheless, the main features of the style of this opera make it close to the classicist tradition, in particular, to the lyrical musical tragedies of Gluck. The strict, restrained tone of Taneyev's work, created on the threshold of the new century, brings it closer to the later manifestations of the neoclassicist direction (for example, to the opera-oratorio King Oedipus I.F. Stravinsky).
The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries
In the last decade and a half of the 19th century. and in the first decades of the next century, i.e. in the period after the death of Mussorgsky, Borodin, Tchaikovsky (and at the same time during the heyday of Rimsky-Korsakov's operatic creativity), a number of new opera composers came forward, mainly in Moscow: M.M. Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935) ( Ruth according to the biblical legend, 1887; Asya according to Turgenev, 1900; Treason, 1910; Ole from Nordland; 1916), A.S. Arensky (1861-1906) ( Dream on the Volga according to Ostrovsky, 1888; Raphael, 1894; Nal and Damayanti, 1903), V.I. Rebikov (1866-1920) ( In a thunderstorm, 1893; Christmas tree, 1900, etc.), S.V. Rachmaninov (1873-1943) ( Aleko after Pushkin, 1892; The stingy knight according to Pushkin and Francesca da Rimini after Dante, 1904), A.T. Grechaninov (1864-1956) ( Nikitich, 1901; Sister Beatriceafter M. Meterlink, 1910); Vasyl Kalinnikov (1866-1900 / 1901) (operatic prologue In 1812, 1899) and A.D. Kastalsky (1856-1926) ( Clara Milic according to Turgenev, 1907). The work of these authors was often associated with the activities of Moscow private enterprises - first the Moscow private Russian opera by S. Mamontov, and then the Opera by S. Zimin; new operas mainly belonged to the chamber lyric genre (some of them are one-act). Some of the works listed above are related to the Kuchkist tradition (for example, the epic Nikitich Grechaninov, to some extent also Ruth Ippolitov-Ivanov, marked by the originality of the oriental flavor, and Kastalsky's opera, in which the musical sketches of everyday life are most successful), but to an even greater extent the authors of the new generation were influenced by the lyric operatic style of Tchaikovsky (Arensky, Rebikov, the first opera by Rachmaninoff), as well as new trends in the European opera house of that time.
Stravinsky's first opera Nightingale (based on the tale of H.C. Andersen, 1914) was created by order of the Diaghilev enterprise and is stylistically connected with the aesthetics of the World of Art, as well as with a new type of musical drama that appeared in Pellease and Melisande C. Debussy. His second opera Mavra (by Little house in Kolomna Pushkin, 1922) is, on the one hand, a witty musical anecdote (or parody), and on the other, a stylization of the Russian urban romance of the Pushkin era. Third opera, King Oedipus (1927), in fact, is not so much an opera as a neoclassicist stage oratorio (although the principles of composition and the vocal style of the Italian opera-seria are used here). The composer's last opera, The adventures of a rake, was written much later (1951) and has nothing to do with the phenomenon of Russian opera.
Shostakovich.
Two operas by Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich (1906-1975), written by him in the late 1920s - early 1930s, also had a difficult fate: Nose (after Gogol, 1929) and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (after Leskov, 1932, 2nd edition 1962). Nose, a very bright and sharp work, at the end of the 20th century. enjoyed great popularity in Russia and in the West, is stylistically associated with expressionist theater and is based on the most sharpened principle of parody, reaching the destructive and vicious satire. First edition Lady Macbeth was, in a sense, a continuation of the style Noseand main character of this opera evoked associations with such characters as Maria in Wozzeck A. Berg and even Salome in the opera of the same name by R. Strauss. As you know, it is Lady Macbeth, which had significant success at the premiere, became the "object" of the program article of the newspaper Pravda Confusion instead of music (1934), which greatly influenced both the fate of Shostakovich and the situation in Soviet music of that time. In the second, much later version of the opera, the author made significant softening - both dramatic and musical-stylistic, as a result of which the work took on a form that was partly close to the classical one for the Russian opera theater, but lost in its integrity.
In general, the problem of opera was quite acute throughout the entire Soviet period of Russian musical culture. Since this genre was considered one of the most "democratic" and at the same time the most "ideological", the organs that governed the arts usually encouraged composers to work in this area, but at the same time strictly controlled it. In the 1920s and early 1930s, opera culture in Russia was in a splendid state: wonderful productions of the classical repertoire appeared in Moscow and Leningrad, and the latest Western works were widely staged; leading directors were engaged in experiments in the field of musical theater, starting with KS Stanislavsky and VE Meyerhold and others. Subsequently, these gains were largely lost. The time for experiments in the opera house ended in the early 1930s (usually, along with the productions of operas by Prokofiev and Shostakovich, operas based on "revolutionary" plots by L.K. Knipper (1898-1974), V.V.Deshevov (1889-1955), A.F. Pashchenko (1883-1972) and others; now they all have sunk into oblivion). In the mid-1930s, the concept of the so-called "song opera" as "accessible to the people" came to the fore: its model was Quiet Don (after M. Sholokhov, 1935) I. I. Dzerzhinsky (1909-1978); the operas of T.N. Khrennikov (born in 1913), which were popular at the time, belong to the same variety Into the storm (1939) and D.B. Kabalevsky (1904-1987) Taras family (1950). True, in the same period, more or less successful "normal" operas appeared, for example The Taming of the Shrew (1957) V.Ya.Shebalina (1902-1963), Decembrists (1953) Yu.A. Shaporin (1887-1966). Beginning in the 1960s, there was a period of some revival in the opera house; this time was characterized by the emergence of various kinds of "hybrid" genres (opera-ballet, opera-oratorio, etc.); The genres of chamber opera and especially mono-operas, forgotten in previous decades, are widely developed. Many authors, including talented composers, turned to opera in the 1960s – 1990s (among the composers who actively worked in the musical theater, one can name RK Shchedrin (b. 1932), AP Petrov (b. 1930), S M. Slonimsky (b. 1932); interesting operas were created by NN Karetnikov (1930–1994) and EV Denisov (1929–1996); among the works of the chamber genre, the operas by Y.M. Butsko (b. 1938 ), GI Banshchikov (b. 1943), etc. However, the former position of this genre as a leading one in Russian musical culture has not been restored, and modern works (both domestic and foreign) appear on the posters of large opera houses only sporadically. Some exceptions are small troupes from different cities, which promptly stage new operas, however, which, however, rarely stay in the repertoire for a long time.