Glinka traditions in Russian music. Mikhail ivanovich glinka - classic of Russian music What style did glinka write

G. Kaloshin

CLAY'S OPERA AND WESTERN EUROPEAN MUSIC THEATER OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE XIX CENTURY

From the moment of its birth, the romantic theater of the first half of the 19th century in the countries of Western Europe has been formed, first of all, as a synthetic theater. This is determined by the general tendencies for the construction in each romantic composition of a certain integral synthetic Universe. At the same time, romantics strive to maximally individualize the artistic appearance of each work, to give it special, unique features through the collection, fusion, combination of opera and theater traditions of different eras and national cultures. This is exactly how the process of formation of new, actually romantic, varieties of theatrical genres is going on. Typologization (differentiation, delineation of genres), individualization (each work is unique in its characteristics) through synthesis at all levels of the artistic whole - these are the three main canons on which both the theory and practice of romantic dramatic and musical theater are based.

In the theory of drama of the early and first half of the 19th century, French, German, Italian authors are trying to determine those new guidelines and criteria that will dominate the emerging theater of the era of romanticism1. In France, this is carried out in the journalistic works of Hugo, Stendhal, Balzac, A. Vigny. In Germany, representatives of the school of Jena romantics devote their research to this - the brothers A. and F. Schlegeli, L. Tieck, Novalis, the school of Heidelberg poets and playwrights, associated with it E. T. A. Hoffmann and A. Müllner, later X D. Grabbe, K. Im-merman, activists of "Young Germany", for example, L. Vinbarg, and many others. In Italy, the problems of contemporary theater are discussed in the manifestos of G. Bershet and A. Manzoni, G. Mazzini.

The French and Italian schools are predominantly occupied with the construction of the concept of the historical romantic theater, which was announced

1 The classification of the theoretical concepts of romantics was made by us on the basis of their analysis in the book of A. Anikst.

Hugo maximally meets the criteria of aggressively active, effective romanticism (“progressive”, “revolutionary” as his method was defined by the domestic aesthetics of past years), although national characteristics dictated different approaches to identifying the historical foundations of artistic creativity. The plot was supposed to rely on the turning points of history associated with wars, interethnic conflicts, when social contradictions in the state, in public consciousness are exposed, and all this forms and exacerbates the internal conflicts of an individual.

The second type of theater, which Stendhal, O. de Balzac, A. Vigny write about in their works, is associated by them with the emotional, lyrical nature of romantic creativity. Balzac calls it "the theater of passions." Stendhal calls it "the theater of emotions." And both insistently emphasize that “real” romantic theater should combine “historical-social, intellectual” and “emotional” theaters, becoming “eclectic” (as Balzac defines this synthesis) and “universal” (as Stendhal put it). In the works of Italian romantics, the very nature of romanticism is understood differently. Thus, A. Manzoni not only discusses the observance of the classical principles of the unity of time, place and action, but also defines a different type of romantic hero - an active fighter for the freedom of the motherland with the obligatory act of heroic self-sacrifice (expiatory sacrifice), which brings the Italian tradition closer to the Russian theatrical aesthetics. G. Mazzini dreams of combining the "active", saturated with external conflicts, Italian and religious-mystical German theater.

The leading line of German theories of theater is aimed at understanding the qualitative features of the "new" Universum, the concept of which appeared already at the end of the 18th century in the writings of the Schlegel brothers. A. Schlegel sees romantic theater as a "colorful show of life as a whole,"

through the magic crystal of the artist's fantasy - sometimes in close-up (details of the inner world), then in the distant perspective (the struggle of groups of characters), then in general (conflicts of ideas). The action should be multi-temporal and multi-dimensional. According to L. Tieck, only the concept of the "miraculous" will express the truly romantic nature of the theater. Based on Shakespeare's comedies, he shows that on the basis of "play" comedy theater, the fantastic as "real" and the real as "fantastic" are easily combined. In search of a new romantic tragedy, F. Schlegel puts forward the concept of religious or Christian tragedy, combining Shakespeare's “philosophical debating theater” 2 with the idea of ​​enlightenment, the transformation of the hero, and his comprehension of the Divine truths of being at the moment of a catastrophe, the denouement of the action. All this is reflected in the concepts of musical theater as "miraculous" and "synthetic" by Hoffmann and Weber, then by Winbarg, and finally, in the concept of Wagner's mythological and synthetic theater. Thus, in Germany, the idea of ​​a theater of the "miraculous", "fairytale", fantastic, sometimes mystical, in general - mythological prevails.

Searches in the field of theatrical aesthetics, characteristic of "foggy Albion", are also interesting. Thus, in the writings of Walter Scott, the principle of "quantizing times" 3 is developed in the historical novel and historical theater. The “image” of an integral “indivisible fragment of historical life, in which the heroes seem to be isolated,” appears in three “projections”, three angles. “History as the past” is presented taking into account a certain historical distance, that is, the epic principle of drama is at work. “History as an unfinished present” unfolds, as it were, before our eyes and is associated with the display of historical episodes as a spontaneous process. This is how the dramatic principle works. "History as the future" brings an assessment of the events refracted by the "hearts" of romantic heroes. The “future”, that is, the 19th century, “lives through” historical being through psychological conflicts and the lyrical outlook of the heroes. Byron, the creator, chooses a different path

2 F. Schlegel believes that Shakespeare offers the "riddle of being", raises the most important universal human problems, but does not solve them. It is possible to comprehend these super-meanings only through comprehension of the Absolute. This is what happens in the act of transformation.

3 The term "quantization" of times was introduced by L. Gumilev. W. Scott describes this principle as an image of a historical event in three projections (see details).

the romantic dramatic mystery ("Cain") and the dramatized poem ("Manfred"), the path followed by Goethe in "Faust" (and later Wagner), who created a certain complexly organized philosophical-dramatic and mythological action.

Thus, in the 20-30s of the XIX century in the music of composers of different countries, the process of the formation of several varieties of the genre is carried out: romantic historical opera (a large, French heroic tragedy of Aubert and Meyerbeer, Italian epic tragedy - in Rossini), romantic lyric drama in Bu -alde and Bellini, romantic fairy-tale theater and legendary theater (Weber, Spohr, Marschner, Wagner).

The general trend towards a "universal" romantic theater, as Wagner writes in his early article, that is, a theater synthesizing all national characteristics and all plot-dramatic varieties, is especially clearly defined in the romantic opera of the 1940s. In Wagner himself, the process of synthesis of national traditions has been felt since the 1930s ("The Prohibition of Love", "Rienzi", "The Flying Dutchman", "Tannhäuser") and in the 40s leads to the birth of a mythological theater. In the Italian opera of the 1940s, for example, in the work of Donizetti, signs of historical opera and lyric drama (Lucrezia Borgia), comedy and lyric theaters (L'Eliscus) interact. Similar processes were characteristic of the search for Verdi in the 1940s. Here, on the one hand, delimitations of genre varieties of opera are outlined. Thus, Macbeth and Louise Miller gravitate towards the genre of psychological tragedy, the Battle of Legnano, Hernani are closer to the concept of the “big” French historical and heroic opera. On the other hand, in the operas Atilla and Nabucco, the laws of historical, lyric theater interact with features of the mythological, partially implemented in Bellini (Norma) and Rossini (Wilhelm Tell).

The tendency to combine different types of theater continues in the works of Verdi in the central period. Sometimes in his operas it is difficult to accurately identify certain genre varieties. For example, the opera “Masquerade Ball” combines the historical, lyrical and psychological types of theater with the concept of “play” and features of a mythological carnival action.

As we can see, the formation of any of the romantic genre varieties of opera took place in conditions of interaction and even synthesis with other subspecies of romantic theater. In other words, everything that was only “differentiated” was immediately “synthesized”. This also applies to romantic historical-rico-heroic tragedy in all its national varieties: Russian (epic), Italian, French (grand opera), German.

At the same time, the principles of epic romantic, psychological, genre and everyday romantic drama - in comedy and everyday drama, the principles of drama of religious and philosophical tragedy are being developed. All this leaves an imprint on the interaction of intonation and genre components in thematic processes. In the operas of the 1920s and 1930s, the stylistic clichés of classical thematicism, baroque elements (rhetorical formulas, chorale, operatic and instrumental stereotypes) are clearly visible, and romantic complexes themselves appear. Folk-genre thematicism denotes the desire of the authors for a clear national orientation, showing the local flavor. Lyrical characteristics are based on the features of urban romance culture, the tradition of reading romantic poetry, saturated with prosaic intonations of living speech. In the melodic "spills" of Bellini's operas saturated with all these elements, a new quality is born - the romantic, synthetic bel canto. The complex thematic field of the opera allows the composer to rethink the traditional intonation complexes, to single out those that will carry a symbolic or psychological load, to differentiate layers of drama, to designate musical-thematic conflicts, which, ultimately, in the opera of the second half of the 19th century leads to the complete symphonization of the musical process. The presence of thematic complexes of different origins, the multilingualism of romantic theater is manifested both in Rossini, Meyerbeer, early Wagner, and in the work of Mikhail Glinka.

An important aspect of the anticipated romantic synthetic Universe is the search for organicity in the combination of its multidirectional and multilevel components. Indeed, how is it natural to unite the "past, present and future", how to present the "colorful spectacle of life as a whole"

(A. Schlegel) in different perspectives of its embodiment (far and near perspective, variety of faces and positions, attention to the inner world, multidimensionality of times and spaces), how to combine tragic and comic, sublime and low, mystical, fantastic and real images? What will be this magic crystal? Jena romantics put forward several ideas of the unity of the whole. The first is the playful, carnival Universe in the second aesthetic reality of the artistic space of the composition, in which the comic and the fantastic are naturally combined. That is why fantastic and fairy-tale operas necessarily rely on the norms and principles of the comic and irony as a method of correlating the inorganic components of the whole, including in Glinka's Ruslan.

The second way to achieve the unity of the whole is to unite the inorganic components of the Universe through myth. This principle allows the coexistence of the concrete and the symbolic, their mutual reversibility, the presence of different temporal coordinates: supratemporal, substantial; internally effective, psychological; pro-fanny (diachronic) and sacred (circular) time in the external stage action. The artistic process as a whole acquires features of simultaneity, drawing in all other mythological categories - the categories of Faith, ritual, catharsis, and so on. These features are embodied both in the conditions of a historical theater - through the mythologization and poeticization of a historical event, and in the framework of a fabulous, fantastic opera, which naturally draws in mythological components, until, finally, by the time of Wagner, it turns from a fabulous into a mythological theater ...

The third way of uniting the whole is predetermined by the concept of Christian tragedy, in which events are discussed, played out and "lived", and at the same time, the connections with the historical prototype of the opera - the medieval mystery, whose features in the romantic tradition are visible in a variety of works, are clearly revealed.

These three perspectives in artistic practice are realized in different models of opera drama, determining the diversity of its genre varieties. Thus, through deepening ties with myth in romantic musical theater, symbolic generalizations are gradually increasing.

until, finally, they are formed as a special supra-existent level of the dramatic process.

Russian musical culture throughout the entire 18th century developed in close contacts with Western European, dialogizing with it, opposing it with its own worldview. In this context, Glinka's operatic creativity, being a generalization of the most significant phenomena of Russian culture of the late 18th - early 19th centuries in the field of theater, simultaneously absorbed many features characteristic of the Western European opera tradition. In just two works, the Russian genius traveled a path similar to that of Gluck and Mozart in the 18th century, Rossini, Meyerbeer, Wagner and Verdi in the 19th century. Each of them dedicated part of his work or some kind of composition to one of the operatic genres or national varieties that historically preceded or contemporary to it. Gluck and Meyerbeer traveled to different countries (Italy, England, Austria, France from the first, Germany, Italy, France from the second), studying their experience in the genre of opera, until they finally came up with their own dramatic and compositional technological innovations. Mozart and Wagner mastered the existing operatic genres and operatic forms at a somewhat faster pace, introducing something new into each work, synthesizing operatic forms and types of thematic, but at the same time creating their own works for the theaters of their country. Rossini and Bellini, relying on the Italian tradition, already in their early compositions clearly used the achievements of Gluck, Salieri and Mozart, and Bellini also used Beethoven (in the field of orchestral thinking and methods of musical development).

Glinka went through the entire preparatory path, if I may say so, "in his mind", practically creating nothing on paper. Both of his opera masterpieces were written without lengthy preliminary preparation. Of course, his work did not arise from scratch. He mastered the experience of the richest experience of poetry and prose, drama and musical drama theater, many of the operatic traditions proper, Western European and Russian. Among the latter are the creative searches of Bortnyansky, Fomin, but especially Verstovsky, Kavos. Various genre varieties have developed in Russian opera - lyrical and everyday, historical, comic, fairytale. Were taken into account

achievements of other genres, in particular, the historical and epic oratorio.

In one of the most productive romantic authors of the Glinka era, Verstovsky, we find a kind of synthesis of fantastic and historical opera. All his historical operas include the Faustian theme of the struggle for the soul of the Divine and demonic principles, combine the German concept of the "miraculous" Tieck, reflections in the spirit of Schlegel's religious and philosophical tragedy, and at the same time everyday details, so characteristic of everyday comedy and bourgeois drama, as well as lyrical experiences, psychological collisions. For example, in "Askold's Grave" mysticism coexists with episodes of religious and secular rites and pictures of folk life, dramatic episodes with comedic ones. The epic Boyan in the prince's sacristy "tells" about the exploits of the heroes during the reign of Svyatoslav4, and a folk musician, buffoonery and gudoshnik are shown nearby. As operatic numbers, he has already used a ballad (as the setting for the action in the opera Vadim - after Boaldier's The White Lady, Torop's ballad in the culmination of Askold's Grave), and a romance (in the part of Nadezhda, in the girls' choirs the scene is anticipated Antonida and her friends from Act III of "A Life for the Tsar"), and a song (in the part of Torop, in folk scenes).

Such a large-scale synthesis was not Glinka's personal experience. It was the experience of a whole layer of Russian musical culture. But such was the nature of the musician's hearing, such was his genius that he seemed to "read" the internal codes of the national culture, both folk and professional. This feature of his hearing was pointed out by B. Asafiev in his article "Glinka's Hearing", where he wrote that the composer already in childhood, due to his natural genius, grasped the specific features, national traditions of creating melos, conducting a melodic line and echoes ... “Oh, believe me, a magnificent flower has grown on Russian musical soil - it is our joy, our glory,” Odoevsky said about Ruslan, but these words can be rightfully attributed to the author of the opera himself. Vocal proficiency, improved in Italy, also allowed him to voice everything that was born in the subconscious, and at the same time intu-

4 Boyan at Verstovsky, as later at Glinka, was placed during the reign of Svyatoslav, and not Vladimir, with whom he was associated by epics.

tively correct the formation of melodic layers of the artistic whole. This is evident in all of his writings.

Glinka's hearing sensitivity is incredible. Many researchers note his craving for languages ​​(Latin, German, French, English, then Persian), for observing their intonation structure and its accurate reproduction. Before traveling to Spain, he learns Spanish. The trip to the Caucasus became the same vivid linguistic and musical experience, according to Asafiev, "which broke into Glinka's ear." For all four months he “lived on hearing” without musical lessons at the instrument. And judging by the pages of the opera "Ruslana and Lyudmila", the sound impressions of the music of the East, "ringing" in the air of the Caucasus Mountains, were irresistible and firmly entrenched in his memory, reflected in his work.

The composer's solution of external and internal conflicts, their correlation in the drama of Life for the Tsar, is also connected with the auditory impressions of his youth. The Glinka clan arose from the merger of the Polish and Russian lines of noble families. The historical conflict between these nations could have been particularly painful for them. Perhaps that is why both Poles and Russians are shown so brightly and distinctively, epically correct and unbiased. That is why the “anthem to war” is so beautiful in the Polish act, where the war is interpreted as a brilliant victorious feast of a ball, a triumph of strength, courage, a gambling battle with space and time. Life is likened to a magnificent knight's ball among the military camp. The military camp is a spatio-temporal model, a symbol of the fleeting present and the conquering perception of space: the homeland is where its valiant warriors are.

If we take into account the fact that, according to Glinka's plan, the ball takes place on the territory of the Russian state occupied by the invaders, then the holiday takes on especially ominous features. Dancing is structured as a captivating game between battles. So, the ritual dance-competition, the image of the knightly tournament is displayed in the polonaise, the image of the love games-competition - in the thematic modifications of the mazurka. But at the same time, the most important means of characterization is a dance with a choir. The dominance of the instrumental principle acts as a symbol of the external, brilliant, "corporeal", a symbol of the "earthly" world, which in the opera opposes prayer, song and romance, - the vocal principle,

associated with the Russian people and its heroes and symbolizing the "music of humanus" - the music of harmony of soul and body, the music of Vera5. "War zone" and "peace zone" as different religious and philosophical systems, as different worldviews in the opera "A Life for the Tsar" are defined and contrasted through the types and forms of thematism. On the one hand, there is the joy of prey, the splendor of the court triumph over the expected victory. All "Polish" music is a hymn glorifying war, dance as a symbol of a life full of pleasure and entertainment, as evidenced by the texts of the choirs of Act II. Their ideal is rapid self-assertion in action, the knight honors a valiant feat, no matter what, from the point of view of ethics, directed. In the finale of Act IV, a detachment of Poles symbolizes the image of hunters prowling in the forest, tracking down prey and finally receiving a victim in the scene of Susanin's death.

The Russian "camp" is shown through pictures of peaceful life. Life here is the Righteous Path, moral purity, the unhurriedness of the unfolding circular mythological time in which the Russian person lives. The mythological space is clearly built and symbolic; a forest, a river, a field, a village, a city, a Kremlin, a monastery or a settlement has been inhabited by man; the dawn here is a symbolic sign announcing the renewal of the Russian land. Misha Glinka grew up in this environment. For him, she is a certain unshakable given.

The dramatic opposition is perceptible not only in the genre origins of the thematism: mazurka, polonaise, Krakowiak, waltz are opposed by lyric, dance, ritual wedding songs, everyday romance, prayer chants of the spiritual hymn and spiritual verse. The types of stage time themselves are contrasted. Admiration for the motherland, empathy for its troubles - in one case, play - in another. Note that in the same way, through the conflict of vocal and instrumental principles, the kingdom of Chernomor and the principality of Kiev oppose in the music of the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. There is even a stylistic opposition between the Slavic chant of the old melos and the oriental, instrumental-vocal, complex ornamental style.

In Glinka's operas we find many other parallels with European theater. Echoes of the "opera of salvation" bizarrely appear in "Ruslan", where

5 In this regard, it is hardly fair to see in the opera the presence of a confessional conflict between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, which is developed, for example, in Boris Godunov by Musorgsky or in Alexander Nevsky by Prokofiev.

the main character simultaneously acts, asserts himself, as it should be for an epic character, in two battles with two brothers - the symbolic knight-head and Chernomor, and at the same time awaits a miraculous salvation from Finn after the attack of Naina's warriors. Having passed with his help the stage of resurrection through dead and living water - a purely symbolic act of Transfiguration, he restores his status and performs the act of transformation of his wife.

In both operas, there are strong and multiple connections with the great French historical tragedy, the classical oratorio and the nationally epic opera "William Tell" by Rossini, which had previously experienced these influences. Let us first of all note the traditional types of arias: a large, three-section French aria by Ruslan; the brilliant heroic cavatina, which became a dramatic outpouring of feelings, at Go-rislava; unfolded, freely constructed monoscenes by Lyudmila.

But, most importantly, they observe the characteristic quality of the Meyerbeer theater, noted by us, Ober - the combination of three temporal and spatial coordinates. "History as the past" - the recreation of a historical event from the standpoint of a temporal distance - is present in Glinka and even prevails in both of his masterpieces. "History as the present" appears in the unpredictability of plot twists and turns, in the sequential accumulation of conflicting interactions from the beginning to the end of the composition. So, like a snowball, the system of conflicts in the Meyerbeer theater is growing. This technique is especially powerful due to the inclusion of the moment of existential choice, which the hero faces at a decisive moment in life: Raoul's reaction to the appearance of Valentina as a bride at the end of Act II of the Huguenots, Valentina's decision to convert to the Protestant faith in the face of imminent death. Similar situations arise in "A Life for the Tsar": for Susanin in Act III, for Vanya in Act IV. The connection with Meyerbeer is found in the interpretation of the image of the ball and the feast as a game of love and pseudo-valor, as well as in stylistic parallels. In the music of "Huguenots", as well as "Life for the Tsar", cult, folk-genre, classical, baroque themes, vocal melodies of the Italian bel canto are intertwined. The difference is that Meyerbeer does not achieve stylistic integrity in his opera (researchers point to the eclecticism of his style), then

how Glinka organically fused all the constituent components and, thereby, laid the foundation for a national tradition looking far into the future. And the stylistic contradiction of thematic layers, similar to Meyerbeer, he uses in Ruslan for a definite dramatic purpose - for a contrasting contrast between the spatio-temporal levels in the mythological continuum of the whole.

“History as the future” is present in the inconsistency of the emotional, psychological, and behavioral reactions of the heroes to the events taking place: Antonida and Vanya in acts III and IV of A Life for the Tsar, Lyudmila and Ratmir in acts III and IV of Ruslan.

Even more parallels are outlined with the work of Rossini. Glinka knew his operas well, was familiar with many of them that preceded Tel-lyu. The dramaturgy of both Glinka's masterpieces is related to the dramatic principles of the great Italian by the reliance on many ritual episodes, the oratorical principle of a large stroke, which in this case is expressed in the organization of the action as an alternation of monumental, relatively complete dramatic "blocks" 6. Glinka relies on the qualitatively new "fusion" of oratorio and opera, which Rossini has already achieved. The whole structure of the whole, its arrangement, the abundance of choral scenes, the "blocks" of the artistic process, the signs of mythological time and space, even the choral interpretation of the orchestral score in "A Life for the Tsar" - echoes "William Tell."

As in Tell, both of Glinka's operas present an endless string of different rituals: pagan in Ruslan, Christian in Life for the Tsar. In the same opera, a similar end-to-end line is formed by the action of natural and cosmic forces: the approach of spring as a symbol of liberation and renewal. In particular, they coincide not only with the wedding ceremony (in Rossini's opera in act I, in Glinka's opera - preparation for the ceremony and an interrupted bachelorette party in act III), but also the open opposition of collective images, the valiant act of the hero, ready for an atoning sacrifice.

The artistic space of "Wilhelm Tell-la" is built as a mythological natural space (mountains, moon, thunderstorm, lake, sky), the people and their

6 Presumably Meyerbeer's oratorios were the model for Rossini, not Haydn's or Handel's.

faith as constituent parts of this cosmos. The combination of mythological theater and folklore epic images in A Life for the Tsar is similar. In the Russian tradition, the mythologeme of the Path is important. In the opera, “three heroes” are associated with her - Susanin, Vanya, Sobinin. Everyone chooses his own way of the cross, but all three are like parts of one tree: Susanin is the root, Sobinin and Vanya are its continuation. An important aspect of the mythologeme of the Path is the recreation of the symbolic path of an orphan (Vanya) - the path of a child of God wandering in the forest, protecting his father = king = God. The opera also contains natural cosmic symbols: field - river - forest - swamp, and symbols of human existence: house - fortress - Kremlin - city. Epic symbolism comes into contact with Christian: the father is the son, Sobinin (his name is symbolic - Bogdan) and Antonida are symbols of the purity of the relationship of a Christian marriage. The path of achievement is interpreted in the opera both as a path of obedience to Christian moral duty and as an independent existential choice7.

Naturally, we only outline the symbolic landmarks that indicate the presence in the historical opera of Glinka of the features of the mythological and legendary theater. This is even more characteristic of Ruslan. Here side by side

features of a fabulous extravaganza (Weber's "Oberon") of the comic (and even ironic) concept of the "miraculous" in strict accordance with the ideas of Ludwig Thieck, a philosophical religious drama with magical and fantastic transformations. But the most important thing: it is "Ruslan" that contains almost all the features of the mythological theater, which in the 1940s, simultaneously with Glinka, were persistently developed by Richard Wagner. Of course, Pushkin's flair and talent predetermined this synthesis of epic, fairy tale and myth, but it was Glinka's genius who spiritualized the young poet's masterpiece, creating that fusion of the individual and the collective that is so inherent in the Russian mentality.

The intonation structure of both of Glinka's operas is just as unique: the composer tells his story on behalf of the people as his epic storyteller, speaks in the language of his songs and romances, epics, prayers and rituals.

Thus, Glinka's theater in two of its masterpieces travels a path equal to that which European opera has traveled in three to four decades. This became possible thanks to the generalization of different layers of domestic and Western European culture, a generalization lapidary and, at the same time, monumental. This was the only way to recreate the image of the national hero and the mentality of the nation.

LITERATURE

1. Anikst A. Theory of Drama in the West: First

half of the 19th century. The era of romanticism. M., 1970.

2. Asafiev B. Glinka's hearing // Musical psycho

logic. M., 1979.

3. Beketova N., Kaloshina G. Opera and myth // Mu-

language theater of the XIX-XX centuries: questions of evolution: Sat. scientific. works. Rostov n / a, 1999.

4. Wagner R. Selected Works. M., 1935.

5. Literary manifestos of romantics. M.,

6. Odoevsky V. Musical and literary heritage. M., 1958.

7. Stendhal. Collected op. In 15 volumes.Vol. 7.M., 1959.

8. Cherkashina M. Historical opera of the era of romanticism. (Research experience). Kiev, 1986.

9. Schlegel F. Aesthetics, philosophy, criticism. V

2 t.Vol. 1. M., 1983.

7 Mythological aspects of Glinka's opera "A Life for the Tsar" are also considered in the book by M. Cherkashina, article by N. Beketova and G. Kaloshina.

MIKHAIL IVANOVICH GLINKA
(1804-1857)

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was born on May 20 (June 1) 1804, in the village of Novospasskoye, now the Elninsky district of the Smolensk region.

Childhood years passed in the countryside, in the atmosphere of a landowner, a manor house. His first musical impressions were associated with a folk song. Very early on, the future composer got acquainted with professional European music. As a child, he listened to concerts of the serf orchestra, often he himself took part in them (played the violin, flute). The years of study in St. Petersburg (1818-22) had a beneficial effect on the formation of Glinka's personality and worldview. Studying in one of the best educational institutions - the Noble Boarding School at the Pedagogical School, where his tutor was the future Decembrist and friend of A.S. Pushkin V.K.Kyukhelbeker, and the teachers were progressive-minded scientists A.P. Kunitsyn, K.I. Arseniev , A. I. Galich, he absorbed the anti-serfdom views prevalent in opposition circles.

His youth passed at the time of the formation of secret societies, in an atmosphere of acute ideological struggle. Getting acquainted with the poetry of the young Pushkin and Ryleev, meeting with the future Decembrists, the young Glinka was introduced to the atmosphere of civicism and love of freedom. Later, after the tragic defeat of the Decembrist uprising, he was interrogated: his personal connections with the "rebels" were known to the police.

Glinka's musical talent quickly matured under the influence of the artistic environment of St. Petersburg. During his studies, he often visited the theater, got acquainted with the operas of W. A. ​​Mozart, L. Cherubini, G. Rossini, took violin lessons from F. Boehm, piano from J. Field, and then systematically from C. Mayer. In 1824 he joined the office of the Council of Railways. But his main occupation was music. By the 20s. includes the first creative experiments: chamber compositions (2 string quartets, sonata for viola and piano), unfinished symphony in B flat major and other works for orchestra; a number of piano pieces, including cycles of variations.

Glinka's talent in the genre of romance was especially vividly manifested. The depth of the poetic mood and the perfection of the form distinguish the best romances of the early period - "Do not tempt", "Poor singer", "Georgian song" (to the words of Pushkin). The composer's acquaintance with the greatest poets and writers - A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, A.A. Delvig, V.F. Odoevsky, in communication with whom they formed
His creative principles, aesthetic views. The young composer tirelessly improved his skills, studied opera and symphonic literature, worked a lot with the home orchestra as a conductor (in Novospassky).

In 1830-34 he visited Italy, Austria, and Germany. In Italy, G. met G. Berlioz, F. Mendelssohn, V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, was fond of Italian romantic opera, in practice he studied the art of bel canto (beautiful singing). But soon admiration for the beauty of Italian melos gave way to other aspirations: “... I sincerely could not be Italian. Longing for my homeland gradually led me to the idea of ​​writing in Russian. " In the winter of 1833-34 in Berlin, Glinka seriously studied harmony and counterpoint under the guidance of Z. Dehn, with the help of which he systematized his theoretical knowledge and improved the technique of polyphonic writing. In 1834 he wrote "Symphony on Two Russian Themes", paving the way for. In the spring of the same year, Glinka returned to his homeland and began composing the planned opera.

Glinka's studies in Berlin were interrupted by the news of the death of his father. Glinka decided to leave for Russia at once. The trip abroad ended unexpectedly, but he mostly managed to carry out his plans. In any case, the nature of his creative aspirations had already been determined. We find confirmation of this, in particular, in the haste with which Glinka, upon returning to his homeland, starts composing an opera, without even waiting for the final choice of a plot - the nature of the music of the future work is so clear to him: I didn’t have it, but “Maryina Roshcha” was spinning in my head.

This opera briefly captured Glinka's attention. Upon his arrival in St. Petersburg, he became a frequent visitor to Zhukovsky, at whom a select society gathered weekly; mainly engaged in literature and music. Pushkin, Vyazemsky, Gogol, Pletnev were regular visitors of these evenings. “When I expressed my desire to start Russian opera,” writes Glinka, “Zhukovsky sincerely approved my intention and offered me a plot by Ivan Susanin. The forest scene cut deep into my imagination; I found in her a lot that was original, characteristic of Russians. " Glinka's enthusiasm was so great that "as if by a magical action ... a plan for a whole opera was suddenly created ...". Glinka writes that his imagination "warned" the librettist; "... many topics and even details of the development - all of this flashed in my head at once."

But not only creative problems concern Glinka at this time. He is thinking about getting married. The chosen one of Mikhail Ivanovich was Marya Petrovna Ivanova, a pretty girl, his distant relative. “In addition to a kind and pure heart,” Glinka writes to her mother immediately after marriage, “I managed to notice in her the properties that I always wanted to find in my wife: order and frugality ... despite her youth and liveliness of character, she is very reasonable and extremely moderate in desires. " But the future wife knew nothing about music. However, Glinka's feeling for Marya Petrovna was so strong and sincere that the circumstances that subsequently led to the incompatibility of their destinies, at that time, might not seem so significant.

The young people got married at the end of April 1835. Soon after, Glinka and his wife went to Novospasskoye. Happiness in his personal life spurred his creative activity, he took up opera with even greater zeal. The opera moved quickly, but getting it staged on the stage of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater was not easy. Director of the imperial theaters A.M. Gedeonov obstinately obstructed the acceptance of the new opera for production. Apparently, in an effort to protect himself from any surprises, he handed it over to the Kapellmeister Kavos, who, as already mentioned, was the author of an opera based on the same plot. However, Kavos gave Glinka's work the most flattering review and removed his own opera from the repertoire. Thus, Ivan Susanin was accepted for production, but Glinka was ordered not to demand a fee for the opera.

Opens the mature period of Glinka's work. In working on this opera, he relied on the basic principles of realism and nationality, which were established in Russian literature of the 30s. 19th century The plot of the opera was proposed by Zhukovsky, however, in interpreting the historical theme, the composer followed his principle of embodying a folk tragedy. The idea of ​​the unshakable courage and patriotism of the Russian people found a generalized expression in the image of Susanin, formed by Glinka under the influence of the "Duma" of the Decembrist poet Ryleev. The author of the libretto, the court poet GF Rosen, gave the text a tendentious monarchist coloration. Nicholas I showed close attention to the new opera, replacing its original title "Ivan Susanin" with "A Life for the Tsar".

The premiere of "Ivan Susanin" took place on November 27, 1836. The success was enormous, Glinka wrote to his mother the next day: “Yesterday evening, my desires were finally fulfilled, and my long work was crowned with the most brilliant success. The audience received my opera with extraordinary enthusiasm, the actors lost their temper with zeal ... the sovereign-emperor ... thanked me and talked with me for a long time ... "

The acuity of perception of the novelty of Glinka's music is remarkably expressed in "Letters about Russia" by Henri Mérimée: "A Life for the Tsar" by Mr. Glinka is distinguished by its extreme originality ... This is such a true result of everything that Russia has suffered and poured out in the song; in this music one can hear such a complete expression of Russian hatred and love, grief and joy, full of darkness and a shining dawn ... This is more than an opera, this is a national epic, this is a lyrical drama, elevated to the noble height of its original purpose, when it was not yet frivolous fun, but a patriotic and religious rite. "

Odoevsky wrote: "With the first opera by Glinka, there is something that has been long sought and not found in Europe - a new element in art, and a new period begins in its history: the period of Russian music." In Ivan Susanin, Glinka created a folk heroic tragedy, deeply national in its means of expression. It was fundamentally different from the genre of large opera on historical themes popular at that time (J. Rossini, J. Meyerbeer, F. Aubert, F. Halevy). Relying on the Russian folk song, the composer conveys the historical plot in a broad operatic composition of an oratorical warehouse, highlighting the image of a mighty, indestructible national force. Glinka was the first to "raise the folk tune to tragedy" (Odoevsky).

The expression of realism was the innovative image of Susanin. This image embodied the best qualities of the Russian national character, at the same time the composer was able to give it concrete, vital features. A new type is embodied in the vocal part of Susanin arious-chanting recitative. In the opera, for the first time, the principle of synthesis of vocal and symphonic principles, characteristic of the Russian opera school, was established. The unity of symphonic development is expressed, on the one hand, in the cross-cutting performance of two folk themes, on the other, in a sharp, conflicting comparison of figurative thematic groups: Russian and Polish. Smooth, broad themes of the Russian people, Susanin, Vanya, Sobinin, Antonida are contrasted with the sharp, dynamic themes of the "Polish knights" based on the rhythms of Polish dance. The growth of this conflict is the most important feature of the drama of Ivan Susanin as an opera of the tragic genre.

The idea of ​​a new opera based on the plot of the poem arose with the composer during the life of Pushkin. Glinka recalls in "Notes": "... I hoped to draw up a plan at the direction of Pushkin, his premature death prevented the fulfillment of my intention."

The first performance of Ruslan and Lyudmila took place on November 27, 1842, exactly - day after day - six years after the premiere of Ivan Susanin. With the uncompromising support of Glinka, just like six years ago, Odoevsky spoke out, expressing his unconditional admiration for the composer's genius in the following few, but bright, poetic lines: “... a luxurious flower has grown on Russian musical soil - it is your joy, your glory ... Let the worms struggle to crawl onto its stem and stain it, - the worms will fall to the ground, and the flower will remain. Take care of him: he is a delicate flower and blooms only once a century. "

The success of the opera with the general public increased with each performance. It was highly appreciated in the articles of O. A. Senkovsky, F. A. Koni. Her music was admired by F. Liszt and G. Berlioz. But in court circles, Glinka's "scholarly" music was sharply condemned. In 1846, the opera left the St. Petersburg stage and after several performances in Moscow (1846-47) ceased its stage life for a long time.

The opera Ruslan and Lyudmila presents a different type of musical drama. Permeated with Pushkin's optimism, the opera is epic majestic, monumental, and epic. The composer gives his own interpretation of the fairy tale plot, as if enlarging Pushkin's images, endowing them with grandeur, significance, strength. Epic narrative and philosophical depth in the interpretation of the plot distinguish Glinka's epic opera from the more traditional "magic" romantic operas of other authors. Ruslan and Lyudmila is a legendary opera that gave birth to the heroic images of A.P. Borodin, N.A.Rimsky-Korsakov, M.P. Mussorgsky, A.K. Glazunov. In accordance with this concept, it is not so much the method of conflict development that prevails here, as in Ivan Susanin, as the method of contrasting comparisons, the principle of alternating pictures. The reception of framing, "headpieces and endings", in the future will become a typical constructive principle of Russian fairy-tale operas. The main idea of ​​the folk heroic epic - the victory of the good beginning over the forces of evil - is concentrated in the overture, which is the prototype of the future epic "heroic" Russian symphonies, as well as in Ruslan's aria (2nd act), thematically close to the overture.

Simultaneously with the opera, Glinka creates a number of works. high skill: romances to the words of Pushkin ("Where is our rose", "Night marshmallow"), the elegy "Doubt", vocal cycle , first version, music to the tragedy of N. V. Kukolnik "Prince Kholmsky".

At this time, Glinka's activities as a vocalist, performer and teacher acquired great importance. Perfectly mastering the vocal art, he passes on his artistic experience to the talented Russian singers S.S. Gulak-Artemovsky, later - D.M. Leonova, L.I. Belenitsyna-Karmalina and others, asserts the methodological foundations of the Russian school of singing in his studies and exercises. Glinka's advice was used by the leading artists of Russian opera - O. A. Petrov and A. Ya. Petrova-Vorobyova (the first to play the roles of Susanin and Vanya).

The composer's life became more and more difficult. A heavy burden was the "royal favor" of Nicholas I, who appointed Glinka as a reward as conductor of the Court Choir Choir. The service put the composer in a dependent position as a court official. Philistine gossip "in the light" was caused by the divorce proceedings. A bitter disappointment was brought by the marriage to M. P. Ivanova - an uneducated, limited woman, far from the creative interests of her husband. Glinka breaks off previous acquaintances, seeks refuge in the artistic world. However, rapprochement with the popular writer N.V. Kukolnik and his company did not internally satisfy the composer, he was increasingly aware of his loneliness in an atmosphere of envy, gossip and petty adversity.

The opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, in comparison with Ivan Susanin, drew stronger criticism. The most fierce opponent of Glinka was F. Bulgarin, who was still a very influential journalist at that time. The composer takes it hard. In mid-1844, he embarked on a new long trip abroad - this time to France and Spain. Soon, bright and varied impressions return Glinka to a high vitality.

This trip confirmed the European fame of the Russian master. Berlioz became a great admirer of his talent, performing his works in his concert in the spring of 1845. The author's concert in Paris was a success.

Glinka's life in Spain (over 2 years) is a bright page in the artist's creative biography. He studied the culture, customs, language of the Spanish people; recorded melodies from folk singers and guitarists, watched the festivities. The result of these impressions were 2 symphonic overtures: (1845) and "Remembrance of Castile" (1848, 2nd ed. - "Remembrance of a summer night in Madrid", 1851).

Glinka spent the last decade of his life in Russia (Novospasskoye, Smolensk, Petersburg) and abroad (Paris, Berlin). He lived for a long time in Warsaw, where in the summer of 1848 the ingenious "Russian scherzo" was created -.

The flourishing of the realistic principles of the "natural school", a powerful influx of young forces into Russian literature, the process of democratization of Russian art, which intensified on the eve of the peasant reform - these are the phenomena that surrounded the composer and influenced his ideas. In the early 50s. he conceived the program symphony "Taras Bulba" (based on the story of Gogol), in 1855 - an opera from the folk life "The Two-Woman" (based on the drama of the same name by A. A. Shakhovsky). These products. remained unfulfilled, but Glinka's creative plans paved the way for the future. The idea of ​​creating a folk-heroic symphony on Ukrainian themes was close to the principles of genre programming, which were later developed in the work of the composers of The Mighty Handful.

In the 50s. a group of like-minded people is forming around Glinka. Among them is the young, future leader of the "Mighty Handful". Glinka treated his first creative experiments with particular warmth. Among his entourage are the music critics A.N.Serov and V.V. Stasov. Glinka constantly meets with AS Dargomyzhsky, who was working at that time on the opera "Mermaid". The conversations with Serov concerning the problems of musical aesthetics were of great importance. In 1852 Glinka dictated to Serov his Notes on Instrumentation; in 1854-55 he wrote "Notes" - the most valuable document in the history of musical culture.

In the spring of 1856, the composer made his last trip abroad - to Berlin. Fascinated by ancient polyphony, he worked in depth on the legacy of Palestrina, G.F.Handel, J.S. Bach. At the same time, in these studies, he pursued the special goal of creating an original system of Russian counterpoint. The idea of ​​"linking the Western fugue with the conditions of our music by the bonds of legal marriage" prompted Glinka to closely study the Old Russian melodies of the znamenny chant, in which he saw the basis of Russian polyphony. The composer was not destined to realize these ideas. But later they were picked up by S.I.Taneev, S. V. Rachmaninov and other Russian craftsmen.

Glinka died on February 15, 1857 in Berlin. His ashes were transported to St. Petersburg and buried in the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Glinka's work is evidence of the mighty rise of Russian national culture generated by the events of the Patriotic War of 1812 and the Decembrist movement. Glinka accomplished in music the most important task put forward by the time: the creation of realistic art, reflecting the ideals, aspirations and thoughts of the people. In the history of Russian music, Glinka, like Pushkin in literature, acted as the initiator of a new historical period: in his genius creations, the national and world significance of Russian musical art was determined. It is in this sense that he is the first classic of Russian music. His work is associated with the historical past: it absorbed the traditions of ancient Russian choral art, re-implemented the most important achievements of the Russian school of composition of the 18th - early 19th centuries, grew on the native soil of Russian folk song.

Glinka's innovation lies, first of all, in a deep understanding of the nationality, "The people create music, and we, the artists, only arrange it" - the composer's words, written down by Serov, became the main idea of ​​his work. Glinka boldly expanded the limited understanding of the folk and went beyond the purely everyday depiction of folk life. Glinka's nationality is a reflection of character, worldview, “the way of thinking and feeling of the people” (Pushkin). Unlike his older contemporaries (first of all, A.N. Verstovsky, ), he perceives folk music in its entirety, paying attention not only to urban romance, but also to an old peasant song.

M. I. GLINKA. (1804 - 1857)

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is a brilliant Russian composer. Like Pushkin in poetry, he was the founder of Russian classical music - opera and symphonic music.

The origins of Glinka's music go back to Russian folk art. His best works are imbued with love for the Motherland, its people, and Russian nature.

Major works: folk-heroic opera "Ivan Susanin", fairytale-epic opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila", works for voice and piano: romances, songs, arias, symphonic pieces: overtures "Aragonese Jota", "Night in Madrid", symphonic fantasy "Kamarinskaya", "Waltz-Fantasy" piano pieces.

4. OPERA "IVAN SUSANIN"

Opera "Ivan Susanin" is a heroic folk musical drama. The story of the opera is based on the legend about the heroic deed of the Kostroma peasant Ivan Susanin in 1612, during the occupation of Russia by the Polish invaders.

Characters: Susanin, his daughter Antonida, adopted son Vanya, Sobinin. The main actor is the people.

The opera has 4 acts and an epilogue.

First act- characteristics of the Russian people and the main characters. It begins with an extensive choral introduction, in which there are two choirs - male and female.

Antonida's cavatina and rondo reveal the traits of a Russian girl - tenderness, sincerity and simplicity.

The trio "Don't Tomi, Darling" conveys the sad experiences of the heroes, is built on the expressive intonations of urban everyday songs.

Second action - musical characteristics of the Poles. Dance music sounds. Four dances form a symphonic suite: brilliant polonaise, krakowiak, waltz and mazurka.

Third action. Vanya's song "How the Mother Was Killed" serves as a musical characteristic of an orphan boy, close to Russian folk songs.

Susanin's scene with the Poles is a wonderful example of a dramatically developing ensemble. The musical characteristics of the Poles are outlined by the rhythms of the polonaise and mazurka. Susanin's musical speech is dignified and dignified.

The wedding choir in its melodic structure is close to Russian wedding majestic songs.

Antonida's song-romance “I’m not grieving for a friend” reveals the richness of the girl’s inner world, here you can hear the intonations of folk lamentations.

Fourth action. Susanin's recitative and aria is one of the most intense dramatic episodes of the opera. Here the image of a hero and a patriot is revealed to the end. The music is strict, restrained and expressive.

Epilogue. The people celebrate the victory over the enemy. In the final chorus "Glory", the music is majestic and solemn. This gives it the characteristics of an anthem. The people glorify their native land and the fallen heroes.

The opera "Ivan Susanin" is a realistic work, truthfully and sincerely telling about historical events. The new type of folk musical drama created by Glinka had a tremendous influence on the subsequent works of Russian composers ("The Pskovite Woman" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Boris Godunov" by Mussorgsky).

WORKS FOR ORCHESTRA

Pieces for a symphony orchestra occupy an important place in Glinka's work. All of his works are accessible to a wide audience of listeners, are highly artistic and perfect in form.

Symphonic fantasy "Kamarinskaya" (1848) is a variation on two Russian folk themes. These themes are contrasting. The first of them is a wide and flowing wedding song "From behind the mountains, high mountains." The second theme is the daring Russian dance dance "Kamarinskaya".

"Waltz-Fantasy"- one of the most poetic lyric works of Glinka.

It is based on a heartfelt theme, impetuous and aspiring. The main theme is repeated many times, forming a rondo shape. The episodes, varied in content, contrast with it. The predominance of the string group gives the entire symphonic work lightness, flightiness, transparency.

ROMANCE AND SONGS

Glinka wrote romances throughout his life. Everything captivates them: sincerity and simplicity, restraint in expressing feelings, classical harmony and severity of form, beauty of melody and clear harmony.

Among Glinka's romances, one can find a wide variety of genres: the everyday romance "Poor Singer", the dramatic ballad "Night Review", drinking and "road" songs, songs-dances in the rhythm of waltz, mazurka, polonaise, march.

Glinka composed romances based on the poems of contemporary poets - Zhukovsky, Delvig, Pushkin.

Popular are romances from the Farewell to St. Petersburg cycle - Lark and Passing Song (lyrics by N. Kukolnik).

The romance to the words of Pushkin "I remember a wonderful moment" is a pearl of Russian vocal lyrics. It belongs to the mature period of creativity, therefore, mastery is so perfect in it.

In his romances, Glinka summarized all the best that had been created by his predecessors and contemporaries.

For his creative activity, he wrote not so much, however, like Pushkin in the field of literature, Mikhail Glinka clearly defined the "Russian melody", and then created the same Russian music as the property of the entire world culture. He also "gave birth" to all the genius followers who made Russia a great musical state at all times and in all eras.

Thanks to Glinka, the Russian musical language acquired its authenticity. After all, it was from his work that such celebrities as Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, Sviridov and Gavrilin, Borodin and Balakirev "matured". The good news is that even today the "Glinka" traditions still have an influence on how and what to perform, how and what to teach young musicians in Russian colleges and schools.

Such operas by Mikhail Glinka as "A Life for the Tsar" and "Ruslan and Lyudmila" allowed two directions of Russian opera to be "born" - musical folk drama and opera-epic or opera-fairy tale. The basis of Russian symphony was such works as "Kamarinskaya", "Spanish Overtures". And, of course, do not forget that the composition "Patriotic Song" by Mikhail Ivanovich became the basis for the national anthem of the Russian Federation. However, later, the Russian Federation returned the anthem of the USSR, correcting the text, taking into account the new reality.

The modern generation of young people should not forget such a significant surname for world culture as Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka. Many streets of our country are named in honor of this composer, museums and conservatories, theaters and music schools are named. And in 1973, astronomer Lyudmila Chernykh, after discovering a minor planet, gave it a name in honor of Mikhail Ivanovich - 2205 Glinka. On the planet Mercury, a crater was named after the Russian composer.

22. Comparative characteristics of classicism and romanticism.

Comparison parameter	Classicism	Romanticism
period	18 century	19th century
The predominant art form	Architecture, literature (theater)	Music, literature
The ratio of the rational and the emotion.	Rational	Emotional (the mind is wrong, the feeling is never.)
Forms	Strict commensurate	Ticky, free, there is no strict scheme.
genre	Major: operas, sonatas, concerts, and symphonies.	Miniatures, sketches, impromptu, musical moments.
content	Generalized	Subjective - personal
Programming, def. Names.	Not typical	Part meets
thematicism	Instrumental	vocal
National color	Revealed not bright	Raising your emotions. Consciousness, characteristically brought up. Your culture.

23. Features of the interpretation of the Sonata - symphonic cycle by foreign composers of the 18-19th century.

Sentiment semantics.

With the Baroque, not all have the meaning of tonalities, but there are significant ones.

Bach: h –moll –death D - dur-joy = measured mass h-moll

Tchaikovsky h –moll - tone of rock.

Fis –moll, D –Dur? H –moll the portent of death.

Classical: d –moll –potetic, Beethoven, Chopin Ave, Symphony No. 5

F moll –appasionata;

d moll - mozart's requiem - tragic.

F dur - pastoral

Romanticism in e moll Chopin's elegy, do not tempt Glinka.

Des dur tone ideal, love, dreams

E Dur earthly love, real.

C Dur-white, innocence.

M. Glinka belongs to innovators, discoverers of new musical paths of development, is the creator of qualitatively new genres in Russian opera:

- heroic-historical opera by the type of folk musical drama ("Ivan Susanin", or "Life for the Tsar");

Epic opera (Ruslan and Lyudmila).

These two operas by Glinka were created 6 years apart. In 1834 he began work on the opera Ivan Susanin (A Life for the Tsar), originally conceived as an oratorio. Completion of work on the work (1936) - year of birth the first Russian classical opera on a historical plot, the source for which was the thought of K. Ryleev.

The peculiarity of the drama of "Ivan Susanin" lies in the combination of several opera genres:

• heroic-historical opera(plot);
• features of folk musical drama... Traits (not full embodiment) - because in a folk musical drama the image of a people must be in development (in the opera, he is an active participant in the action, but static);
• features of an epic opera(the slowness of the plot development, especially at the beginning);
• traits of drama(activation of action from the moment the Poles appeared);
• features of lyric-psychological drama, associated mainly with the image of the main character.

The choral scenes of this opera by Glinka go back to Handel's oratorios, the idea of ​​duty and self-sacrifice - to Gluck, the liveliness and brightness of characters - to Mozart.

Glinka's opera Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842), which appeared exactly 6 years later, was received negatively, in contrast to Ivan Susanin, which was enthusiastically received. V. Stasov was perhaps the only one of the critics of that time who understood its true meaning. He argued that Ruslan and Lyudmila was not an unsuccessful opera, but a work written according to completely new dramatic laws, previously unknown to the opera stage.

If "Ivan Susanin", continuing line of European tradition, gravitates more towards the type of dramatic opera with features of folk musical drama and lyric-psychological opera, then "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is a new type of drama, dubbed epic. The qualities perceived by contemporaries as shortcomings turned out to be the most important aspects of the new opera genre, dating back to the art of epic.

Some of its characteristic features:

• a special, wide and unhurried nature of development;
• the absence of direct conflict clashes of hostile forces;
• picturesque and colorful (romantic tendency).

The opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” is often called “a textbook of musical forms”.

In the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, Glinka used a traditional fairy tale plot with feats, fantasy, and magical transformations to show various characters, complex relationships between people, creating a whole gallery of human types. Among them are the knightly noble and courageous Ruslan, the gentle Lyudmila, the inspired Bayan, the ardent Ratmir, the faithful Gorislava, the cowardly Farlaf, the kind Finn, the insidious Naina, the cruel Chernomor.

The overall composition of the opera is subject to the strict principle of symmetry. Typical for Glinka's methods of reprisal and completeness of form determine the individual elements of the opera and its entire composition as a whole. The prologue and epilogue frame the piece. This fully corresponds to the epic makeup of the opera. The slenderness of the operatic form is created by framing. The thematic material of the overture is repeated again in the finale of Act V, in the solemn concluding chorus in the same key in D major. The extreme acts paint majestic pictures of Kievan Rus. Between them contrasting scenes of the hero's magical adventures in the kingdom of Naina and Chernomor unfold, a 3-part is formed. This principle will become typical for fairy-tale and epic operas of Russian lyrics. At the same time, the opera is symphonic, the conflicting, intensely dramatic development is replaced by the principle of contrast.

The new genre of fairytale-epic opera determines the peculiarities of the musical drama of Ruslana and Lyudmila. Based on the classical tradition of closed, complete numbers, Glinka creates her own type of narrative operatic drama of an epic plan. The unhurried narrative course of development with wide thematic arches at long distances, the slowness of the stage action, the abundance of themes made it difficult to perceive the work.

The music critic Stasov, possessing an exceptional breadth of artistic views, was able to see in Glinka's music a whole direction of Russian art - an interest in folk epic, folk poetry. The epic style of Glinka's opera gave rise to a system of images and dramatic techniques that retain their significance in Russian lyric poetry of subsequent times.

The meaning of Glinka's creativity. Glinka's operas defined the development of the opera genre in Russia. In the principles of musical drama, in the figurative system and in the methods of developing folk-national thematicism, Glinka's operas were the basis for the work of Russian classical composers.

Already Glinka's first opera "Ivan Susanin" was a valuable contribution to world culture. This path was followed by Mussorgsky in the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, Rimsky-Korsakov in operas on themes from Russian history The Woman of Pskov, The Tsar's Bride, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and Borodin in the opera Prince Igor. Russian opera has passed a long subsequent path of development, but it remained unchanged: a deep understanding of the historical theme from the standpoint of modernity, the leading role of the people, through the leading thought and the main conflict, expressed by means of symphonic development; realistic embodiment of the main characters and the creative use of national-national origins. The principles of ensemble writing, the plasticity and clarity of independent melodic lines inherent in the composer, were continued in the operas of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Borodin.

The innovative “ballet scene with a choir” in the brilliant suite of Polish dances in act II is not a plug-in, decorative piece, which was observed in the works of composers before Glinka. As one of the important elements of dramatic action, it outlines the path of symphonizing Russian ballet, which was subsequently continued by Tchaikovsky.

After Ruslan and Lyudmila, Glinka began work on the opera-drama The Two Man (the last decade) based on A. Shakhovsky, which remained unfinished.

3. Opera "Ivan Susanin".

Ivan Susanin "opens the mature period of Glinka's work. The plot of the opera was proposed by Zhukovsky, it contains a historical fact - the heroic feat of the peasant Ivan Osipovich Susanin in 1612, when Russia was occupied by invaders. Moscow has already been liberated. But one of the remaining Polish troops entered the village of Domnino. The peasant Ivan Susanin, having agreed to be a guide, took them into a deep forest, thereby ruining them and himself. Glinka was inspired by the idea of ​​patriotism of the Russian people.

The idea of ​​love for the fatherland is a pervasive one in the opera. The sequential development of the conflict is fully reflected in the musical composition.

The opera begins with an overture. The overture is all built on themes found in the opera, and embodies the main idea of ​​the opera in a generalized form. It is written in the form of a sonata allegro with an introduction. The main part (in G minor) is a disturbing, impetuous theme of the folk chorus from the finale of Act III, where the people are shown in a patriotic impulse. In the development of the overture, this theme takes on a dramatically intense] character. A side theme - Vanya's theme “How the Mother Was Killed” The exposition has already given an opposition - a connecting part in a three-beat meter with mazurka intonations represents the Poles. The same theme sounds in the opera in the scene of the arrival of the Poles in Susanin's hut. Thus, the "arch" is thrown to one of the climaxes of the opera. In the code, the juxtaposition is even brighter - the disturbing motives of the main part pass into frozen chords, which will sound in Susanin's answers to the Poles in the forest. Further, mazur phrases sound like a threat to the Poles. These phrases grow, but the three-part is replaced by the two-part, and this translates into bell chimes. The theme of the main part in G major sounds victorious. Thus, the entire course of the opera is shown in the overture.

The opera has four acts and an epilogue. The first act describes the Russian people and the main characters of the opera. This is Ivan Susanin, his daughter Antonida, adopted son Vanya, Antonida's fiancé - warrior Sobinin, the people. Act 1 opens with a monumental choral scene-introduction. In the introduction, two choirs alternate several times - male and female. The theme of the male choir is close to the peasant and soldier songs of the heroic-epic character ("You rise, the sun is red"). For the first time in Russian art, the music of a pronounced folk style conveys a lofty heroic pathos.

The melody of the second chorus - female - sounds at the beginning in the orchestra, and a little later appears in the vocal part. Lively, joyful, it resembles the round dance songs of peasant girls dedicated to the spring awakening of nature.

The main melodic images of the introduction are in contrast to each other. Thus, the introduction shows different aspects of the image of the people: its will and cordiality, its courageous perseverance and loving perception; native nature.

After the monumental choral introduction, Glinka gives a musical portrait of one of the characters - Susanin's daughter Antonida.

Antonida's aria consists of two sections: cavatina and rondo. Slow brooding cavatina is sustained in the spirit of Russian lyric songs. Delicate cavatina gives way to lively, "graceful rondo. Its light, fresh music also has a song character."

Antonida answers Susanin. This is an "exposition" of the main image of the opera. Susanin's recitatives are typical of Glinka's style. They are melodious, they have many smooth moves at wide intervals, chants on separate syllables. Thus, the composer immediately shows the organic unity of Susanin and “the people.

A new hero of the opera also appears - Bogdan Sobinin. The main feature of Sobinin is his “daring character”. It is revealed with the help of ardent and sweeping song phrases with an elastic, clear rhythm, sustained in the spirit of valiant soldiers' songs.

The final I of the action is sustained in a marching movement and is full of patriotic enthusiasm. Susanin, Antonida and Sobinin act as lead singers and soloists of the choir

Act II is in stark contrast to the first. Instead of simple peasants on the stage, there are pans feasting in the castle of the Polish king. Four dances: polonaise, krakowiak, waltz and mazurka form a large dance suite. The main theme of Krakowiak, thanks to the syncopated rhythm, is particularly elastic; the waltz on 6/8 is graceful, the presence of syncopation on the second beat makes it akin to a mazurka, giving it a Polish flavor as well. The waltz is distinguished by a particular subtlety and transparency of orchestration. The polonaise and the final mazurka are of a completely different character. Polonaise sounds proudly, ceremoniously and belligerent. His intonations are reminiscent of fanfare calls. A carefree, bravura mazurka with a sweeping melody and sonorous chords is full of dashing and splendor.

With the intonations and rhythms of this dance, Glinka paints a portrait of the Polish invaders, whose outward splendor hides greed, arrogance and reckless vanity.

Before Glinka, dance numbers were introduced into the opera, but usually only in the form of a plug-in divertissement, but they were not directly related to the action. Glinka, for the first time, gave dances an important dramatic meaning. They became a means of figurative characterization of the characters. Russian classical ballet music originates from the “Polish” scenes in Act II.

Action III can be divided into two halves: the first - before the arrival of enemies, the second - from the moment they appear. The first half is dominated by a calm and light mood. Shown here is the character of Susanin - a loving father with his family.

The action begins with a song by Susanin's adopted son Vanya. The song is close to Russian folk songs with its simplicity and natural melodiousness. At the end of the song, Susanin's voice is included in it and the song goes into the stage, and then into the duet. The duet is dominated by marching intonations and rhythms; in him the patriotic enthusiasm of father and son finds expression.

The dramatic culmination of the entire opera is the scene with the Poles in Act IV. Here the fate of the main character of the opera is decided.

The picture begins with a chorus of Poles wandering in the darkness of the night through a dense forest covered with snow. To characterize the Poles, Glinka uses the rhythm of the mazurka. Here it is devoid of bravura and belligerence, sounds gloomy, conveying the oppressed state of mind of the Poles, their premonition of imminent death. Unstable chords (increased triad, decreased 7th chord) and dull orchestral timbres heighten the feeling of darkness and melancholy.

The main features of the hero's appearance at the decisive hour of his life are revealed in his dying aria and the subsequent recitative monologue. The opening short recitative "They Feel the Truth" is based on the wide, unhurried and confident intonations of the song warehouse, which are usual for Susanin. This is one of the best examples of Glinka's melodious recitative (example No. 8). In the aria itself ("You will come, my dawn ...") the mood of deep sorrowful meditation prevails. Susanin retains his inherent masculinity, sublimity and fortitude. There is no melodrama in this. Susanin's aria is a vivid example of Glinka's innovative approach to folk song. It is here, on the basis of Russian folk song intonations, that music, imbued with genuine tragedy, first appears. This aria includes the words of Odoevsky that Glinka "managed to create a new unheard-of character, elevate the folk tune to a tragedy."

The opera ends with a grandiose scene of a folk celebration on Red Square in Moscow.

The epilogue consists of three sections: 1) the "Glory" chorus in the first presentation; 2) scenes and trio of Vanya, Antonida and Sobinin "Oh, not me, poor ..." with a chorus; and 3) the final, a new, final presentation "Glory".

In the ingenious "Glory" with the utmost convexity and clarity, the heroic image of the victorious people is embodied.

"Ivan Susanin" is the first opera based on continuous musical development, there is not a single spoken dialogue. Glinka implements the principle of symphony in the opera and lays the foundations for the leitmotif method, later developed with such skill by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. Together with Ivan Susanin, Russian music entered the path of symphonic development. The pinnacle of Russian dramatic symphony is the scene in the forest, an example of a deep symphonic disclosure of the psychological subtext of a drama.

In describing her characters, Glinka uses a variety of forms - from an arious recitative to a complex multi-part aria of the classical type. A specific feature of the opera is the presence of Polish scenes of end-to-end development, which actively promote the action of the drama. But the aria is an important center of opera composition, in the aria it is the characterization of the character.

Glinka's high skill manifested itself in the ensembles, in which the principles of classical polyphony are combined with the nature of the folk-Russian polyphonic style. In the finale of act I in the trio “Don't Tomi, Dear”, Glinka uses the form of polyphonic variations in a new way, with a gradual layering of voices. In the funeral trio from the epilogue, the techniques of Russian folk polyphony are used. The monumental quartet from Act III approaches a symphonic cycle - an introduction, anedgeo, a slow movement and a fast ending,

In the opera "Ivan Susanin" there is a truly symphonic method of cross-cutting development. The meaning of Glinka's dramatic comparison of the two opposing forces is not only in the national-genre contrast - Russian and Polish, song and dance, vocal and instrumental, symphonic beginning as the main means of characterization. The meaning of contrast and in another - the people are the protagonist of the tragic defender of the Motherland. Hence the different approach and different scales in the interpretation of both groups. Polish gentry are shown in a generalized way. And the Russian people are shown in a variety of ways; That is why the folk song language of the opera is so rich. The opera's choral scenes define the national style of Glinka's opera. The basis is Russian song in all its genre varieties. The finest features of the intonation and modal structure of Russian folk songs were first fully embodied only by Glinka, which was expressed, for example, in the five-beat rhythm of the girls 'choir, in the flexible modal variability in the rowers' chorus. Folk intonations are freely developed, being re-implemented in the classically harmonious forms of Glinka's music. The variation form corresponding to the character of Russian folk themes is widely used by the composer.

The main role is played by two choral scenes. The people in them appear as a "great personality", united by one feeling, one will. These folk choirs, with their oratorical style, were unparalleled at the time.

The final scene of the opera, the epilogue, expresses a scene of popular rejoicing. Glinka's contemporary Serov wrote: "In its Russian originality, in its faithful transmission of the historical moment, this chorus is a page of Russian history."

The chorus theme combines the features of chanting and movement. Its entire figurative structure conveys the leisurely pace of the people's procession.

The origins of the choir are diverse. Here there is a folk song, and the style of choral part singing, a solemn edging of the 18th century. In the general composition of the choral scene, Glinka uses her favorite form of variation and polyphonic methods of development.

To achieve a general impression of joy, celebration, Glinka also uses coloristic techniques - a full symphony orchestra and a brass one on stage take part in the finale, a group of basses and bells join the main choir, the diatonic (C major) is enriched with harmonic colors (E major, B major) ... All means are applied with a sense of proportion, harmony and beauty of form.