The author of the essay is N.V. Tumanina

Russian opera is a most valuable contribution to the treasury of world musical theater. Originating in the era of the classical heyday of Italian, French and German opera, Russian opera in the 19th century. not only caught up with other national opera schools, but also ahead of them. The multilateral nature of the development of the Russian opera theater in the 19th century. contributed to the enrichment of world realistic art. The works of Russian composers opened up a new area of ​​operatic creativity, introduced new content into it, new principles for constructing musical dramaturgy, bringing operatic art closer to other types of musical creativity, primarily to the symphony.

The history of Russian classical opera is inextricably linked with the development of social life in Russia, with the development of advanced Russian thought. Opera was distinguished by these connections already in the 18th century, having emerged as a national phenomenon in the 70s, the era of the development of Russian enlightenment. The formation of the Russian opera school was influenced by educational ideas, expressed in the desire to truthfully depict people's life.

Thus, from its very first steps Russian opera has emerged as a democratic art. The plots of the first Russian operas often put forward anti-serfdom ideas that were characteristic of Russian dramatic theater and Russian literature at the end of the 18th century. However, these trends had not yet formed into a coherent system; they were expressed empirically in scenes from the life of peasants, in showing their oppression by landowners, in a satirical depiction of the nobility. These are the plots of the first Russian operas: “Misfortune from the Coach” by V. A. Pashkevich (c. 1742-1797), libretto by Ya. B. Knyazhnin (post, in 1779); “Coachmen on a stand” by E. I. Fomin (1761-1800). In the opera “The Miller - a sorcerer, a deceiver and a matchmaker” with text by A. O. Ablesimov and music by M. M. Sokolovsky (in the second edition - E. I. Fomin), the idea of ​​​​the nobility of the work of the tiller is expressed and the noble swagger is ridiculed. In the opera “St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor” by M. A. Matinsky - V. A. Pashkevich, a usurer and a bribe-taking official are depicted in a satirical form.

The first Russian operas were plays with musical episodes during the action. Conversation scenes were very important in them. The music of the first operas was closely connected with Russian folk songs: composers widely used the melodies of existing folk songs, processed them, making them the basis of the opera. In “The Miller,” for example, all the characteristics of the characters are given with the help of folk songs of various types. In the opera "St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor" the folk wedding ceremony is reproduced with great accuracy. In “Coachmen on a Stand,” Fomin created the first example of folk choral opera, thereby laying the foundation for one of the typical Traditions of later Russian opera.

Russian opera developed in the struggle for its national identity. The policy of the royal court and the top of the noble society, who patronized foreign troupes, was directed against the democracy of Russian art. The figures of Russian opera had to learn operatic skills from examples of Western European opera and at the same time defend the independence of their national direction. This struggle became the condition for the existence of Russian opera for many years, taking on new forms at new stages.

Along with opera-comedy in the 18th century. Other opera genres also appeared. In 1790, a performance was held at court under the title “Oleg’s Initial Management,” the text for which was written by Empress Catherine II, and the music was composed jointly by composers C. Canobbio, G. Sarti and V. A. Pashkevich. The performance was not so much operatic as oratorio in nature, and to some extent it can be considered the first example of the musical-historical genre, so widespread in the 19th century. In the work of the outstanding Russian composer D. S. Bortnyansky (1751-1825), the opera genre is represented by the lyrical operas “The Falcon” and “The Rival Son,” the music of which, in terms of the development of operatic forms and skill, can be put on a par with modern examples of Western European opera.

The opera house was used in the 18th century. very popular. Gradually, opera from the capital penetrated into estate theaters. Fortress theater at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. gives individual highly artistic examples of the performance of operas and individual roles. Talented Russian singers and actors are nominated, such as the singer E. Sandunova, who performed on the capital’s stage, or the serf actress of the Sheremetev Theater P. Zhemchugova.

Artistic achievements of Russian opera of the 18th century. gave impetus to the rapid development of musical theater in Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century.

The connections of Russian musical theater with the ideas that determine the spiritual life of the era are especially strengthened in the years Patriotic War 1812 and during the years of the Decembrist movement. The theme of patriotism, reflected in historical and modern plots, becomes the basis of many dramatic and musical performances. Ideas of humanism, protest against social inequality inspire and fertilize theatrical art.

At the beginning of the 19th century. we can't talk about opera yet full meaning this word. Mixed genres play a major role in Russian musical theater: tragedy with music, vaudeville, comic opera, opera-ballet. Before Glinka, Russian opera did not know works whose dramaturgy was based only on music without any spoken episodes.

An outstanding composer of “tragedy on music” was O. A. Kozlovsky (1757-1831), who created music for the tragedies of Ozerov, Katenin, and Shakhovsky. Composers A. A. Alyabyev (1787-1851) and A. N. Verstovsky (1799-1862) successfully worked in the vaudeville genre, composing music for a number of vaudevilles with humorous and satirical content.

Opera of the early 19th century. developed the traditions of the previous period. A typical phenomenon was everyday performances accompanied by folk songs. Examples of this kind are the performances: “Yam”, “Gatherings”, “Bachelorette Party”, etc., the music for which was written by amateur composer A. N. Titov (1769-1827). But this was not the end of the rich theatrical life era. The attraction to the romantic trends typical of that time was expressed in society’s fascination with fairy-tale and fantasy performances. The Dnieper Mermaid (Lesta), which had several parts, enjoyed particular success. The music for these operas, which formed like chapters of a novel, was written by composers S. I. Davydov and K. A. Kavos; The music of the Austrian composer Kauer was partly used. “The Dnieper Mermaid” did not leave the stage for a long time, not only because of the entertaining plot, which in its main features anticipated the plot of Pushkin’s “Mermaid,” not only because of the luxurious production, but also because of the melodic, simple and accessible music.

The Italian composer K. A. Cavos (1775-1840), who worked in Russia from a young age and put a lot of effort into the development of Russian opera performance, made the first attempt to create a historical-heroic opera. In 1815, he staged the opera “Ivan Susanin” in St. Petersburg, in which, based on one of the episodes of the struggle of the Russian people against the Polish invasion of early XVII c., tried to create a national-patriotic performance. This opera responded to the sentiments of society that experienced the war of liberation against Napoleon. Kavos's opera stands out among modern works due to the skill of a professional musician, its reliance on Russian folklore, and the liveliness of the action. Yet it does not rise above the level of numerous “salvation operas” French composers, walking on the same stage; Kavos was unable to create in it the tragic folk epic that Glinka created twenty years later, using the same plot.

The largest composer of the first third of the 19th century. A. N. Verstovsky, mentioned as the author of music for vaudevilles, should be recognized. His operas “Pan Tvardovsky” (posted in 1828), “Askold’s Grave” (posted in 1835), “Vadim” (posted in 1832) and others constituted a new stage in the development of Russian opera before Glinka. Verstovsky's work reflected character traits Russian romanticism. Russian antiquity, poetic traditions of Kievan Rus, fairy tales and legends form the basis of his operas. The magical element plays a significant role in them. Verstovsky’s music, deeply rooted in folk art, has absorbed folk origins in the broadest sense. His heroes are typical of folk art. Being a master operatic dramaturgy, Verstovsky created romantically colorful scenes of fantastic content. An example of his style is the opera “Askold’s Grave,” which has remained in the repertoire to this day. It showed the best features of Verstovsky - a gift for melody, excellent dramatic flair, the ability to create lively and characteristic images of characters.

Verstovsky's works belong to the pre-classical period of Russian opera, although their historical significance is very great: they generalize and develop all the best qualities of the previous and contemporary period of development of Russian opera music.

Since the 30s. XIX century Russian opera is entering its classical period. The founder of Russian opera classics M.I. Glinka (1804-1857) created the historical and tragic opera “Ivan Susanin” (1830) and the fairy-tale-epic opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” (1842). These operas marked the beginning of two most important trends in Russian musical theater: historical opera and magical-epic opera. Glinka's creative principles were implemented and developed by the subsequent generation of Russian composers.

Glinka developed as an artist in an era overshadowed by the ideas of Decembrism, which allowed him to raise the ideological and artistic content of his operas to a new, significant height. He was the first Russian composer in whose work the image of the people, generalized and deep, became the center of the entire work. The theme of patriotism in his work is inextricably linked with the theme of the people’s struggle for independence.

The previous period of Russian opera prepared the appearance of Glinka's operas, but their qualitative difference from earlier Russian operas is very significant. In Glinka's operas, the realism of artistic thought is not manifested in its individual aspects, but appears as a holistic creative method, which allows us to give a musical and dramatic generalization of the idea, theme and plot of the opera. Glinka understood the problem of nationality in a new way: for him it meant not only the musical development of folk songs, but also a deep, multifaceted reflection in music of the life, feelings and thoughts of the people, the revelation of the characteristic features of their spiritual appearance. The composer did not limit himself to reflecting folk life, but embodied in music the typical features of the folk worldview. Glinka's operas are integral musical and dramatic works; there are no spoken dialogues in them; the content is expressed through music. Instead of individual, undeveloped solo and choral numbers of a comic opera, Glinka creates large, detailed operatic forms, developing them with truly symphonic mastery.

In “Ivan Susanin” Glinka glorified the heroic past of Russia. Typical images of the Russian people are embodied in the opera with great artistic truth. The development of musical dramaturgy is based on the opposition of various national musical spheres.

“Ruslan and Lyudmila” is an opera that laid the foundation for folk-epic Russian operas. The significance of “Ruslan” for Russian music is very great. Opera influenced not only theatrical genres, but also symphonic genres. The majestic heroic and mysteriously magical, as well as colorful oriental images of “Ruslan” fueled Russian music for a long time.

After Glinka, A. S. Dargomyzhsky (1813-1869), a typical artist of the era of the 40-50s, spoke. XIX century Glinka rendered big influence on Dargomyzhsky, but at the same time, new qualities appeared in the latter’s work, born of new social conditions, new themes that came to Russian art. Warmest sympathy to humiliated man, awareness of the harmfulness of social inequality, a critical attitude towards the social order are reflected in Dargomyzhsky’s work, associated with the ideas of critical realism in literature.

Dargomyzhsky’s path as an opera composer began with the creation of the opera “Esmeralda”, based on V. Hugo (posted in 1847), and the composer’s central operatic work should be considered “The Mermaid” (based on the drama by A. S. Pushkin), staged in 1856 In this opera, Dargomyzhsky's talent was fully revealed and the direction of his work was determined. The drama of social inequality between the miller's daughter Natasha and the Prince, who love each other, attracted the composer due to the relevance of the theme. Dargomyzhsky enhanced the dramatic side of the plot by diminishing the fantastic element. “Rusalka” is the first Russian everyday lyrical and psychological opera. Her music is deeply folk; On a song basis, the composer created living images of heroes, developed a declamatory style in the parts of the main characters, and developed ensemble scenes, significantly dramatizing them.

Dargomyzhsky’s last opera, “The Stone Guest,” according to Pushkin (posted in 1872, after the composer’s death), belongs to another period in the development of Russian opera. Dargomyzhsky set in it the task of creating a realistic musical language, reflecting speech intonations. The composer here abandoned traditional operatic forms - aria, ensemble, chorus; the vocal parts of the opera prevail over the orchestral part, “The Stone Guest” marked the beginning of one of the directions of the subsequent period of Russian opera, the so-called chamber recitative opera, later represented by “Mozart and Salieri” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “The Miserly Knight” by Rachmaninov and others. The peculiarity of these operas is that they are all written on the unaltered full text of Pushkin’s “little tragedies”.

In the 60s Russian opera has entered a new stage of its development. Works by composers from the Balakirev circle appear on the Russian stage (“ Mighty bunch") and Tchaikovsky. During these same years, the creativity of A. N. Serov and A. G. Rubinstein developed.

The operatic work of A. N. Serov (1820-1871), who became famous as a music critic, cannot be counted among the very significant phenomena of Russian theater. However, at one time his operas played a positive role. In the opera “Judith” (post, 1863), Serov created a work of a heroic-patriotic nature based on a biblical plot; in the opera “Rogneda” (op. and post. in 1865), he turned to the era of Kievan Rus, wanting to continue the line of “Ruslan”. However, the opera was not deep enough. Of great interest is Serov’s third opera, “The Power of the Enemy,” based on A. N. Ostrovsky’s drama “Don’t Live the Way You Want” (posted in 1871). The composer decided to create a song opera, the music of which should be based on primary sources. However, the opera does not have a single dramatic concept, and its music does not rise to the heights of realistic generalization.

A. G. Rubinstein (1829-1894) began as an opera composer by composing the historical opera “Battle of Kulikovo” (1850). In the 60s. he created the lyrical opera "Feramors" and romantic opera"Children of the steppes". Rubinstein's best opera, "The Demon" after Lermontov (1871), remains in the repertoire. This opera is an example of Russian lyric opera, in which the most talented pages are devoted to expressing the feelings of the characters. The genre scenes of “The Demon”, in which the composer used the folk music of Transcaucasia, add local flavor. The opera “The Demon” was a success among contemporaries, who saw in the main character the image of a man of the 40s and 50s.

The operatic work of the composers “The Mighty Handful” and Tchaikovsky was closely connected with the new aesthetics of the era of the 60s. New social conditions put forward new tasks for Russian artists. The main problem era became the problem of reflecting folk life in works of art in all its complexity and inconsistency. Impact of ideas revolutionary democrats(most of all Chernyshevsky) was reflected in the field of musical creativity by a gravitation towards universally meaningful themes and plots, the humanistic orientation of the works, and the glorification of the high spiritual powers of the people. The historical theme takes on special significance at this time.

Interest in the history of one's people in those years was typical not only for composers. Historical science itself is developing widely; writers, poets and playwrights turn to historical themes; Historical painting is developing. The eras of revolutions, peasant uprisings, and mass movements arouse the greatest interest. An important place is occupied by the problem of the relationship between the people and the royal power. The historical operas of M. P. Mussorgsky and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov are dedicated to this topic.

The operas of M. P. Mussorgsky (1839-1881) “Boris Godunov” (1872) and “Khovanshchina” (finished by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1882) belong to the historical-tragedy branch of Russian classical opera. The composer called them “folk musical dramas”, since the people are at the center of both works. The main idea of ​​“Boris Godunov” (based on Pushkin’s tragedy of the same name) is the conflict: the king - the people. This idea was one of the most important and acute in the post-reform era. Mussorgsky wanted to find an analogy with modernity in the events of Rus''s past. The contradiction between popular interests and autocratic power is shown in scenes of a popular movement turning into an open uprising. At the same time, the composer pays great attention to the “tragedy of conscience” experienced by Tsar Boris. The multifaceted image of Boris Godunov is one of the highest achievements of world operatic creativity.

Mussorgsky's second musical drama, Khovanshchina, is dedicated to the Streltsy uprisings at the end of the 17th century. The element of the popular movement in all its violent force is wonderfully expressed by the music of the opera, based on a creative rethinking of folk song art. The music of “Khovanshchina,” like the music of “Boris Godunov,” is characterized by high tragedy. The basis of the melodic theme of both operas is the synthesis of song and declamation principles. Mussorgsky's innovation, born of a new concept, and a deeply original solution to the problems of musical drama, force us to rank both of his operas among the highest achievements of musical theater.

The opera “Prince Igor” by A. P. Borodin (1833-1887) also belongs to the group of historical musical works (its plot was “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”). The idea of ​​love for the motherland, the idea of ​​unification in the face of the enemy is revealed by the composer with great drama (scenes in Putivl). The composer combined monumentality in his opera epic genre with a lyrical beginning. Glinka’s behests were implemented in the poetic embodiment of the Polovtsian camp; in turn, Borodin’s musical paintings of the East inspired many Russian and Soviet composers to create oriental images. Borodin's remarkable melodic gift manifested itself in the widely chanting style of the opera. Borodin did not have time to finish the opera; “Prince Igor” was completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov and, in their edition, staged on stage in 1890.

The genre of historical musical drama was also developed by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908). The Pskov freemen rebelling against Ivan the Terrible (opera “Pskov Woman”, 1872) is depicted by the composer with epic grandeur. The image of the king is full of genuine drama. The lyrical element of the opera, associated with the heroine Olga, enriches the music, introducing traits of sublime tenderness and softness into the majestic tragic concept.

P. I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), most famous for his lyrical and psychological operas, was the author of three historical operas. The operas “The Oprichnik” (1872) and “Mazeppa” (1883) are dedicated to dramatic events from Russian history. In the opera “The Maid of Orleans” (1879), the composer turned to the history of France and created the image of the national French heroine Joan of Arc.

The peculiarity of Tchaikovsky's historical operas is their kinship with his lyric operas. The composer reveals in them the characteristic features of the depicted era through the fate of individual people. The images of his heroes are distinguished by their depth and truthfulness in conveying the complex inner world of a person.

In addition to folk historical musical dramas in Russian opera of the 19th century. Folk-fairy-tale operas, widely represented in the works of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, occupy an important place. Rimsky-Korsakov's best fairy-tale operas are The Snow Maiden (1881), Sadko (1896), Kashchei the Immortal (1902) and The Golden Cockerel (1907). A special place is occupied by the opera “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia” (1904), written based on materials from folk legends about the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

Rimsky-Korsakov's operas amaze with the variety of interpretations of the folk fairy tale genre. Either this is a poetic interpretation of ancient folk ideas about nature, expressed in the wonderful fairy tale about the Snow Maiden, or a powerful picture of ancient Novgorod, or an image of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. in the allegorical image of the cold Kashcheev kingdom, then a real satire on the rotten autocratic system in fairy-tale popular images (“The Golden Cockerel”). In different cases, the methods of musical depiction of the characters and the techniques of Rimsky-Korsakov’s musical dramaturgy are different. However, in all his operas one can feel the composer’s deep creative penetration into the world of folk ideas, folk beliefs, and the worldview of the people. The basis of the music of his operas is the language of folk songs. Reliance on folk art, characterization of characters through the use of various folk genres is a typical feature of Rimsky-Korsakov.

The pinnacle of Rimsky-Korsakov's creativity is the majestic epic about the patriotism of the people of Rus' in the opera “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia,” where the composer reached a tremendous height of musical and symphonic generalization of the theme.

Among other varieties of Russian classical opera, one of the main places belongs to the lyrical-psychological opera, which began with Dargomyzhsky’s “Rusalka”. Greatest Representative This genre in Russian music is Tchaikovsky, the author of brilliant works that are included in the world operatic repertoire: “Eugene Onegin” (1877-1878), “The Enchantress” (1887), “The Queen of Spades” (1890), “Iolanta” (1891). Tchaikovsky's innovation is associated with the direction of his work, dedicated to the ideas of humanism, protest against the humiliation of man, and faith in a better future for humanity. Inner world people, their relationships, their feelings are revealed in Tchaikovsky's operas by combining theatrical effectiveness with the consistent symphonic development of music. Tchaikovsky's operatic work is one of the greatest phenomena of the world musical and theatrical art of the 19th century V.

Comedy opera is represented by a smaller number of works in the operatic works of Russian composers. However, even these few samples are distinguished by their national originality. There is no entertaining lightness or comedy in them. Most of them were based on Gogol’s stories from “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”. Each of the opera-comedies reflected the individual characteristics of the authors. In Tchaikovsky's opera "Cherevichki" (1885; in the first edition - "Blacksmith Vakula", 1874) the lyrical element predominates; in “May Night” by Rimsky-Korsakov (1878) - fantastic and ritual; in “Sorochinskaya Fair” by Mussorgsky (70s, unfinished) - purely comedic. These operas are examples of skill in realistically reflecting the life of the people in the genre of comedy of characters.

Russian opera classics are complemented by a number of so-called parallel phenomena in Russian musical theater. We mean the work of composers who did not create works of lasting significance, although they made their feasible contribution to the development of Russian opera. Here we must name the operas of C. A. Cui (1835-1918), a member of the Balakirev circle, a prominent music critic of the 60-70s. Cui's operas "William Ratcliffe" and "Angelo", which do not leave the conventionally romantic style, are devoid of drama and, at times, bright music. Cui's later supports are of lesser importance (" Captain's daughter", "Mademoiselle Fifi", etc.). Accompanying classical opera was the work of the outstanding conductor and musical director of the opera in St. Petersburg, E. F. Napravnik (1839-1916). The most famous is his opera Dubrovsky, composed in the tradition of Tchaikovsky’s lyrical operas.

Of the composers who performed at the end of the 19th century. on the opera stage, we must name A. S. Arensky (1861-1906), author of the operas “Dream on the Volga”, “Raphael” and “Nal and Damayanti”, as well as M. M. Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859-1935), whose opera “Asya”, according to I. S. Turgenev, was written in the lyrical style of Tchaikovsky. Standing apart in the history of Russian opera is “Oresteia” by S. I. Taneyev (1856-1915), according to Aeschylus, which can be described as a theatrical oratorio.

At the same time, S. V. Rachmaninov (1873-1943) acted as an opera composer, who, towards the end of the conservatory (1892), composed a one-act oneru “Aleko”, in the tradition of Tchaikovsky. Rachmaninov's later operas - Francesca da Rimini (1904) and The Miserly Knight (1904) - were written in the style of cantata operas; in them the stage action is maximally compressed and the musical-symphonic element is very developed. The music of these operas, talented and bright, bears the stamp of originality. creative style author.

Of the less significant phenomena opera art beginning of the 20th century let's name the opera by A. T. Grechaninov (1864-1956) “Dobrynya Nikitich”, in which the characteristic features of a fairy-tale-epic classical opera gave way to romance lyrics, as well as the opera by A. D. Kastalsky (1856-1926) “Klara Milich”, in which combines elements of naturalism with sincere, impressive lyricism.

The 19th century is the era of Russian opera classics. Russian composers created masterpieces in various genres of opera: drama, epic, heroic tragedy, comedy. They created innovative musical dramaturgy, born in close connection with the innovative content of operas. The important, determining role of mass folk scenes, the multifaceted characterization of the characters, a new interpretation of traditional opera forms and the creation of new principles of musical unity of the entire work are characteristic features of Russian opera classics.

Russian classical opera, which developed under the influence of philosophical and aesthetic progressive thought, under the influence of events in social life, became one of the remarkable aspects of Russian national culture XIX century The entire path of development of Russian operatic creativity in the last century ran parallel to the great liberation movement of the Russian people; composers were inspired by the lofty ideas of humanism and democratic enlightenment, and their works are for us great examples of truly realistic art.

The content of the article

RUSSIAN OPERA. The Russian opera school - along with the Italian, German, French - is of global importance; This primarily 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, often also staged Queen of Spades P.I. Tchaikovsky (less often his other operas, mainly Eugene Onegin); enjoys great fame 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 in no way exhausts the wealth of the national opera school.

The appearance of opera in Russia (18th century).

Opera was one of the first Western European genres to gain a foothold on Russian soil. Already in the 1730s, an Italian court opera was created, for which foreign musicians wrote, working in Russia; in the second half of the century, public opera performances appeared; operas are also staged in serf theatres. The first Russian opera is considered Miller - sorcerer, deceiver and matchmaker Mikhail Matveevich Sokolovsky to the text of A.O. Ablesimov (1779) - an everyday comedy with musical numbers of a song nature, which laid the foundation for a number of popular works of this genre - early comic opera. Among them, the operas of Vasily Alekseevich Pashkevich (c. 1742–1797) stand out ( Stingy, 1782; St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor, 1792; Misfortune from the carriage, 1779) and Evstigney Ipatovich Fomin (1761–1800) ( Coachmen on a stand, 1787; Americans, 1788). In the genre of opera seria, two works were written by the greatest composer of this period, Dmitry Stepanovich Bortnyansky (1751–1825), based on French librettos - Falcon(1786) and The Rival Son, or Modern Stratonics(1787); There are interesting experiments in the genres of melodrama and music for dramatic performances.

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 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) pondered this or that for many years. opera projects. The reasons for this are clear: firstly, 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 attraction to genres that included, along with music, the word, stage movement, and 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. 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 the century was the heyday of Russian ballet; in the 1800s, there were four theater troupes in St. Petersburg - Russian, French, German and Italian, of which the first three staged both drama and opera, the last - only opera; Several troupes also worked in Moscow. The Italian enterprise turned out to be the most stable - even in the early 1870s, the young Tchaikovsky, performing in the critical field, was forced to fight for a decent position for the Moscow Russian opera in comparison with the Italian one; Raek Mussorgsky, in one of the episodes of which the passion of the St. Petersburg public and critics for famous Italian singers is ridiculed, was also written at the turn of the 1870s.

Boieldieu and Kavos.

Among the foreign composers invited to St. Petersburg in this period, the names of the famous French author Adrien Boieldieu ( cm. BOUALDIEU, 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 Russian opera (and in this capacity contributed to the production Lives for the king Glinka, although back in 1815 he composed his own opera on the same plot, which had significant success), was an inspector and director of all orchestras of the imperial theaters, wrote a lot on Russian plots - like fairy tales ( The Invisible Prince And Ilya the hero to the libretto by I.A. Krylov, Svetlana on libretto by V.A. Zhukovsky and others), and patriotic ( Ivan Susanin to the libretto by A.A. Shakhovsky, Cossack poet based on a libretto by the same author). The most popular opera of the first quarter of the century also belonged to the “magical-fairy-tale” 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 - translated Dnieper mermaid; in 1804, the second part of the same singspiel appeared in St. Petersburg with inserted Kavos numbers; then Russian continuations were composed - by Davydov alone. The mixture of fantastic, real-national and buffoonish plans lingered for a long time in Russian musical theater (in Western European music, analogies can be the early romantic operas of K. M. Weber - Free shooter And Oberon, belonging to the same type of fairy tale Singspiel).

As the second leading line of operatic creativity in the first decades of the 19th century. What stands out is the everyday comedy from “folk” life - also a genre known from the last century. This includes, for example, one-act operas Yam, or Postal Station(1805), Gatherings, or the consequence of Yama (1808), Bachelorette party, or Filatka’s wedding(1809) by Alexei Nikolaevich Titov (1769–1827) to the libretto by A.Ya. Knyazhnin, the plot forming a trilogy. Opera remained in the repertoire for a long time Vintage Christmastide Czech Franz Blima based on a text by historian A.F. Malinovsky based on a folk ritual; The “song” operas of Daniil Nikitich Kashin (1770–1841) were successful Natalya, boyar's daughter(1803) based on the story by N.M. Karamzin, revised by S.N. Glinka and Olga the Beautiful(1809) with a libretto by the same author. This line especially flourished during the war of 1812. Musical and patriotic performances composed in a quick fix and combining a very simple, “topical” plot basis with dancing, singing and conversations (characteristic names: Militia, or Love for the Fatherland, Cossack in London, Holiday in the camp of the allied armies at Montmartre, Cossack and Prussian volunteer in Germany, Return of the militia), laid the foundation for divertissement as a special musical and theatrical genre.

Verstovsky.

The largest Russian opera composer before Glinka was A.N. Verstovsky (1799–1862) ( cm. VERSTOVSKY, ALEXEY NIKOLAEVICH) . Chronologically, Verstovsky’s era coincides with Glinka’s era: although the Moscow composer’s first opera was Pan Tvardovsky(1828) appeared earlier Lives for the king, the most popular work – Askold's grave- in the same year as Glinka’s opera, and Verstovsky’s last opera, Thunderbolt(1857), after Glinka’s death. The great (although mostly purely Moscow) success of Verstovsky’s operas and the “survivability” of the most successful of them - Askold's grave– is explained by the attractiveness for contemporaries of plots based on the motifs of “ancient Russian-Slavic legends” (of course, interpreted very conditionally), and music, the intonation structure of which variegatedly combines national Russian, West Slavic and Moldavian-Gypsy everyday intonations. It is obvious that Verstovsky did not master the grand 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 things), orchestral fragments are usually not interesting and not picturesque, nevertheless operas this composer, in the words of a contemporary, “sounded something familiar,” “deliciously familiar.” The “noble feeling of love for the fatherland” awakened by these “legendary” operas can be compared with the public’s impressions of the novels of Zagoskin, the composer’s constant librettist.

Glinka.

Although the music of the pre-Glinka 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 ​​writing a “grand Russian opera,” meaning by this a work of a high, tragic genre. Initially (in 1834), the theme of Ivan Susanin’s feat, indicated to the composer V.A. Zhukovsky, took the form of a stage oratorio of three scenes: the village of Susanin, the clash with the Poles, and triumph. However then Life for the Tsar(1836) became a real opera with a powerful choral beginning, which corresponded to the tradition of national culture and largely predetermined the future 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, and 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”, lyrical arias “in Italian”, and dramatic moments “in French” or “in German”. However, many Russian musicians of subsequent 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 ancient Russian spirit in music; the “authentic” East in its various guises – “languid” and “belligerent”; fantasy (Naina, Chernomora Castle) is completely original and in no way inferior to the fantasy of Glinka’s most advanced contemporaries - Berlioz and Wagner.

Dargomyzhsky.

Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky (1813–1869) began the path 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 even before the production Esmeralda(1841), and it was Pushkin's Mermaid, which, however, appeared on stage only in 1856. The composer's play by Pushkin was attributed more to modern times than to antiquity, and the language Mermaids also turned out to be close to modern musical life. In contrast to 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, and in the melodic coloring Russian elements themselves are combined with Slavic ones - Little Russian and Polish. Dargomyzhsky's last opera, Stone Guest(according to Pushkin, 1869, staged in 1872), a completely innovative, even experimental work in the genre of “conversational opera” (opera dialogue). The composer did here without developed vocal forms such as arias (the only exceptions are two songs by Laura), without a symphonized orchestra, and the result was an unusually exquisite work, in which the shortest melodic phrase or even one consonance can acquire greater and independent expressiveness.

Serov.

Later than Dargomyzhsky, but earlier than the Kuchkists and Tchaikovsky, he declared himself in opera genre Alexander Nikolaevich Serov (1820–1871). 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 had not created anything noteworthy). The play by P. Giacometti (written especially for the famous tragic actress Adelaide Ristori, who in this role created a sensation in St. Petersburg and Moscow) based on the biblical story of a heroine saving her people from slavery, was fully consistent with the excited 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 strong oratorio beginning (expanded choral scenes, most in keeping with the spirit of the biblical legend and having support in the classical oratorio style of the Handelian type) and at the same time theatrical and decorative (divertissements with dances). Mussorgsky named Judith the first “seriously interpreted” opera on the Russian stage after Glinka. Encouraged by the warm welcome, Serov immediately set to work on a new opera, now on a Russian historical plot - Rogned. According to the chronicle, the “historical libretto” caused a lot of reproaches for implausibility, distortion of facts, “clichédness,” falsity of supposedly common language, etc.; the music, despite the mass of “commonplaces”, contained effective fragments (among which the first place is, of course, taken by Rogneda’s Varangian ballad - it is still found in the concert repertoire). After Rogneda(1865) Serov made a very sharp turn, turning to drama from modern life - the play by A.N. Ostrovsky Don't live the way you want and thereby becoming the first composer who decided to write “opera from the present” - Enemy power (1871).

"A mighty bunch."

The appearance of the latest operas by Dargomyzhsky and Serov is only slightly ahead of the production of the first operas by the composers of the “Mighty Handful”. Kuchka opera has some “generic” features that appear in such different artists, like Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin: preference for Russian themes, especially historical and fairy-tale-mythological; 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; the very significant role of choral (most often “folk”) scenes; “through” rather than “numbered” type of musical dramaturgy.

Mussorgsky.

Operas, like other genres associated with vocal intonation, form the main part of the legacy of Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (1839–1881): as a young man, he began his journey in music with an opera plan (unrealized opera Gun Icelander according to V. Hugo) and passed away, leaving two operas unfinished - Khovanshchina And Sorochinskaya fair(the first was completely finished in 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 Salammbo(according to G. Flaubert, 1866; remained unfinished; in a later autobiographical document, the work is designated not as an “opera”, but as “scenes” and it is in this capacity that it is performed today). A completely original image of the East has been created here - not so much an exotic “Carthaginian”, but rather a Russian-biblical one, which has parallels in painting (“biblical sketches” by Alexander Ivanov) and in poetry (for example, Alexey 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, “a study for a chamber sample” continues the line Stone Guest Dargomyzhsky, but sharpens it as much as possible by choosing prose instead of poetry, a completely “real” plot, and also “modern”, thus enlarging to the scale of the operatic genre those experiments in “romance-scene” that Dargomyzhsky undertook ( Titular Councilor, Worm etc.) and Mussorgsky himself.

Boris Godunov

(1st edition – 1868–1869; 2nd edition – 1872, staged in 1874) has the subtitle “after Pushkin and Karamzin”, it is based on Pushkin’s tragedy, but with significant insertions by the composer. Already in the first, more intimate version of the opera, focused on the drama of personality as a drama of “crime and punishment” ( Boris Godunov– contemporary Crimes and Punishments F.M. Dostoevsky), Mussorgsky departed very far from any operatic canons - both in the sense of intense dramaturgy and 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 Kromi”), completely unusual in the opera, Mussorgsky may have already had in mind the further development of the precedent of the Time of Troubles - the Razin uprising, the Streltsy riots, the schism, the Pugachevism , i.e. possible and only partially realized plots of their future operas - a musical and historical chronicle of Russia. Of this program, only the drama of the split was carried out - Khovanshchina, which Mussorgsky began immediately after completing the second edition Boris Godunov, even simultaneously with its completion; At the same time, the plans for “a musical drama with the participation of Volga Cossacks” appeared in the documents, and later Mussorgsky marked the recordings of folk songs he made “For the last opera Pugachevshchina».

Boris Godunov, especially in the first edition, represents a type of opera with an end-to-end development of musical action, where completed fragments appear only when conditioned by the stage situation (praise choir, the princess’s lament, polonaise at a ball in the palace, etc.). IN Khovanshchina Mussorgsky set the task of creating, in his words, a “meaningful/justified” melody, and its basis was the song, i.e. not instrumental in nature (as in a classical aria), but a strophic, freely varying structure - in a “pure” form or in combination with a recitative element. This circumstance largely determined the form of the opera, which, while maintaining the unity and fluidity of the action, included much more “completed”, “rounded” numbers - and choral ones ( Khovanshchina to a much greater extent than Boris Godunov, choral opera - “folk musical drama”), and solo.

Unlike Boris Godunov, which ran on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater for several years and was published during the author’s lifetime, Khovanshchina was first performed in Rimsky-Korsakov’s version a decade and a half after the author’s death; in the late 1890s it was staged at the Moscow Private Russian Opera by S.I. Mamontov with the young Chaliapin in the role of Dosifey; 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 enterprise (three years earlier, Diaghilev’s Paris production had a sensational success Boris Godunov). In the 20th century Attempts have been made repeatedly to resurrect and complete Marriages And Sorochinskaya Fair in different editions; for the second of them, the reconstruction of V.Ya. Shebalin became the reference.

Rimsky-Korsakov.

The legacy of Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) includes many major musical genres, but his greatest achievements, like Mussorgsky’s, are associated with opera. It goes through the entire life of the composer: from 1868, the beginning of the composition of the first opera ( Pskov woman), until 1907, the completion of the last, fifteenth opera ( The Golden Cockerel). Rimsky-Korsakov worked especially intensely in this genre from the mid-1890s: over the next decade and a half, he created 11 operas. Until the mid-1890s, all premieres of Rimsky-Korsakov's operas took place at the Mariinsky Theatre; later, from the mid-1890s, the composer’s collaboration with the Moscow private Russian opera of S.I. Mamontov, where most of Korsakov’s later operas were staged, starting with Sadko. This collaboration played a special role in the formation of a new type of design and directorial decision for a musical performance (as well as in the creative development of such artists of the Mammoth circle as K.A. Korovin, V.M. Vasnetsov, M.A. Vrubel).

The editorial activity of Rimsky-Korsakov is absolutely unique: thanks to him, the first productions were staged Khovanshchina And Prince Igor, left unfinished after the death of Mussorgsky and Borodin (the edition of Borodin's opera was made together with A.K. Glazunov); he instrumentalized Stone Guest Dargomyzhsky (and twice: for the premiere in 1870 and again in 1897–1902) and published Marriage Mussorgsky; in its edition gained worldwide fame Boris Godunov Mussorgsky (and although preference is now increasingly given to the author's version, Korsakov's version continues to play in many theaters); finally, Rimsky-Korsakov (together with Balakirev, Lyadov and Glazunov) twice prepared Glinka’s opera scores for publication. Thus, regarding the operatic genre (as well as in a number of other aspects), the work of Rimsky-Korsakov constitutes a kind of core of Russian classical music, connecting the era of Glinka and Dargomyzhsky with the 20th century.

Among Rimsky-Korsakov’s 15 operas there are no genre-specific operas; even his opera-fairy tales are in many ways different from each other: Snow Maiden(1882) – " spring fairy tale», The Tale of Tsar Saltan(1900) – “just a fairy tale”, Koschei the Immortal(1902) – “autumn tale”, The Golden Cockerel(1907) – “a fable in the faces.” This list can be continued: Pskov woman(1873) – opera chronicle, Mlada(1892) – opera-ballet, Christmas Eve(1895) – according to the author’s definition, “true carol”, Sadko(1897) – epic opera, Mozart and Salieri(1898) – chamber “dramatic scenes”, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia(1904) – opera-story (or “liturgical drama”). Lyrical comedy belongs to the more traditional opera types. May night(based on Gogol, 1880), lyrical drama on a Russian historical plot The Tsar's Bride(after L.A. May, 1899; and prologue to this opera Noblewoman Vera Sheloga, 1898) and two lesser-known (and indeed less successful) operas from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. – Pan voivode(1904) on Polish motifs and Servilia(1902) based on the play by May, set in Rome in the first century AD.

In essence, Rimsky-Korsakov reformed the opera genre - on the scale of his own creativity and without proclaiming any theoretical slogans. This reform was associated with reliance on the already established patterns of the Russian school (on Ruslana and Lyudmila Glinka and the aesthetic principles of Kuchkism), on folk art in its most diverse manifestations and on 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 to the main parameters of his own Rimsky-Korsakov came to the opera concept completely independently, before becoming acquainted with the tetralogy and late operas of Wagner). A typical feature of Rimsky-Korsakov's "mythological" operas associated with the Slavic solar cult ( May night, Christmas Eve, Mlada, opera-fairy tales), is “multi-world”: the action takes place 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 a composer of an “objective” disposition. For operas of the middle period, from May night before The Nights Before Christmas, the musical action is characterized by the saturation of ritual and ritual scenes (associated with the holidays of the ancient peasant calendar - in general, the entire pagan year is reflected in Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas); in later works, ritualism, “statutes” (including Christian Orthodox, and often a synthesis of “old” and “new” folk faiths) appear in a more indirect and refined form. Although the composer's operas were regularly performed in the 19th century, they received real appreciation only at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. and later, in Silver Age, to which this master turned out to be most in tune.

Borodin.

Concept Prince Igor Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (1833–1877) belongs to the same era as the plans Boris Godunov, Khovanshchiny And Pskov women, i.e. by the end of the 1860s - the beginning of the 1870s, however, due to various circumstances, the opera was not completely finished by the time of the author’s death in 1886, and its premiere (in the edition of Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov) took place almost simultaneously with Queen of Spades Tchaikovsky (1890). It is characteristic that, unlike his contemporaries, who turned to the dramatic events of the reigns of Ivan the Terrible, Boris Godunov and Peter the Great for historical opera plots, Borodin took as his basis the most ancient epic monument - A Word about Igor's Campaign. Being a major natural scientist, he applied a scientific approach to the opera libretto, starting to interpret difficult parts 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 seek to completely transform it. The result was the appearance of a work that was not only beautiful in general and in detail, but also, on the one hand, harmonious 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 Chorus of the Villagers or Lamentation of Yaroslavna. Choral Prologue to the opera, where the “fairytale” intonation of the ancient Russian scenes of Glinka’s opera is picked up and developed Ruslana, similar to a medieval fresco. Oriental motifs Prince Igor(“Polovtsian partition”) in terms of the strength and authenticity of the “steppe” coloring have no equal in world art ( latest research showed how sensitive Borodin was to oriental folklore even from the point of view of musical ethnography). And this authenticity is most naturally combined with the use of completely traditional forms of a large aria - the characteristics of the hero (Igor, Konchak, Yaroslavna, Vladimir Galitsky, Konchakovna), 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, “Shumanisms”, at least in the same aria of Yaroslavna).

Cui.

In a review of Kuchkist opera, the name of Cesar Antonovich Cui (1835–1918) should also be mentioned as the author of almost two dozen operas on a wide variety of subjects (from Caucasian prisoner based on Pushkin's poem and Angelo by Hugo before Mademoiselle Fifi according to G. de Maupassant), which appeared and were staged on stage for half a century. To date, all of Cui's operas have been firmly forgotten, but an exception should be made for his first mature work in this genre - William Ratcliffe according to G. Heine. Ratcliffe became the first opera of the Balakirev circle to see the stage (1869), and here for the first time the dream of a new generation about opera-drama was realized.

Chaikovsky.

Like Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) throughout his life felt a strong attraction to the opera (and also, unlike the Kuchkists, to the ballet) genre: his first opera, Voivode(according to A.N. Ostrovsky, 1869), refers to the very beginning of independent creative activity; the premiere of the latter 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; Maid of Orleans, 1879; Mazepa, 1883), comic ( Blacksmith Vakula, 1874, and the author’s second version of this opera - Cherevichki, 1885), lyrical ( Eugene Onegin, 1878; Iolanta, 1891), lyrical-tragic ( Enchantress, 1887; Queen of Spades, 1890) and have different appearances in accordance with the theme. However, in Tchaikovsky’s interpretation, all the subjects he chose acquired a personal, psychological coloring. He was relatively little interested in local color, depicting the place and time of action - Tchaikovsky entered the history of Russian art primarily as the creator of 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 “excessive” to him, he was somewhat influenced by the idea of ​​opera dialogue, which was reflected in the preference for musical dramaturgy of a through, 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 Lives for the king). At the same time, Tchaikovsky, to a much greater extent than the St. Petersburgers (with the exception of Borodin), is characterized by a combination of continuity of musical action with clarity and dissection internal forms each scene - he does not abandon traditional arias, duets and other things, he masterfully masters the form of a complex “final” ensemble (which is reflected in Tchaikovsky’s passion for the art of Mozart in general and his operas in particular). Not accepting Wagnerian plots and stopping with bewilderment at the Wagnerian operatic form, which seemed absurd to him, Tchaikovsky, nevertheless, draws closer to 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 late operas are especially remarkable, first of all Queen of Spades).

In the last decade of his life, Tchaikovsky enjoyed fame as the largest Russian opera composer; some of his operas were staged in foreign theaters; Tchaikovsky's late 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 Tchaikovsky’s musical and theatrical heritage: early, Moscow (1868–1877) - Voivode, Oprichnik, Blacksmith Vakula, Eugene Onegin And Swan Lake; middle, until the end of the 1880s - three great tragic operas: Maid of Orleans, Mazepa And Enchantress(and also rework Blacksmith Vakula V Cherevichki, which significantly changed the appearance of this early opera); late - 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 Evgenia Onegina by students of the conservatory in March 1879, and the St. Petersburg premiere of this opera in 1884 became one of the peaks creative path composer and the beginning of the colossal popularity of this work. The second, and even higher, peak was the premiere Queen of Spades in 1890.

Anton Rubinstein.

Among the phenomena that do not fit into the main directions of development of Russian musical theater in the 19th century are the operas of Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein (1829–1894): 13 operas proper and 5 spiritual opera-oratorios. The best of the composer’s musical and theatrical works are related to the “oriental” theme: monumental and decorative, oratorio opera Maccabees(1874, staged in 1875), lyrical Daemon(1871, delivered in 1875) and Shulamith (1883). Daemon(according to Lermontov) is the absolute pinnacle of Rubinstein’s operatic heritage and one of the best Russian and most popular lyrical operas.

Blaramberg and Napravnik.

Among other opera authors of the same era, the Moscow composer Pavel Ivanovich Blaramberg (1841–1907) and the St. Petersburg composer Eduard Frantsevich Napravnik (1839–1916), the famous conductor of Russian opera at the Mariinsky Theater for half a century, stand out. Blaramberg was self-taught and tried to follow the precepts of Balakirev's circle, at least in the choice of plots, mainly Russian (his historical melodrama enjoyed the greatest success Tushintsy from the Time of Troubles, 1895). Unlike Blaramberg, Napravnik was a high-class professional and certainly mastered compositional technique; his first opera Nizhny Novgorod residents on a national-patriotic theme (1868) appeared on stage a little earlier than the first Kuchka historical operas - Boris Godunov And Pskov women and before their premieres enjoyed some success; Napravnik's next operatic work, Harold(1885), created under the distinct influence of Wagner, while the most successful opera of this author and still sometimes found in the theatrical repertoire Dubrovsky(after Pushkin, 1894) is inspired by the work of Tchaikovsky, Napravnik’s favorite Russian composer (he conducted a number of Tchaikovsky’s opera and symphony premieres).

Taneev.

At the end of the 19th century. the only opera (opera-trilogy) by Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev (1856–1915) was born Oresteia(based on the story of Aeschylus, 1895). The libretto of the opera, in general, deviates 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 similar 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 later manifestations of the neoclassical movement (for example, to the opera-oratorio Oedipus the King I.F. Stravinsky).

Turn of the 19th–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 emerged, 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; Stingy Knight according to Pushkin and Francesca da Rimini after Dante, 1904), A.T.Grechaninov (1864–1956) ( Nikitich, 1901; Sister Beatrice after M. Maeterlinck, 1910); Vas. S. Kalinnikov (1866–1900/1901) also tried their hand at the operatic genre (opera prologue In 1812, 1899) and A.D. Kastalsky (1856–1926) ( Clara Milic according to Turgenev, 1907). The work of these authors was often connected with the activities of Moscow private enterprises - first the Moscow Private Russian Opera of S. Mamontov, and then the Opera of S. I. Zimin; new operas mainly belonged to the chamber-lyrical genre (a number of them were one-act). Some of the works listed above are adjacent to the Kuchka tradition (for example, the epic Nikitich Grechaninova, to some extent also Ruth Ippolitov-Ivanov, marked by the originality of oriental coloring, and Kastalsky’s opera, in which musical sketches of everyday life are the most successful), but to an even greater extent the authors of the new generation were influenced by the lyrical operatic style of Tchaikovsky (Arensky, Rebikov, Rachmaninov’s first opera), as well as new trends in the European opera theater of that time.

Stravinsky's first opera Nightingale(based on the fairy tale by H.K. Andersen, 1914) was created by order of the Diaghilev enterprise and is stylistically associated with the aesthetics of the “World of Art”, as well as with a new type of musical drama that appeared in Pellease and Melisande K. Debussy. His second opera Mavra(By 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 Pushkin’s era. The third opera Oedipus the King(1927), in essence, is not so much an opera as a neoclassical stage oratorio (although it uses the principles of composition and vocal style of the Italian opera seria). The composer's last opera A Rake's Adventures, was written much later (1951) and is not related to the phenomenon of Russian opera.

Shostakovich.

Two operas by Dmitry Dmitrievich Shostakovich (1906–1975), written by him in the late 1920s and early 1930s, also had a difficult fate: Nose(after Gogol, 1929) and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk(according to Leskov, 1932, 2nd edition 1962). Nose, a very bright and poignant work, at the end of the 20th century. enjoying great popularity in Russia and the West, it is stylistically associated with expressionist theater and is based on the most pointed principle of parody, reaching the point of destructive and evil satire. First edition Lady Macbeth was in a sense a continuation of the style Nose, And main character this opera evoked associations with characters such as Maria in Wozzeck A. Berg and even Salome in the opera of the same name by R. Strauss. As is known, it is Lady Macbeth, which had significant success at the premiere, became the “object” of a policy article in the Pravda newspaper 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 edition of the opera, the author made significant softenings - both dramatic and musical-stylistic, as a result of which the work acquired a form that was partly close to the classical one for the Russian opera theater, but lost its integrity.

In general, the problem of opera was quite acute throughout Soviet period Russian musical culture. Since this genre was considered one of the most “democratic” and at the same time the most “ideological”, the authorities that governed the art usually encouraged composers to work in this field, but at the same time strictly controlled it. In the 1920s and early 1930s, opera culture in Russia was in a brilliant state: wonderful productions of the classical repertoire appeared in Moscow and Leningrad, and the latest Western works were widely staged; The greatest directors, starting with K.S. Stanislavsky and V.E. Meyerhold and others, were engaged in experiments in the field of musical theater. Subsequently, these gains were largely lost. The time of experimentation in the opera house ended in the early 1930s (usually, along with productions of operas by Prokofiev and Shostakovich, operas based on “revolutionary” plots by L.K. Knipper (1898–1974), V.V. Deshev, which enjoyed some success, are called here (1889–1955), A.F. Pashchenko (1883–1972), etc.; now they have all 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 standard was Quiet Don(according to M. Sholokhov, 1935) I. I. Dzerzhinsky (1909–1978); The popular operas of T.N. Khrennikov (b. 1913) belong to the same variety. Into the storm(1939) and D.B. Kabalevsky (1904–1987) Taras family(1950). True, during 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. Shaporina (1887–1966). Since the 1960s, the opera house has experienced a period of some revival; 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-opera, forgotten in previous decades, are widely developing. In the 1960s–1990s, many authors, including talented ones, turned to opera (among the composers who actively worked in musical theater are R.K. Shchedrin (b. 1932), A.P. Petrova (b. 1930), S. M. Slonimsky (b. 1932); interesting operas created by N.N. Karetnikov (1930–1994) and E.V. Denisov (1929–1996); Among the works of the chamber genre, the operas of Yu.M. Butsko (b. 1938), G.I. Banshchikov (b. 1943) and others stand out. However, the former position of this genre as a leading one in Russian musical culture was not restored, and modern works(both domestic and foreign) appear on the posters of major opera houses only sporadically. Some exceptions are small troupes in different cities, which promptly stage new operas, which, however, rarely remain in the repertoire for a long time.

Few theaters today do without a Russian repertoire: they stage classical operas by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussorgsky and Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitry Shostakovich. The portal "Culture.RF" studied posters from different years in search of domestic works, beloved in the West - from the 19th century to the present day.

19th century

In 1844, at the Royal Theater of Dresden, the director of the St. Petersburg Court Singing Chapel, composer Alexei Lvov, presented the opera “Bianca and Gualtiero”. 10 years later, Anton Rubinstein’s opera “Siberian Hunters” was shown in Weimar, conducted by the famous composer and pianist Franz Liszt. These were the first operas to receive recognition abroad. True, Rubinstein is known today for another opera - “The Demon”, and Lvov - as the author of the hymn “God Save the Tsar!”

TO end of the 19th century centuries, Russian music was performed in almost all major halls in Europe and the USA - Mikhail Glinka, Anton Rubinstein and Pyotr Tchaikovsky became its face in the West. European audiences saw Glinka’s works “A Life for the Tsar” and “Ruslan and Lyudmila” in 1866 and 1867, respectively—the performances took place in Prague. In the 1880-90s, the European premieres of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s operas “The Maid of Orleans”, “Eugene Onegin” and “The Queen of Spades” took place there.

“Glinka, like Bortnyansky, studied with the Basurmans... but only in forms. The inner spirit of his creations, the content of his music is completely original. Glinka truly wrote Russian operas and created a completely new, if not school, then at least a small school of music, to the sphere of which I belong and am a product of Glinka.”

Pyotr Tchaikovsky. From a letter to the publisher Peter Yurgenson

In 1887, Anton Rubinstein's opera Nero was performed in New York. And a year later, despite the tradition of translating the libretto, his “Demon” was performed in the original in London.

1900-1930s

On March 5, 1910, the New York Metropolitan Opera presented Tchaikovsky's "Queen of Spades" for the first time in America. German. The premiere was conducted by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, and the main roles were performed by the stars of the time - Leo Slezak and Emmy Destinn. In 1913, Modest Mussorgsky’s opera “Boris Godunov” was performed at the Metropolitan, and in 1917, “Prince Igor” by Alexander Borodin. In 1920, Eugene Onegin was presented to the New York public - in Italian and with Italian stars Claudia Muzio and Giuseppe De Luca. European audiences also watched Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's The Snow Maiden and Mussorgsky's comic opera Sorochinskaya Fair.

At the same time, Russian music conquered the young Salzburg Festival, which had already gained European fame: in 1928, a delegation from Leningrad came to Mozart’s city. Opera singer Nikolai Chesnokov performed the role of Pancrasio in the modern comic opera by the Austrian composer Bernhard Paumgartner “The Cave of Salamanca”. The libretto in Russian for the opera was written by the Soviet director and tenor Emmanuel Kaplan. He also performed the role of Kashchei in Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “Kashchei the Immortal” and staged “The Stone Guest” by Alexander Dargomyzhsky. Performed the role of Kashcheevna at the Salzburg Festival in 1928 future star Academic Theater opera and ballet (today - Mariinsky) Sofya Preobrazhenskaya.

1930-1990s

Despite world wars and the Iron Curtain, ballets and music by Russian composers continued to appear on foreign stages throughout the 20th century. But with operas it was different: from the 1930s to the 1990s, they were practically not performed in European theaters - only popular performances were staged. For example, in Salzburg they performed Boris Godunov, directed by the festival director Herbert von Karajan: the opera was performed for three years in a row - from 1965 to 1967. The Bulgarian bass Nikolai Gyaurov shone in the title role, and the Bolshoi Theater tenor Alexey Maslennikov played the role of the Pretender - Grigory Otrepyev. In 1971, a recording of “Boris Godunov” was released under the baton of an Austrian conductor with Maslennikov as the Holy Fool and Galina Vishnevskaya as Marina Mniszech. The next time the Salzburg Festival presented Russian opera was only in 1994 - and it was again “Boris Godunov”.

More often than others during the Cold War, the main theater in America, the Metropolitan Opera, turned to the Russian heritage. Several times he opened the season with Russian titles: in 1943 and 1977 - “Boris Godunov”, in 1957 and 2013 - “Eugene Onegin”. In 1950, Modest Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina was staged here, albeit in English. The scenery for the performance was created by the famous Russian emigrant artist Mstislav Dobuzhinsky.

The theater wanted to stage operas in the original language, but there were no high-class Russian-speaking singers in the West, and one-time visits from soloists Bolshoi Theater did not change the overall picture.

“The Russian language poses a particular problem because Russian voices are different from Italian, French or German. Russian singing has a characteristic timbre that resonates in the chest; when performed correctly, it sounds as if from the depths of the earth.”

Steve Cohen. "The Cultural Critic"

And yet, in 1972, “The Queen of Spades” was performed with the original libretto. The performance featured the Swedish tenor with Russian roots Nikolai Gedda and the Bulgarian soprano Raina Kabaivanska. The first Russian language tutor at the Metropolitan Opera was former singer Georgy Chekhanovsky. He monitored pronunciation, vocals and stage design.

In 1974, Boris Godunov was released in Russian. The polonaise for the Polish act was choreographed by a native of St. Petersburg, the founder of American ballet, choreographer George Balanchine. Since 1977, the Metropolitan has been singing “Eugene Onegin” in Russian; in 1979, the main roles in this performance were performed by the Bolshoi Theater soloists Makvala Kasrashvili and Yuri Mazurok. In 1985, Khovanshchina returned to the stage in its original language.

New time

After 1991, “The Gambler” by Sergei Prokofiev, “The Golden Cockerel” and “Mozart and Salieri” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, “Aleko”, “The Miserly Knight” and “Francesca da Rimini” by Sergei Rachmaninov, “The Enchantress” began to appear more and more often in European posters » Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

The Metropolitan Opera's repertoire has also been replenished with new titles: Shostakovich's operas Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and The Nose, Prokofiev's The Gambler and War and Peace, Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa and Iolanta. Almost all “Russian” premieres were attended by the chief conductor of the Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev and soloists from St. Petersburg.

In 2002, the Mariinsky Theater and the Metropolitan Opera created a joint production of the opera War and Peace in a version directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. Then the audience and critics were greatly impressed by young Anna Netrebko in the role of Natasha Rostova. The part of Andrei Bolkonsky was performed by Dmitry Hvorostovsky. In 2014, for the first time since the New York premiere in 1917, Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor” was staged here. The director was Dmitry Chernyakov, and the title role was performed by Mariinsky Theater bass Ildar Abdrazakov.

Over the past 20 years, the Salzburg Festival has presented many Russian operas: “Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina” by Mussorgsky, “Eugene Onegin”, “The Queen of Spades” and “Mazepa” by Tchaikovsky, “War and Peace” by Prokofiev, “The Nightingale” by Stravinsky. In the summer of 2017, Dmitry Shostakovich’s opera “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” was shown for the first time in Salzburg, and in August 2018, “The Queen of Spades” will be staged for the second time in the history of the festival. This season in Vienna State Opera they give “Khovanshchina”, “Eugene Onegin” and “The Gambler”.

Russian plays are also staged at the Paris National Opera. In the spring of 2017, Russian director Dmitry Chernyakov opened Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden, rarely performed in Europe, to Parisians, and a year earlier, the highlight of the season here was Chernyakov’s performance to Tchaikovsky’s music - the opera Iolanta and the ballet The Nutcracker, performed in one evening - both premiered in 1892.

In June 2018, the Paris Opera will present a new reading of “Boris Godunov” directed by the famous Belgian director Ivo van Hove, and in the 2019/20 season the premiere of “Prince Igor” will take place, directed by Australian Barry Koski.

Having originated as an imitation of Western models, Russian opera has made a most valuable contribution to the treasury of the entire world culture.

Having appeared in the era of the classical heyday of French, German and Italian opera, Russian opera in the 19th century not only caught up with the classical national opera schools, but also got ahead of them. It is interesting that Russian composers traditionally chose subjects of a purely folk nature for their works.

"Life for the Tsar" by Glinka

The opera “A Life for the Tsar” or “Ivan Susanin” tells about the events of 1612 - the Polish campaign of the gentry against Moscow. The author of the libretto was Baron Yegor Rosen, however, in Soviet times, for ideological reasons, the editorship of the libretto was entrusted to Sergei Gorodetsky. The opera premiered at the Bolshoi Theater in St. Petersburg in 1836. For a long time, the role of Susanin was performed by Fyodor Chaliapin. After the revolution, “Life for the Tsar” left the Soviet stage. There were attempts to adapt the plot to the requirements of new times: this is how Susanin was accepted into the Komsomol, and the final lines sounded like “Glory, glory, Soviet system.” Thanks to Gorodetsky, when the opera was staged at the Bolshoi Theater in 1939, the “Soviet system” was replaced by the “Russian people.” Since 1945, the Bolshoi Theater has traditionally opened the season with various productions of Glinka's Ivan Susanin. The largest production of the opera abroad was perhaps realized at La Scala in Milan.

"Boris Godunov" by Mussorsky

The opera, in which the Tsar and the people are chosen as the two characters, was begun by Mussorgsky in October 1868. To write the libretto, the composer used the text of Pushkin’s tragedy of the same name and materials from Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State.” The theme of the opera was the reign of Boris Godunov just before the “Time of Troubles”. Mussorgsky completed the first edition of the opera Boris Godunov in 1869, which was presented to the theater committee of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters. However, reviewers rejected the opera, refusing to stage it due to the lack of a strong female role. Mussorgsky introduced into the opera the “Polish” act of the love affair between Marina Mniszech and False Dmitry. He also added a monumental scene of a popular uprising, which made the ending more spectacular. Despite all the adjustments, the opera was again rejected. It was staged only 2 years later in 1874 on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The opera premiered abroad at the Bolshoi Theater in the Paris Grand Opera on May 19, 1908.

"Queen of Spades" by Tchaikovsky

The opera was completed by Tchaikovsky in the early spring of 1890 in Florence, and the first production took place in December of the same year at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. The opera was written by the composer at the request of the Imperial Theater, and for the first time Tchaikovsky refused to take the order, arguing that his refusal was due to the lack of “proper stage presence” in the plot. It is interesting that in Pushkin’s story the main character bears the surname Hermann (with two “n” at the end), and in the opera the main character becomes a man named Hermann - this is not a mistake, but a deliberate author’s change. In 1892, the opera was staged for the first time outside of Russia in Prague. Next - the first production in New York in 1910 and the premiere in London in 1915.

"Prince Igor" Borodin

The basis for the libretto was the monument of ancient Russian literature “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”. The idea for the plot was suggested to Borodin by critic Vladimir Stasov at one of Shostakovich’s musical evenings. The opera was created over the course of 18 years, but was never completed by the composer. After Borodin's death, work on the work was completed by Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov. There is an opinion that Glazunov was able to reconstruct from memory the overture of the opera he once heard in the author's performance, however, Glazunov himself denied this opinion. Despite the fact that Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov did most of the work, they insisted that Prince Igor was entirely an opera by Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin." The opera premiered at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in 1890, and 9 years later it was seen by foreign audiences in Prague.

"The Golden Cockerel" by Rimsky-Korsakov

The opera “The Golden Cockerel” was written in 1908 based on the Pushkin fairy tale of the same name. This opera was Rimsky-Korsakov's last work. The imperial theaters refused to stage the opera. But as soon as the viewer first saw it in 1909 at the Moscow Opera House of Sergei Zimin, the opera was staged at the Bolshoi Theater a month later, and then it began its triumphal march around the world: London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Wroclaw.

"Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" by Shostakovich

The idea for the opera originated with Alexander Dargomyzhsky in 1863. However, the composer doubted its success and considered the work as creative “intelligence”, “fun with Pushkin’s Don Juan.” He wrote music to Pushkin’s text “The Stone Guest” without changing a single word of it. However, heart problems did not allow the composer to complete the work. He died, asking his friends Cui and Rimsky-Korsakov to complete the work in his will. The opera was first presented to the audience in 1872 on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. The foreign premiere took place only in 1928 in Salzburg. This opera has become one of the “founding stones”; without its knowledge it is impossible to understand not only Russian classical music, but also general culture our country.

On December 9, 1836 (November 27, old style), the premiere of Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar” took place on the stage of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater, which marked the beginning of new era in Russian opera music.

This opera began the innovative path of the first Russian classical composer, which brought him to the world level. We will talk about Glinka's most significant musical discoveries.

First National Opera

Yours true purpose M.I. Glinka fully realized this during his travels around Europe. It was far from his homeland that the composer decided to create a real Russian opera and began to look for a suitable plot for it. On the advice of Zhukovsky, Glinka settled on patriotic history - the legend about the feat of Ivan Susanin, who gave his life in the name of saving his homeland.

For the first time in world opera music, such a hero appeared - of simple origin and with the best features national character. For the first time, the richest traditions of national folklore and Russian song were heard in a musical work of such scale. The public received the opera with a bang, and recognition and fame came to the composer. In a letter to his mother, Glinka wrote:

“Yesterday evening my wishes were finally fulfilled, and my long labor was crowned with the most brilliant success. The public received my opera with extraordinary enthusiasm, the actors went wild with zeal... the Emperor... thanked me and talked with me for a long time...".

The opera was highly praised by critics and cultural figures. Odoevsky called it “the beginning new element in Art – the period of Russian music.”

The fairy tale epic comes to music

In 1837, Glinka began working on a new opera, this time turning to A. S. Pushkin’s poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. The idea of ​​setting a fairy-tale epic to music came to Glinka during the life of the poet, who was supposed to help him with the libretto, but the death of Pushkin disrupted these plans.

The opera premiered in 1842 on December 9, exactly six years after Susanin, but, alas, did not bring the same resounding success. Aristocratic society led by imperial family The production was met with hostility. Critics and even Glinka's supporters reacted ambiguously to the opera.

“At the end of Act 5, the imperial family left the theater. When the curtain came down, they began to call me, but they applauded very unfriendly, meanwhile they booed me hard, and mainly from the stage and orchestra,”

– the composer recalled.

The reason for this reaction was Glinka’s innovation, with which he approached the creation of “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. In this work, the composer combined completely different motifs and images that previously seemed incompatible to the Russian listener - lyrical, epic, folklore, oriental and fantastic. In addition, Glinka moved away from the form of the Italian and French opera schools familiar to the viewer.

This fairy-tale epic was later strengthened in the works of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, Borodin. But at that time the public was simply not ready for this kind of revolution in opera music. For a long time, Glinka's opera was considered not a stage work. One of her defenders, critic V. Stasov, even called her “a martyr of our time.”

The beginning of Russian symphonic music

After the failure of “Ruslan and Lyudmila,” Glinka went abroad, where he continued to create. In 1848, the famous “Kamarinskaya” appeared - a fantasy on the themes of two Russian songs - a wedding song and a dance song. Russian symphonic music originates from “Kamarinskaya”. As the composer recalled, he wrote it very quickly, which is why he called it a fantasy.

“I can assure you that when composing this play I was guided solely by my inner musical feeling, without thinking about what happens at weddings, how ours goes out Orthodox people”,

- Glinka later said. It is interesting that “experts” close to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna explained to her that in one place in the work one can clearly hear “a drunken man knocking on the door of a hut.”

So, through two of the most popular Russian songs, Glinka established a new type of symphonic music and laid the foundations for its further development. Tchaikovsky responded about the work as follows:

“The entire Russian symphonic school, like an entire oak tree in an acorn, is contained in the symphonic fantasy “Kamarinskaya”.