The author of the essay is N. V. Tumanina

Russian opera is the most valuable contribution to the treasury of the world musical theater. Born 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 outstripped 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 ​​opera creativity, introduced new content into it, new principles for constructing musical dramaturgy, bringing opera art closer to other types of musical creativity especially for the symphony.

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

Thus, Russian opera from its first steps takes shape as a democratic art. The plots of the first Russian operas often put forward anti-serfdom ideas, which were also characteristic of Russian drama theater and Russian literature at the end of the 18th century. However, these tendencies had not yet developed into an integral system; they were expressed empirically in scenes from the life of peasants, in showing the oppression of them by the landowners, in satirical image nobility. Such are the plots of the first Russian operas: "Misfortune from the Carriage" by V. A. Pashkevich (c. 1742-1797), libretto by Ya. B. Kniazhnin (post, in 1779); "Coachmen on a setup" E. I. Fomina (1761-1800). In the opera "The Miller - a sorcerer, a deceiver and a matchmaker" with a text by A. O. Ablesimov and music by M. M. Sokolovsky (in the second version - E. I. Fomina), the idea of ​​​​the nobility of the work of a farmer is expressed and noble swagger is ridiculed. In the opera by M. A. Matinsky - V. A. Pashkevich "St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor" a usurer and a bribe taker are depicted in a satirical form.

The first Russian operas were plays with musical episodes in the course of action. Conversational scenes were very important in them. The music of the first operas was closely connected with Russian folk songs: the composers made extensive use of the melodies of existing folk songs, reworking them, making them the basis of the opera. In "Melnik", for example, all the characteristics of the characters are given with the help of folk songs of a different nature. In the opera "St. Petersburg Gostiny Dvor" a folk wedding ceremony is reproduced with great accuracy. In "Coachmen on a Frame" Fomin created the first example of a folk choral opera, thus laying down 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, patronizing foreign troupes, was directed against the democracy of Russian art. The figures of the Russian opera had to learn opera skills on the samples of Western European opera and at the same time defend the independence of their national direction. This fight is on long years became a condition for the existence of Russian opera, taking on new forms at new stages.

Along with opera-comedy in the XVIII century. other operatic genres also appeared. In 1790, a performance took place at the court under the title "Oleg's Initial Administration", the text for which was written by Empress Catherine II, and the music was composed jointly by composers K. Canobbio, J. 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 operatic genre is represented by the lyrical operas The Falcon and The Rival Son, whose music, 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. great popularity. Gradually, opera from the capital penetrated into the 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, for example, 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 the 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 contemporary plots, becomes the basis of many dramatic and musical performances. The ideas of humanism, the protest against social inequality inspire and fertilize theatrical art.

At the beginning of the XIX century. still can't talk about opera in full meaning this word. big role in Russian musical theater play mixed genres: tragedy with music, vaudeville, comic opera, opera-ballet. Before Glinka, Russian opera did not know works whose dramaturgy would rely only on music without any spoken episodes.

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

Opera early XIX V. developed the traditions of the previous period. A characteristic phenomenon was everyday performances, accompanied by folk songs. Examples of this kind are performances: “Yam”, “Gatherings”, “Girlfriend”, etc., the music for which was written by amateur composer A.N. Titov (1769-1827). But this far from exhausted the rich theatrical life of the era. The inclination towards the romantic tendencies typical of that time was expressed in the society's enthusiasm for fairy-tale-fantastic performances. The Dnieper Mermaid (Lesta), which had several parts, enjoyed particular success. The music for these operas, which formed, as it were, the chapters of the novel, was written by composers S. I. Davydov, K. A. Kavos; the music of the Austrian composer Cauer was partly used. "The Dnieper Mermaid" did not leave the stage for a long time, not only due to the entertaining plot, which in its main features anticipates the plot of Pushkin's "Mermaid", not only thanks to the luxurious production, but also thanks to the melodic, simple and accessible music.

The Italian composer K. A. Kavos (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 at the beginning of the 17th century, he tried to create a national-patriotic performance. This opera responded to the mood of the society that survived the war of liberation against Napoleon. Kavos's opera is favorably distinguished among modern works by the skill of a professional musician, reliance on Russian folklore, liveliness of action. Nevertheless, it does not rise above the level of the numerous "rescue operas" of French composers, marching on the same stage; Kavos could not create in it the folk-tragic epic that Glinka created twenty years later, using the same plot.

The largest composer of the first third of the XIX century. A. N. Verstovsky, who was mentioned as the author of music for vaudeville, 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. The work of Verstovsky reflected character traits Russian romanticism. Russian antiquity, poetic traditions of Kievan Rus, fairy tales and legends form the basis of his operas. significant role they have a magical element to them. Verstovsky's music, deeply rooted, based on folk song art, absorbed folk origins in the broadest sense. His characters are typical of folk art. Being a master of operatic dramaturgy, Verstovsky created romantically colorful scenes of fantastic content. An example of his style is the opera "Askold's Grave", which has been preserved in the repertoire to this day. It showed the best features of Verstovsky - a melodic gift, an excellent dramatic flair, the ability to create lively and characteristic images of characters.

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

From the 30s. 19th century Russian opera enters 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 fabulously epic - "Ruslan and Lyudmila" (1842). These operas laid the foundation for two of the most important trends in Russian musical theater: historical opera and magical epic. Glinka's creative principles were implemented and developed by the next 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 whole work. The theme of patriotism in his work is inextricably linked with the theme of the struggle of the people 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 does not manifest itself in its private aspects, but acts as a holistic creative method that 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 disclosure of the characteristic features of its spiritual appearance. The composer did not confine 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; they do not have spoken dialogues, the content is expressed by means of music. Instead of separate, undeveloped solo and choral numbers of the comic opera, Glinka creates large, detailed opera forms, developing them with genuine symphonic skill.

In "Ivan Susanin" Glinka sang the heroic past of Russia. With great artistic truth, typical images of the Russian people are embodied in the opera. The development of musical drama is based on the opposition of various national musical spheres.

"Ruslan and Lyudmila" is an opera that marked the beginning of folk epic Russian operas. The significance of "Ruslan" for Russian music is very great. The opera had an impact not only on theatrical genres, but also on symphonic ones. Majestic heroic and mysteriously magical, as well as colorful-oriental images of "Ruslan" nourished Russian music for a long time.

Glinka was followed by A. S. Dargomyzhsky (1813-1869), a typical artist of the era of the 40-50s. 19th century Glinka had a great 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. Warm sympathy for a humiliated person, awareness of the perniciousness of social inequality, a critical attitude towards the social order are reflected in the work of Dargomyzhsky, associated with the ideas of critical realism in literature.

Dargomyzhsky's path as an opera composer began with the creation of the opera "Esmeralda", after V. Hugo (posted in 1847), and the composer's central opera work should be considered "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 loving daughters of the miller Natasha and the Prince attracted the composer with the relevance of the theme. Dargomyzhsky strengthened the dramatic side of the plot by belittling the fantastic element. Rusalka is the first Russian everyday lyric-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, developed ensemble scenes, significantly dramatizing them.

Dargomyzhsky's last opera, The Stone Guest, after Pushkin (posted in 1872, after the composer's death), belongs to a different period in the development of Russian opera. Dargomyzhsky set in it the task of creating a realistic musical language reflecting speech intonations. The composer abandoned here the traditional operatic forms - arias, ensemble, choir; the vocal parts of the opera prevail over the orchestral part, The Stone Guest laid the foundation for one of the directions of the subsequent period of Russian opera, the so-called chamber recitative opera, later presented by Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri, Rachmaninov's The Miserly Knight and others. The peculiarity of these operas is that they are all written in unmodified full text"little tragedies" of Pushkin.

In the 60s. Russian opera has entered a new stage of its development. The works of the composers of the Balakirev circle (“The Mighty Handful”) and Tchaikovsky appear on the Russian stage. In the same years, the work of A. N. Serov and A. G. Rubinshtein unfolded.

The operatic work of A. N. Serov (1820-1871), who became famous as a music critic, cannot be ranked among the very significant phenomena of the Russian theater. However, at one time his operas played a positive role. In the opera "Judith" (post, in 1863), Serov created a work of a heroic-patriotic nature based on a biblical story; in the opera Rogneda (composed and staged 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 Enemy Force, based on A. N. Ostrovsky's drama Don't Live As 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. Rubinshtein (1829-1894), as an opera composer, began by composing the historical opera The Battle of Kulikovo (1850). he created the lyric opera Theramors and the romantic opera Children of the Steppes. Rubinstein's best opera, The Demon after Lermontov (1871), has survived in the repertoire. This opera is an example of a Russian lyrical 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, bring in a local flavor. The opera The Demon was a success among contemporaries who saw in the protagonist the image of a man of the 1940s and 1950s.

The operatic work of the composers of The Mighty Handful and Tchaikovsky was closely connected with the new aesthetics of the 1960s. New social conditions put forward new tasks for Russian artists. The main problem era became the problem of reflection in works of art folk life in all its complexity and inconsistency. The impact of the ideas of the revolutionary democrats (most of all Chernyshevsky) was reflected in the field of musical creativity by the attraction to universally significant themes and plots, the humanistic orientation of the works, and the glorification of the high spiritual forces of the people. Of particular importance at this time is the historical theme.

Interest in the history of their people in those years is typical not only for composers. Historical science itself is developing widely; writers, poets and playwrights turn to historical theme; develops history painting. The eras of coups, peasant uprisings, mass movements are of 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 devoted to this topic.

Operas by M. P. Mussorgsky (1839-1881), Boris Godunov (1872) and Khovanshchina (completed by Rimsky-Korsakov in 1882) belong to the historical and tragic branch of Russian classical opera. The composer called them "folk musical dramas", since the people are at the center of both works. main idea"Boris Godunov" (based on the tragedy of the same name by Pushkin) - conflict: tsar - people. This idea was one of the most important and acute in the post-reform era. Mussorgsky wanted to find an analogy with the present in the events of Rus''s past. The contradiction between popular interests and autocratic power is shown in the 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. Multifaceted image Boris Godunov is one of the highest achievements of world opera creativity.

Mussorgsky's second musical drama, Khovanshchina, is dedicated to the Streltsy uprisings at the end of the 17th century. The element of the people's movement in all its exuberant force is wonderfully expressed by the music of the opera, based on the creative rethinking of the art of folk song. The music of "Khovanshchina", like the music of "Boris Godunov", is characterized by high tragedy. The basis of the melodic mile of both operas is the synthesis of song and declamatory beginnings. Mussorgsky's innovation, born from the novelty of his conception, and the deeply original solution to the problems of musical dramaturgy make us rank both of his operas among the highest achievements of musical theatre.

Opera by A. P. Borodin (1833-1887) "Prince Igor" also adjoins 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 ​​uniting in the face of the enemy is revealed by the composer with great drama (scenes in Putivl). The composer combined in his opera the monumentality of the epic genre with a lyrical beginning. In the poetic embodiment of the Polovtsian camp, the precepts of Glinka are implemented; in its turn, musical pictures East near Borodin inspired many Russians and Soviet composers to create oriental images. Borodin's wonderful melodic gift manifested itself in the opera's broad-singing style. Borodin did not have time to finish the opera; Prince Igor was completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov and staged in their version in 1890.

The genre of historical musical drama was also developed by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908). The freemen of Pskov rebelling against Ivan the Terrible (opera The Woman of Pskov, 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, bringing into the majestic tragic concept traits of sublime tenderness and softness.

P. I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), most famous for his lyric-psychological operas, was the author of three historical operas. The Oprichnik (1872) and Mazepa (1883) operas are dedicated to dramatic events in 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.

A feature of Tchaikovsky's historical operas is their kinship with his lyrical 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 the depth and truthfulness of the transmission of the complex inner world of a person.

In addition to folk-historical musical dramas in the Russian opera of the XIX century. an important place is occupied by folk fairy-tale operas, widely represented in the work of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. 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 Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia (1904), based on folk legends about the Tatar-Mongol invasion.

Operas by Rimsky-Korsakov amaze with the variety of interpretations of the folk-tale genre. Either this is a poetic interpretation of ancient folk ideas about nature, expressed in a 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 various 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 deep creative penetration of the composer into the world of folk ideas, folk beliefs, into the worldview of the people. The basis of the music of his operas is the language of folk songs. Reliance on folk art, the characterization of characters through the use of various folk genres is a typical feature of Rimsky-Korsakov.

The pinnacle of Rimsky-Korsakov's work 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 great 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, the beginning of which was laid by Dargomyzhsky's Rusalka. The greatest representative of this genre in Russian music is Tchaikovsky, the author of brilliant works included in the world opera 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, faith in a better future for mankind. Inner world people, their relationships, their feelings are revealed in Tchaikovsky's operas by combining theatrical effectiveness with the consistent symphonic development of music. The operatic work of Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest phenomena of the world musical and theatrical Art XIX V.

A smaller number of works is represented in the operatic work of Russian composers comedy opera. However, these few samples are distinguished by their national identity. There is no entertaining lightness, 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 version - "Blacksmith Vakula", 1874) the lyrical element prevails; in "May Night" by Rimsky-Korsakov (1878) - fantastic and ritual; in Mussorgsky's Sorochinskaya Fair (70s, not finished) - purely comedic. These operas are examples of the skill of realistic reflection of the life of the people in the genre of comedy of characters.

A number of so-called parallel phenomena in the Russian musical theater adjoin the Russian opera classics. We have in mind the work of composers who did not create works of enduring significance, although they made their own contribution to the development of Russian opera. Here it is necessary to name the operas of Ts. 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 less importance (" Captain's daughter”, “Mademoiselle Fifi”, etc.). Accompanying classical opera was the work of an outstanding conductor and music director operas in St. Petersburg by 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), the 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, after I. S. Turgenev, was written in the lyrical manner of Tchaikovsky. It stands apart in the history of the Russian opera "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, composing by the end of the conservatory (1892) a one-act onera “Aleko”, sustained in the traditions of Tchaikovsky. Rachmaninov's later operas - Francesca da Rimini (1904) and The Miserly Knight (1904) - were written in the nature of opera cantatas; they are compressed as much as possible. stage action and the musical-symphonic beginning is very developed. The music of these operas, talented and bright, bears the imprint of the originality of the author's creative style.

Of the less significant phenomena of operatic art of the early 20th century. let's call the opera by A. T. Grechaninov (1864-1956) "Dobrynya Nikitich", in which characteristics fairy-tale-epic classical opera gave way to romance lyrics, as well as the opera by A. D. Kastalsky (1856-1926) "Clara Milic", in which elements of naturalism are combined with sincere impressive lyricism.

XIX century - the era of Russian opera classics. Russian composers have created masterpieces in various genres of opera: drama, epic, heroic tragedy, comedy. They created an innovative musical drama that was born in close connection with the innovative content of operas. The important, defining role of mass folk scenes, the multifaceted characterization of the characters, the 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 progressive philosophical and aesthetic thought, under the influence of events in public life, has become one of the remarkable aspects of Russian opera. national culture 19th century The entire path of development of Russian opera in the last century ran parallel to the great liberation movement of the Russian people; composers were inspired by high ideas of humanism and democratic enlightenment, and their works are for us great examples of truly realistic art.

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 a new era in Russian opera music.

With this opera, the pioneering path of the first Russian classical composer began, pushing him to the world level. We will talk about the most significant musical discoveries of Glinka.

First National Opera

M. I. Glinka fully realized his true purpose during his travels in Europe. It was far away 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 a patriotic story - a 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 in a musical work of this magnitude, the richest traditions of national folklore, Russian songwriting sounded. The audience accepted the opera with a bang, recognition and fame came to the composer. In a letter to his mother, Glinka wrote:

“Last night my desires were finally fulfilled, and my long labor was crowned with the most brilliant success. The audience accepted 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 opera was highly appreciated by critics and cultural figures. Odoevsky called it "the beginning of a new element in Art - the period of Russian music."

Fairytale 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 ​​putting the fairytale epic to music came to Glinka during the life of the poet, who was supposed to help him with the libretto, but Pushkin's death disrupted these plans.

The premiere of the opera took place in 1842 - on December 9, exactly six years after Susanin, but, alas, it did not bring the same resounding success. The aristocratic society, led by the imperial family, met the production with hostility. Critics and even supporters of Glinka reacted to the opera ambiguously.

“At the end of the 5th act, the imperial family left the theater. When the curtain was lowered, they began to call me, but they applauded very unfriendly, meanwhile they zealously hissed, and mainly from the stage and the orchestra, ”

the composer recalled.

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

This later fabulous epic was 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. Glinka's opera has long been considered not a stage work. One of her defenders, critic V. Stasov, even called her "a martyr of our time."

Beginnings 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 - wedding and dance. Russian symphonic music originates from Kamarinskaya. As the composer recalled, he wrote it very quickly, which is why he called it fantasy.

“I can assure you that when composing this piece, I was guided by the only inner musical feeling, not thinking about what happens at weddings, how our Orthodox people walk”,

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

So, through the two most popular Russian songs, Glinka approved new type symphonic music and laid the foundation for its further development. Tchaikovsky commented on the work in the following way:

“The entire Russian symphonic school, like the whole oak tree in a stomach, is contained in the symphonic fantasy “Kamarinskaya”.

The Russian school of composers, whose traditions were continued by the Soviet and today's Russian schools, began in the 19th century with composers who combined European musical art with Russian folk melodies, linking together the European form and the Russian spirit.

You can talk a lot about each of these famous people, everyone has not simple, and sometimes even tragic fates, but in this review we have tried to give only brief description life and works of composers.

1. Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka

(1804-1857)

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka while composing the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. 1887, artist Ilya Efimovich Repin

“In order to create beauty, one must be pure in soul.”

Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka is the founder of Russian classical music and the first domestic classical composer to achieve world fame. His works, based on the centuries-old traditions of Russian folk music, were a new word in the musical art of our country.

Born in the Smolensk province, educated in St. Petersburg. The formation of the worldview and the main idea of ​​​​Mikhail Glinka's work was facilitated by direct communication with such personalities as A.S. Pushkin, V.A. Zhukovsky, A.S. Griboyedov, A.A. Delvig. The creative impetus to his work was added by a long-term trip to Europe in the early 1830s and meetings with the leading composers of the time - V. Bellini, G. Donizetti, F. Mendelssohn and later with G. Berlioz, J. Meyerbeer.

Success came to M.I. Glinka in 1836, after staging the opera "Ivan Susanin" ("Life for the Tsar"), which was enthusiastically received by everyone, for the first time in world music, Russian choral art and European symphonic and opera practice were organically combined, and a hero similar to Susanin also appeared, whose image summarizes the best features of the national character.

VF Odoevsky described the opera as "a new element in Art, and a new period begins in its history - the period of Russian music."

The second opera, the epic Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842), which was worked on against the backdrop of Pushkin's death and in the difficult living conditions of the composer, due to the profoundly innovative nature of the work, was ambiguously received by the audience and the authorities, and brought M.I. Glinka heavy experiences. After that, he traveled a lot, living alternately in Russia and abroad, without stopping composing. Romances, symphonic and chamber works remained in his legacy. In the 1990s, Mikhail Glinka's "Patriotic Song" was the official anthem of the Russian Federation.

Quote about M.I. Glinka:“The entire Russian symphonic school, like the whole oak in an acorn, is contained in the symphonic fantasy “Kamarinskaya”. P.I. Tchaikovsky

Interesting fact: Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka was not distinguished by good health, despite this he was very easy-going and knew geography very well, perhaps if he had not become a composer, he would have become a traveler. He knew six foreign languages, including Persian.

2. Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin

(1833-1887)

Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin, one of the leading Russian composers of the second half of the 19th century, in addition to his talent as a composer, was a chemist, doctor, teacher, critic and had a literary talent.

Born in St. Petersburg, since childhood, everyone around him noted his unusual activity, enthusiasm and abilities in various directions, primarily in music and chemistry.

A.P. Borodin is a Russian nugget composer, he did not have professional musician teachers, all his achievements in music are due to independent work mastering the technique of composing.

The formation of A.P. Borodin was influenced by the work of M.I. Glinka (as well as all Russian composers of the 19th century), and two events gave the impetus to dense occupation of composition in the early 1860s - firstly, the acquaintance and marriage with the talented pianist E.S. Protopopova, and secondly, the meeting with M.A. Balakirev and joining the creative community of Russian composers, known as the "Mighty Handful".

In the late 1870s and 1880s, A.P. Borodin traveled and toured extensively in Europe and America, met with the leading composers of his time, his fame grew, he became one of the most famous and popular Russian composers in Europe at the end of the 19th century. th century.

The central place in the work of A.P. Borodin is occupied by the opera "Prince Igor" (1869-1890), which is an example of national heroic epic in music and which he himself did not have time to finish (it was completed by his friends A.A. Glazunov and N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov). In "Prince Igor", against the backdrop of majestic paintings historical events, reflected the main idea of all the composer's work - courage, calm grandeur, spiritual nobility of the best Russian people and the mighty strength of the entire Russian people, manifested in the defense of the motherland.

Despite the fact that A.P. Borodin left a relatively small number of works, his work is very diverse and he is considered one of the fathers of Russian symphonic music, who influenced many generations of Russian and foreign composers.

Quote about A.P. Borodin:“Borodin's talent is equally powerful and amazing both in the symphony, and in the opera and in the romance. Its main qualities are gigantic strength and breadth, colossal scope, swiftness and impetuosity, combined with amazing passion, tenderness and beauty. V.V. Stasov

Interesting fact: The chemical reaction of silver salts of carboxylic acids with halogens, resulting in halogenated hydrocarbons, was named after Borodin, which he was the first to investigate in 1861.

3. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky

(1839-1881)

“The sounds of human speech, as external manifestations of thought and feeling, must, without exaggeration and rape, become truthful, accurate music, but artistic, highly artistic.”

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky is one of the most brilliant Russian composers of the 19th century, a member of the Mighty Handful. Mussorgsky's innovative work was far ahead of its time.

Born in the Pskov province. Like many talented people, from childhood he showed talent in music, studied in St. Petersburg, was, according to family tradition, a military man. The decisive event that determined that Mussorgsky was not born for military service, and for music, was his meeting with M.A. Balakirev and joining the "Mighty Handful".

Mussorgsky is great because in his grandiose works - the operas Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina - he captured in music the dramatic milestones of Russian history with a radical novelty that Russian music did not know before him, showing in them a combination of mass folk scenes and a diverse richness of types, the unique character of the Russian people. These operas, in numerous editions by both the author and other composers, are among the most popular Russian operas in the world.

Another outstanding work of Mussorgsky is the cycle of piano pieces "Pictures at an Exhibition", colorful and inventive miniatures are permeated with the Russian refrain theme and the Orthodox faith.

There was everything in Mussorgsky's life - both greatness and tragedy, but he was always distinguished by genuine spiritual purity and disinterestedness.

His last years were difficult - life's disorder, non-recognition of creativity, loneliness, addiction to alcohol, all this determined his early death at 42, he left relatively few compositions, some of which were completed by other composers.

The specific melody and innovative harmony of Mussorgsky anticipated some features of the musical development of the 20th century and played an important role in the development of the styles of many world composers.

Quote about M.P. Mussorgsky:“Originally Russian sounds in everything that Mussorgsky did” N. K. Roerich

Interesting fact: At the end of his life, Mussorgsky, under pressure from his "friends" Stasov and Rimsky-Korsakov, renounced the copyright to his works and presented them to Tertiy Filippov.

4. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

(1840-1893)

“I am an artist who can and must bring honor to his Motherland. I feel a great artistic power in myself, I have not yet done even a tenth of what I can do. And I want to do it with all the strength of my soul.”

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, perhaps the greatest Russian composer of the 19th century, raised Russian musical art to unprecedented heights. He is one of the most important composers of world classical music.

A native of the Vyatka province, although his paternal roots are in Ukraine, Tchaikovsky showed musical abilities from childhood, but his first education and work was in the field of law.

Tchaikovsky is one of the first Russian "professional" composers - he studied music theory and composition at the new St. Petersburg Conservatory.

Tchaikovsky was considered a “Western” composer, in contrast to the folk figures of the “Mighty Handful”, with whom he had good creative and friendly relations, however, his work is no less permeated with the Russian spirit, he managed to uniquely combine the Western symphonic heritage of Mozart, Beethoven and Schumann with Russian traditions inherited from Mikhail Glinka.

The composer led an active life - he was a teacher, conductor, critic, public figure, worked in two capitals, toured Europe and America.

Tchaikovsky was a rather emotionally unstable person, enthusiasm, despondency, apathy, irascibility, violent anger - all these moods changed in him quite often, being a very sociable person, he always strove for loneliness.

It is a difficult task to single out something best from Tchaikovsky's work, he has several works of equal size in almost all musical genres Opera, ballet, symphony, chamber music. And the content of Tchaikovsky's music is universal: with inimitable melodism, it embraces the images of life and death, love, nature, childhood, works of Russian and world literature are revealed in a new way, deep processes of spiritual life are reflected in it.

Composer quote:“Life has charm only when it consists of the alternation of joys and sorrows, of the struggle between good and evil, of light and shadow, in a word, of diversity in unity.”

"Great talent requires great hard work."

Composer quote: “I am ready day and night to stand as a guard of honor at the porch of the house where Pyotr Ilyich lives - to such an extent I respect him” A.P. Chekhov

Interesting fact: Cambridge University in absentia and without defending a dissertation awarded Tchaikovsky the title of Doctor of Music, as well as the Paris Academy of Fine Arts elected him a corresponding member.

5. Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov

(1844-1908)

N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A.K. Glazunov with their students M.M. Chernov and V.A. Senilov. Photo 1906

Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov is a talented Russian composer, one of the most important figures in the creation of an invaluable domestic musical heritage. His peculiar world and worship of the eternal all-encompassing beauty of the universe, admiration for the miracle of being, unity with nature have no analogues in the history of music.

Born in the Novgorod province, according to family tradition, he became a naval officer, on a warship he traveled around many countries in Europe and two Americas. He received his musical education first from his mother, then taking private lessons from the pianist F. Canille. And again, thanks to M.A. Balakirev, the organizer of the Mighty Handful, who introduced Rimsky-Korsakov into the musical community and influenced his work, the world did not lose the talented composer.

The central place in Rimsky-Korsakov's legacy is occupied by operas - 15 works demonstrating the diversity of genre, stylistic, dramatic, and compositional decisions of the composer, nevertheless having a special style - with all the richness of the orchestral component, melodic vocal lines are the main ones.

Two main directions distinguish the composer's work: the first is Russian history, the second is the world of fairy tales and epic, for which he received the nickname "storyteller".

In addition to direct independent creative activity N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov is known as a publicist, compiler of collections of folk songs, in which he showed great interest, and also as the finalist of the works of his friends - Dargomyzhsky, Mussorgsky and Borodin. Rimsky-Korsakov was the founder of the composer school, as a teacher and head of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, he produced about two hundred composers, conductors, musicologists, among them Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

Composer quote:“Rimsky-Korsakov was a very Russian man and a very Russian composer. I believe that this primordially Russian essence of his, his deep folklore-Russian basis, should be especially appreciated today. Mstislav Rostropovich

Fact about the composer: Nikolai Andreevich began his first lesson in counterpoint like this:

Now I will talk a lot, and you will listen very carefully. Then I will speak less, and you will listen and think, and, finally, I will not speak at all, and you will think with your own head and work independently, because my task as a teacher is to become unnecessary to you ...

A rare theater today does without a Russian repertoire: they stage classical operas by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussorgsky and Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. Portal "Culture.RF" studied the posters of different years in search of domestic works loved in the West, from the 19th century to the present day.

19th century

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

By the end of the 19th century, 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. The European audience saw Glinka's "Life for the Tsar" and "Ruslan and Lyudmila" in 1866 and 1867, respectively - the performances were held in Prague. In the same place, in the 1880s and 1890s, the European premieres of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's operas The Maid of Orleans, Eugene Onegin and Queen of Spades».

“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 wrote truly Russian operas and created a completely new, if not school, then at least a school of music, to which I belong and am Glinka's offspring.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky. From a letter to the publisher Peter Jurgenson

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

1900-1930s

On March 5, 1910, Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades was presented for the first time in America at the New York Metropolitan Opera. German. The premiere was conducted by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler, and the main parts 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, the New York audience was presented with "Eugene Onegin" - in Italian and with Italian stars Claudia Muzio and Giuseppe De Luca. European audiences also watched The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky's comic opera Sorochinsky Fair.

At the same time, Russian music conquered the young, but already European-famous Salzburg Festival: in 1928, a delegation from Leningrad arrived in the city of Mozart. Opera singer Nikolai Chesnokov performed the role of Pancrasio in the contemporary comic opera The Cave of Salamanca by the Austrian composer Bernhard Paumgartner. The libretto in Russian for the opera was written by the Soviet director and tenor Emmanuil Kaplan. He also sang the role of Kashchei in Rimsky-Korsakov's Kashchei the Immortal and staged " stone guest» Alexander Dargomyzhsky. The part of Kashcheevna at the Salzburg Festival in 1928 was performed by the future star Academic theater opera and ballet (today - Mariinsky) Sofia 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 it was different with operas: from the 1930s to the 1990s, they practically did not go on in European theaters - they staged only popular performances. For example, Boris Godunov was performed in Salzburg, staged by the head of the festival Herbert von Karajan: the opera ran for three years in a row - from 1965 to 1967. Bulgarian bass Nikolay Gyaurov shone in the title part, Bolshoi Theater tenor Alexei 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 Yurodivy and Galina Vishnevskaya as Marina Mnishek. The next time the Salzburg Festival presented a Russian opera was only in 1994 - and again it was Boris Godunov.

More often than others during the Cold War, the main theater of America, the Metropolitan Opera, turned to the Russian heritage. Several times he opened the season with Russian names: in 1943 and 1977 - "Boris Godunov", in 1957 and 2013 - "Eugene Onegin". In 1950, Modest Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina was staged here, though in English. The scenery for the performance was created by the famous Russian émigré 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 by soloists from the Bolshoi Theater did not change the overall picture.

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

Steve Coen. The Cultural Critic

And yet, in 1972, The Queen of Spades sounded with the original libretto. The Swedish tenor with Russian roots Nikolai Gedda and the Bulgarian soprano Raina Kabaivanska were engaged in the performance. The first Russian language tutor at the Metropolitan Opera was the former singer Georgy Chekhanovsky. He followed the pronunciation, vocals and set 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, Eugene Onegin has been sung in Russian in the Metropolitan; in 1979, soloists of the Bolshoi Theater Makvala Kasrashvili and Yuri Mazurok performed the main parts in this performance. In 1985, Khovanshchina returned to the stage in the 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 » Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

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

In 2002, the Mariinsky Theater and the Metropolitan Opera created a joint production of War and Peace, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. Then the audience and critics were greatly impressed by the 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 of 1917, Borodin's opera Prince Igor was staged here. Dmitry Chernyakov became the director, and Ildar Abdrazakov, the bass of the Mariinsky Theater, performed the title role.

Over the past 20 years, the Salzburg Festival has also presented many Russian operas: Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky, Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades and Mazeppa by Tchaikovsky, War and Peace by Prokofiev, The Nightingale by Stravinsky. In the summer of 2017, Dmitri Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District 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, the Vienna State Opera is giving Khovanshchina, Eugene Onegin and The Gambler.

Russian performances 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, Chernyakov’s performance to Tchaikovsky’s music, the opera Iolanta and the ballet The Nutcracker, performed on the same evening, became the highlight of the season here. premiere in 1892.

In June 2018, the Paris Opera will present a new interpretation of Boris Godunov directed by the famous Belgian director Ivo van Hove, and in the 2019/20 season, the premiere of Prince Igor will be staged by the Australian Barry Kosky.

7 Russian operas of world renown

Russian artist and writer Konstantin Korovin.
Boris Godunov. Coronation. 1934. Sketch of scenery for M. P. Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov"

Originating as an imitation of Western models, Russian opera has made a valuable contribution to the treasury of the entire world culture. Having appeared in the era of the classical heyday of French, German and Italian operas, Russian opera in the 19th century not only caught up with the classical national opera schools, but also outstripped them. It is interesting that Russian composers traditionally chose subjects of a purely folk character for their works.

1

"Life for the Tsar" 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. Baron Yegor Rozen became the author of the libretto, however, in Soviet times, for ideological reasons, the editing of the libretto was entrusted to Sergei Gorodetsky. The opera premiered in Bolshoi Theater Petersburg in 1836. For a long time the part 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 the new time: 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 Ivan Susanin by Glinka. The most large-scale production of the opera abroad was realized, perhaps, in Milan's La Scala.

2

Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky

The opera, in which the tsar and the people are chosen as 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 theatrical committee of the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters. However, the reviewers rejected the opera, refusing to stage it due to the lack of bright female role. Mussorgsky introduced a "Polish" act into the opera love line Marina Mnishek and False Dmitry. He also added a monumental scene of a popular uprising, which made the finale 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 Theatre. Abroad, the premiere of the opera took place at the Bolshoi Theater in the Paris Grand Opera on May 19, 1908.

3

The 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 on the order of the Imperial Theatre, and for the first time Tchaikovsky refused to take the order, arguing his refusal by the lack of "proper stage presence" in the plot. It is interesting that in Pushkin's story main character bears the surname Hermann (with two "n" at the end), and in the opera the main actor becomes a man named Herman - this is not a mistake, but an intentional author's change. In 1892, the opera was staged for the first time outside of Russia in Prague. Then - the first production in New York in 1910 and the premiere in London in 1915.

4

"Prince Igor" Borodin

The monument was the basis for the libretto ancient Russian literature"The Tale of Igor's Campaign". The idea of ​​the plot was suggested to Borodin by critic Vladimir Stasov at one of the musical evenings at Shostakovich's. The opera was created over 18 years, but was never completed by the composer. After the death of Borodin, work on the work was completed by Glazunov and Rimsky-Korsakov. There is an opinion that Glazunov was able to restore from memory the author's performance of the opera overture he once heard, however, Glazunov himself refuted 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 premiere of the opera took place at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in 1890, after 9 years it was seen by a foreign audience in Prague.

5

The Golden Cockerel by Rimsky-Korsakov

The opera The Golden Cockerel was written in 1908 based on Pushkin's fairy tale of the same name. This opera was the last work of Rimsky-Korsakov. Imperial theaters refused to stage the opera. But as soon as the audience saw it for the first time 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 procession around the world: London, Paris, New York, Berlin, Wroclaw.

6

"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" by Shestakovich

The opera, based on Leskov's novel of the same name, was completed in December 1930 and first staged at the Mikhailovsky Theater in Leningrad in January 1934. In 1935 the opera was shown to the audience in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Zurich, Buenos Aires, New York, London, Prague, Stockholm. In the second half of the 1930s until the 1950s, the opera was banned from staging in Russia, and Shestakovich himself was condemned by the leadership of the country's Communist Party. The work was described as a "mess instead of music", "deliberately done topsy-turvy" and served as an impetus for the persecution of the composer. Performances in Russia resumed only in 1962, but the audience saw an opera called Katerina Izmailova.

7

"Stone Guest" Dargomyzhsky

The idea of ​​the opera came from Alexander Dargomyzhsky in 1863. However, the composer doubted its success and considered the work as a creative "reconnaissance", "fun over Pushkin's Don Giovanni". He wrote music to Pushkin's text of The Stone Guest without changing a single word in it. However, heart problems did not allow the composer to finish the work. He died, asking in his will his friends Cui and Rimsky-Korsakov to complete the work. 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 knowing it it is impossible to understand not only Russian classical music, but also the general culture of our country.