Имперская окраина. Опера на Дальнем Востоке в период между двух войн: 1906–1914 годы

Abstract

The period between 1906–1914 in the history of the development of music theatre in the Far East is distinguished due to a change in the functioning conditions of one of its important branches — opera. Regional art history does not consider the issues of periodization of pre-revolutionary music theatre, which emphasizes the relevance and novelty of this work. An additional criterion for periodization was an immanent process in the field of regional music theatre. Based on a systematic approach, taking the opera as one of the genre subsystems, the author considers changes in its internal elements: the dynamics and characteristics of production activities and forms of organization of theatre business, repertoire trends, accompanying art journalism, the training of vocal personnel and the touring and concert practice of opera performers. Thus, the author concludes that during the specified period only touring activities of opera enterprises were practiced, which was connected with the economic and logistical difficulties of organizing opera seasons in remote territories. The most important event in the music and theatre life was the tour of the Russian Opera of M. Maksakov in 1913; amateur and united troupes were increasingly turning to the opera genre. There was a significant increase in the amount of Russian operas performed. The changes in the art-critical sphere were connected with the large-scale analytical articles, and the introduction of elements of enlightenment into the reviews. The opening of a vocal class and an opera studio at the music school of the local branch of the Imperial Russian Musical Society diversified the concert activity and theatre playbill of the region, while the repertoire of guest vocalists acquainted the Far East with unknown items in the opera.