Музыкальный быт «малого двора» и оперное творчество Д. С. Бортнянского

Abstract

The problem of studying the Russian musical-theatrical art of the 18th century presents itself as a very timely one, which is confirmed by the fact that specimens of this genre have been studied very little and have been obviously underappreciated. One of the founders of the Russian musical theater is composer Dmitri Bortnyansky, who played a special role in the formation and development of the 18th century musical theater. His artistic activities as a Kappelmeister took course in the “small court” of the heir to the throne Pavel Petrovich and his wife Maria Feodorovna. In Pavlovsk and Gatchina, where Maria Feodorovna formed a group of “noble actors” the premieres of three of Bortnyansky’s operas took place (“The Signor’s Festivity,” “The Falcon” and “The Son-Rival”). The aesthetics of court art was based on the principles of gallantry and “pleasure,” which in many ways determined the stylistics of the studied operas by Bortnyansky. The characteristic features of his theatrical compositions for the “small court” had to include: the recreational function of the theatrical performance; the slant towards a conflict-free type of dramaturgy (or to a considerable alleviation of the existent conflict); a stable reference to the genre of the pastoral; a mandatory happy solution of all the collisions in the plot; accentuations of the motives in the plot capable of creating an atmosphere of gallantry; a deliberate idealization of the protagonists and demonstration of their exclusive noble qualities. In the musical sense this presupposes simplicity and clarity of the homophonic texture; pliancy and fluidity of the melodic development; a characteristically standard tonal and harmonic development; a compositional dramaturgy devoid of complexity; reliance on dance genres. At the same time the composer in his works creates the first examples in Russian opera of dramatic vocal numbers disclosing the protagonists’ powerful emotional tumults of the soul (such as the aria of Donna Leonora in Act 2 of “The Son-Rival”). Thereby, Bortnyansky’s position at the “small court” made it possible for him to disclose his natural gift, his melodic gift and attempts at demonstrating the wealth of the inner world of man. Keywords: “small court” of successor to the throne Pavel Petrovich, gallant art, pastoral, opera, the musical legacy of Dmitri Bortnyansky, 18th century Russian opera.