Проблема художника і влади в опері «Портрет» М. Вайнберга (режисерська версія Д. Паунтні)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to investigate the peculiarities of the stage embodiment of Weinberg’s opera ‘Portrait’ directed by D. Pountney. The methodology consists of historical-comparative, biographical methods and textual analysis. The scientific novelty of the article is that for the first time in musicology the specifics of the stage embodiment of Weinberg’s opera ‘Portrait’ are studied. Conclusions. In ‘Portrait’ Gogol raises complex ‘questions of philosophy of life and art’ [4]. In general, the portrait in the history of world art is one of the most controversial genres. The portrait depicts the most characteristic individual features of a person: face, facial expressions, gestures, clothes, accessories, etc. The symbolic meaning of the portrait is the reproduction of oneself as a way of overcoming the transience of life. ‘Portrait’ of M. Gogol, according to V. Bal, is an important phenomenon of the n historical and literary process of a certain period [4, p. 13]. The theme of the ‘living’ portrait is related to issues relevant to the time in general, in particular, reflections on the nature of realism, the problem of the hero of the work and the role of the artist in art and life. The moneylender depicted in the portrait is ‘a symbol of material and non-spiritual beginnings’ and seduces the artist with money, provokes him by refusing to grow his skills and, accordingly, his spiritual growth [4, p. 14]. The English theater and opera director D. Pountney, having created two of the three acts of Weinberg’s opera, for the most part of the second act, practically turned into one huge scene of the death of the main character. Pountney’s stage embodiment of Gogol’s ‘Portrait’ brings the original source closer to the historical and social realities of the twentieth century, exposes the eternity of the creator, who, serving power, wastes his talent and, eventually, experiencing the collapse of personality, dies.