IVAN KOTLIAREVSKYI AND JOHANN FRIEDRICH REICHARDT: UKRAINIAN OPERA "NATALKA-POLTAVKA" BETWEEN VAUDEVILLE AND THE NATIONAL SYMBOL

Abstract

The article of the German researcher considers one of the most famous Ukrainian classical music and stage works – "Natalka Poltavka" by Ivan Kotlyarevsky –Mykola Lysenko in the broad historical context of European aesthetic and stylistic trends of the late XVIII – early XIX centuries. It draws very interesting parallels between the aesthetic dimensions of Ukrainian play and views on the function of opera in the society of the German philosopher, esthetician and author of „Liederspiels” Johann Friedrich Reichardt, indicating the origin of „Natalka Poltavka” and Reichardt Liederspiels from French vaudeville. The author provides some convincing evidence of the very important social role of Kotlyarevsky's comedy, first, in refuting the false image of the Ukrainian people in the Russian comedy "Cossack Poet" by Alexander Shakhovsky, and secondly, in establishing the musical and stage model, which will be specific and fruitful for future stages of development of national culture. The article contains a number of new infor-mation on the reception of the Ukrainian theme in the European cultural space.