Modernization of the visual series as one of the means to preserve the relevance of the opera performance

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to consuder the issue of the stagingprocess of the opera performance in the aspect of the evolution of thedirectorial thought of the last third of the XX – the beginning of the XXIcenturies, as well as to analyze of the involvement of moderntechnological possibilities of creation on the operatic stage of the visualseries and correspondence to the new demands of the audience of thetheater are considered. The question „What is an opera in our time – thehighest of theatrical arts, or the business industry?” is considered. Sincethe current opera house, as a phenomenon, began to lose interest of thepublic. The scientific novelty of the article is the urgency of the questionof modernization of the production of classical opera. The scope of operadirecting is the key in the article, because in it follows the intricaciesassociated with the development of technologies and visual means ofexpressiveness that have influenced the state of the most iconiccontemporary opera performances. The typization and classification ofdirecting concepts during the existence of the opera as a genre is followed.The article analyzed the tendencies of creating an opera performance inSoviet times and in modern times through the prism of visual aspects. Theperformances by P. Tchaikovsky's opera „Eugene Oneginˮ at theMetropolitan Opera in the USA and the Vienna State Opera are consideredand analyzed, it is a methods of investigation. The author of the articleoffers a comparative analysis of two directorial decisions of the productionof the opera to understand the possible options for the development ofdirecting creativity, since the theater of modernity in the context of theevolution of the genre depends on the time and preferences of the modernaudience. The conclusions indicate that this problem is being studied fromthe point of view of the correspondence of innovative directorial decisionswith the attraction of opportunities of modern opera theater to the author'soriginal source.