Music and ballet in A. Shakhovsky‘s play “Aristophanes, or the Performance of the Comedy ‘the Riders’”

Abstract

The “Historical comedy” by A. A. Shakhovsky “Aristophanes, or the Performance of the Comedy ‘the Riders’” (1825), associated with a long literary controversy, is still discussed today. The comedy contained the music of С. A. Сavos and the ballet scenes of Ch. Didlo — permanent collaborators of Shakhovsky. Unfortunately, the problem of the musical and choreographic composition of the play has not been previously considered. The article is devoted to the history of the creation of the work, examining its literary sources and musical manuscripts from the archive of the Glinka National Museum Consortium of Musical Culture. The author makes an attempt to reunite the libretto and the score of the composition, to determine the place of music and ballet in the play. Of particular importance are handwritten notes on the margins of the musical text, containing the names of the dancers, the date of performance of the play, instructions for the entry of the actors and the corps de ballet. The opening of “Aristophanes” are major vocal-choreographic scenes of end-to-end development, innovative in the dramatic theater.