OPERA "CREONT" BY DMYTR BORTNIANSKY: FROM PORTUGAL TO UKRAINE

Abstract

The article examines the creative activity of the outstanding Ukrainian artist Dmytro Bortnyanskyi as an opera composer. The focus is on the operas of his Italian creative period (1768 - 1779) - Creont (1776, Venice), Alcides (1778, Venice) and Quintus Fabius (1779, Modena). The happy modern stage fate of the opera "Alkid" is indicated, its score was published in Kyiv in 1985. The found manuscript of the score by Dmytro Bortnyansky's first opera "Creont" provides new opportunities for studying the artist's work, this score was considered to be lost for a long time; after establishing the location of the score in one of the archives of the Portuguese city of Lisbon, its copy was brought to Ukraine. The history of transfers of the surviving manuscripts of Dmytro Bortnyanskyi's opera works was studied, in addition, the author analyzes the plot, structure and musical dramaturgy of the opera "Creont". The author uses a combination of scientific methods to achieve the goal of investigation, in particular: the source method — for searching and analyzing contemporary handwritten and printed sources; the historical method — to establish historical and cultural parallels in the study of Dmytro Bortnyanskyi's opera heritage and to outline prospects for further study of the specified issues; theoretical method — for the systematization of musical and stylistic factors of the study of the musical text of the opera "Creont" and the creation of certain generalizations. The study determines the numerical structure of the two-act opera "Creont", the plot of which is based on the tragedy "Antigone" by the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles. It is noted that the main conflict of Dmitry Bortnyanskyi's opera takes place between the king of Thebes, Creont, and Antigone, the daughter of the deceased king Oedipus (compared to the tragedy of Sophocles, the ending in the opera is changed from tragic to happy — all the characters remain alive, Antigone becomes the queen of Thebes and wins in the confrontation with by Creont). It is emphasized that the preserved score of the opera "Creont" provides grounds for a deeper understanding of Dmytro Bortnyanskyi's opera heritage and the composer's achievements in the genre of Italian opera, and that an important task is the production of this opera in Ukraine, in the composer's homeland