Opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by M. Glinka: pages of history and modern times

Abstract

The article, based on the works of musicologists, literary critics and music critics, examines the history of Glinka's fateful acquaintance with Pushkin, the birth of the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, the reasons for the failure of its first production and modern directorial decisions of the play. The magical national poem-tale by A. Pushkin “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, despite the attacks of critics, enjoyed great success among contemporaries. Pushkin’s plot attracted Glinka because it opened up a wide scope for his melodic talent. Glinka listened to Pushkin's wishes and created a vivid performance with dance episodes, original stage solutions, lyrical line and emphasized originality of Russian images of Pushkin’s poem. At the same time, Glinka rejected Pushkin's irony, which permeates the poem, and composed a magical work dominated by music. We have a Pushkin plot in the absence of the Pushkin word. Ruslan and Lyudmila have been arguing about the opera for almost 200 years, there are several editions of the music.