The System of Dominant Themes in the Operas of Jin Xiang

Abstract

The article’s author considers the system of dominant themes in the operas of the Chinese composer of the 20th century Jin Xiang, close to the principle of the end-to-end development of thematism in European and Russian classical opera. The author reveals the specifi cs of working with thematism in the operas “Savage Land”, “Yang Guifei” and “Eight Women Jump Into the River”. The research methods were a holistic and comparative analysis of the thematism of operas in terms of expressiveness, imaginative-semantic content, dramatic function, and symphonic development. The analysis of the “dominant thematism” and its development in Jin Xiang’s operas made it possible to prove that leitmotifs embody the national ideological content in the works of the Chinese composer, express senses, states and actions of the heroes, describe events, and reveal plot confl icts of the drama. In his opera work, Jin Xiang develops his own system of leitmotifs, connecting each opera together in imaginative, semantic, dramatic and organisational aspects. At the same time, the dominant thematism gives Jin Xiang’s works a national character, allowing Chinese opera to maintain its identity against the background of the stylistic globalisation in music.