Snow Maiden Research Articles

On the Pedagogical Priorities of Teachers-vocalists of the Initial Period of Activity of the Saratov Conservatory

The object of this study is the initial period of activity of the Saratov Conservatory; the subject can be called the pedagogical priorities of vocal teachers of this period under consideration. In the article, based on rare archival data, surviving printed evidence, and student memoirs, an attempt is made to restore the pedagogical priorities of the most famous and influential in the musical circles of Moscow and St. Petersburg, active participants in concert events of the Imperial Russian Musical Society: Mikhail Efimovich Medvedev - the first performer of the role of Lensky in the opera P. I. Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" and Alevtina Mikhailovna Paskhalova, who embodied the image of the Snow Maiden in the opera of the same name by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. The scientific novelty of the study includes the fact that the author identifies and for the first time introduces into scientific circulation data on the pedagogical priorities of the most prominent vocal teachers who have made a significant contribution to improving the educational process of the department of academic singing. It is revealed that the pedagogical priorities of M. E. Medvedev and A. M. Paskhalova include: a fairly low type of breathing, increased attention to developing a sense of support for sound, a cautious attitude towards the development of the full range of the voice, the development of clear diction, evenness of sound production, smoothness of register transitions; soft sound attack; the ability to qualitatively vocalize various dynamic gradations of sound; the use of the “concentric” teaching method in the pedagogical process, increased attention to the education of the emotional and dramatic component of the performer’s personality. The analysis also showed that the features that distinguish the pedagogical views of the professors of the initial period of the Saratov Conservatory include the use of the repertoire of Russian composers in class work with a beginning singer.

ВЫРАЗИТЕЛЬНЫЕ И ИСПОЛНИТЕЛЬСКИЕ ОСОБЕННОСТИ ПАРТИИ УНДИНЫ ИЗ ОДНОИМЕННОЙ ОПЕРЫ П. И. ЧАЙКОВСКОГО

When studying Russian operas based on fairy-tale plots, it is important to consider littleknown samples, including Tchaikovsky's second opera “Undine”. Extant in the form of five fragments, it is an essential component of the Russian tradition of adapting archetypal stories about sea maidens in the Romantic era. The article analyses the expressive means of the musical text and the vocal part of Undine. The colourful and magical are conveyed through orchestral writing with the timbres of harp, woodwind and string instruments typical for the “mermaid” imagery, and the corresponding textural and performance techniques. The influence of the fairy-tale plot finds its expression in the vocal part of the main character. Embodying the image of the sea maiden by musical means, the composer uses a range of means developed earlier in composer's practice. All these characteristics were later implemented in other works by Tchaikovsky — in his Second Symphony, music for Ostrovsky's drama “The Snow Maiden” and the ballet “Swan Lake”. It is revealed that the features of Undine's vocal part are determined by the psychological state of the character and are expressed in the combination of declamation and cantilena and the absence of coloratura technique, which is embodied in the composer's later operas.

“The snow maiden” by A. N. Ostrovsky in the Russian theater and decorative art of the end of the 19th – first half of the 20th centuries (based on the materials of the funds of the State Memorial Natural Museum-Reserve “Shchelykovo”)

“The snow maiden” by A. N. Ostrovsky in the Russian theater and decorative art of the end of the 19th – first half of the 20th centuries (based on the materials of the funds of the State Memorial Natural Museum-Reserve “Shchelykovo”)

Velimir Khlebnikov's “Christmas Tale” Snezhimochka

A wide range of dramatic forms can be found in Khlebnikov’s dramatic œuvre, which should be viewed against the background of Russian classical literature and culture, Symbolism, as well as the Futurist theatre of the time. In this paper I focus on Khlebnikov’s early dramatic work Snezhimochka (Snowflake, 1908) retracing its connections with the folk character of Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden) as she is represented in Afanas’ev’s famous collections of folktales, on which Ostrovsky based his play Snegurochka (1873), on which in turn Rimsky-Korsakov based his opera Snegurochka (1882). I highlight how the motif of the Snow Maiden played an important role in the revival of interest in folklore and Slavic mythology in St Petersburg Symbolist circles, which the young Khlebnikov frequented. Finally, Snezhimochka and Kruchenykh’s “opera” Victory over the Sun – which were intended to be performed together – are compared with reference to the theme of the sun, their characters, and, above all, their treatment of language and neologization.

Н. ГОТОРН, А.Н. ОСТРОВСКИЙ, А.П. ЧЕХОВ, А.А. БЛОК: ЭВОЛЮЦИЯ ОБРАЗА СНЕГУРОЧКИ

The article is devoted to the development of the image of the Snow Maiden in the works of the same name by N. Hawthorne, A.N. Ostrovsky, as well as the transformation of the image in Chekhov’s drama “Three Sisters”, lyric cycle by A.A. Block “Carmen”. For the mythopoetic level, it is significant that there is a belief about the transformation of water into wine, into the blood of Christ. From here, you can see the proximity of the Snow Maiden’s melting, her transformation into water - the rite of the Eucharist, the communion of the blood and flesh of Christ. Correlation with the motive of the blood of Christ also makes the myth of the Snow Maiden closer to the Western European story of the Grail. Therefore, in the allegorical (conditional) aspect of the plot, the ending of Ostrovsky’s fairy tale play is read not only as Yarila’s victory, but also as the decline of paganism, a departure from primitiveness to Christianity. The evolution of the Snow Maiden’s image from Hawthorne and Ostrovsky through Chekhov to Blok demonstrates the literalization of the image, its complete translation into a mythopoetic plan, devoid of any allegorization or convention.

Воплощение традиции свадебного обряда в оперном творчестве Н. А. Римского-Корсакова

The purpose of the article is to determine specific nature of incorporation of the elements related to wedding ceremonialism in the genre of the Russian opera, using N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s works of the 80s - mid-90s as examples. Scientific novelty of the study lies in carrying out a comprehensive analysis of the wedding tradition interpretation in N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas “May Night”, “The Snow Maiden”, “Christmas Eve”, the opera ballet “Mlada”. As a result, it is proved that the wedding ritual takes on special significance in the considered works. The composer incorporates the wedding ceremony elements through the techniques of reconstruction and allusion. These operas belong to a kind of macrocycle, forming a full calendar year according to their plot, reflecting ceremonialism in the Slavs’ life.

Образ Снегурочки в эскизах костюмов для русского театра конца XIX века: пути эволюции

В исследовании на основе эскизов костюмов для постановок пьесы «Снегурочка» А. Н. Островского выявляются основные тенденции эволюции образа главной героини на протяжении последней четверти XIX в. Художественное изучение эскизов русских художников-станковистов этого периода и обращение к результатам исследований в области истории народного и сценического костюма, этнографии, биографическим изысканиям позволило рассмотреть изменение облика костюма Снегурочки от первых постановок пьесы (1873) до врубелевского воплощения (1890). Анализируемый образ развивался путем отказа от «художественного подхода», присущего русскому академизму (М. Клодий), последующего обращения к интерпретации В. М. Васнецова, в которой Снегурочка оказалась наиболее точным выражением идеала русской красоты, а затем – к народной романтизации, проявившейся в эскизах Н. К. фон Бооля и М. А. Врубеля. Трактовка В. М. Васнецова установила новый «сказочный канон», сохраняемый в театральном и киноискусстве до сих пор. The aim of the study is to identify the ways and features of the transformation of the fairytale image of the Snow Maiden (the main heroine of the play of the same name by Alexander Ostrovsky) in the conditions of the Russian stage of the late 19th century. The work was carried out on the basis of sketches of stage costumes created by Russian easel painters of the late 19th century. Other important sources were studies in the field of the history of Russian painting and scenography, the history of folk and stage costumes, ethnography; biographical research on Viktor Vasnetsov; Ostrovsky’s diaries. The core of the research was an evolutionary approach, which eventually made it possible to achieve the aim of the study. A comparative historical method was used for discovering the similarity between the motives reflected in the images of the Snow Maiden in the analyzed sketches and Russian folk ornaments of the 19th century that decorated the traditional costumes of Russian peasant women. In the course of the study, the appearance of the Snow Maiden’s costume was analyzed. From how it was shown in the sketches for the first productions of Ostrovsky’s play in the Bolshoi and Maly Theaters (sketches by M. P. Klodt) to the image of the heroine captured in the relief drawing by Mikhail Vrubel. Particular attention was paid to Vasnetsov’s interpretation, in which the image was successfully correlated with the traditional motives that existed in the folk ornament and embroidery of the Russian North. The characteristic features of the image of later authors (Nikolay von Bool and Mikhail Vrubel) were revealed. The later incarnations of the image were studied (for example, in Soviet cinema at the end of the 20th century). It has been established that a sketch of a stage costume solves the problem of the structure of the embodied image, it is an illustration of the author’s artistic beliefs and (in the case of reaching a certain level of artistic perfection) is a guideline for determining the technology of creating a costume. It has been determined that sketches made by old masters of Russian theatrical costume have a special artistic value and expressiveness. The leader among the masters, according to the author, is Vasnetsov, the creator of the authentic, perfect graphics of the Russian folk costume. The image of the Snow Maiden on the Russian stage of the late 19th century developed from the “artistic approach” characteristic of Russian academism and implemented in the works of M. P. Klodt to the most accurate expression of the ideal of Russian beauty embodied by Vasnetsov and further towards popular romanticization (von Bool and Vrubel).

ОБОСНОВАННОСТЬ ИЗЪЯТИЯ Э.Ф. НАПРАВНИКОМ ИЗ ПРЕМЬЕРНОГО ИСПОЛНЕНИЯ ОПЕРЫ РИМСКОГО-КОРСАКОВА «СНЕГУРОЧКА» ТРЁХ СОЛЬНЫХ НОМЕРОВ

The article considers the reasonableness of removal of three solo scenes from the premiere of "The Snow Maiden" by Rimsky-Korsakov. Often, the directorate of the theater does not really follow artistic aims. Main goals are increasing the popularity of the performance and the sales of tickets. Therefore, it is inevitable to use many kinds of cutting the play. Unfortunately, one way or another, this path has negative sides – the perception of the work is distorted, since not all scenes can be easily removed from the performance without damaging it.

О художественном своеобразии пьесы А.Н. Островского «Снегурочка» в контексте мифопоэтического мировосприятия

The work is devoted to the character and contextual levels analysis of A.N. Ostrovsky’s play “The Snow Maiden”. The Berendey country as the embodiment of the pagan world is not only a place for the major events development, but it also symbolizes a special era in Russian history: the contact of two mutually exclusive principles – monotheism and polytheism. Evidences of these principles are the gospel parallels presented by A.N. Ostrovsky through a love sense, which the in-habitants of the Berendey country interpret in a pagan, but not in the Orthodox aspect. Using syn-thesis and analogy, which are the leading research methods of this work, it is possible to prove the contextual closeness of Snow Maiden and Mizgir, characters, originally isolated from the society of the Berendey country, and also to identify the specifics of application of the grotesque, the main literary device used by A.N. Ostrovsky. It is proved that A.N. Ostrovsky’s play is close to V. Hugo’s novel “Notre Dame de Paris” as a work where the grotesque seriously determines the author’s intention. The idea of the play is also analyzed in the format of continuity, as evidenced by the parallelism between “The Snow Maiden” and “Thunderstorm” – in these works the characters sometimes have similar formulations, that is why typification concept analysis is seems acceptable, which allows to analyze the characters in the context of the theory of K.G. Jung’s archetypes. Therefore, the considered task of this work is searching for bringing together contextual beginnings and analysis of the play’s chronotope – system-forming aspects that allow us to characterize the work not only as an extravaganza, but also as a text that occupies a special place in the playwright’s creative heritage. This research will be of great interest to everyone who studies the work of A.N. Ostrovsky in the format of literary studies, as well to researchers of pagan and orthodox motives in Russian literature of the 19th century.

La poésie de la nature et de l'amour dans le poème dramatique La Fille de neige

This article focuses on the "spring tale" The Snow Maiden (1873) in which, as A. Zhuravliova noticed, Ostrovsky produced a lyrical representation of national life, using rich and varied folk-symbolic resources for this purpose. The article proposes an interpretation of the semantics of the famous enigmatic scene in act 4 (sc. 2). In this scene two leitmotifs are intertwined : the poetry of nature and the lyricism of love. In this scene, they reveal the internal dramaturgy. The scene of the last meeting of the mother (Spring) and her daughter (Snegurochka) concludes with the ritual of the initiation of the latter into the world of amorous passions, which consists in particular of braiding a crown that symbolizes virginity and love. Ostrovsky made the Snow Girl's crown almost entirely from wild flowers related to national topoi such as fields, meadows, woods. The article aims at decoding the meanings of each of the flowers evoked from literary and lexicographical sources in coherence with the period of the play's creation.

Языческая культура в сказке А.Н. Островского «Снегурочка»

Языческая культура в сказке А.Н. Островского «Снегурочка»

The image of Oksana in the opera by N. Rimsky Korsakov “Christmas Eve”: a composer plan and a performing embodiment

The image of Oksana in the opera by N. Rimsky Korsakov “Christmas Eve”: a composer plan and a performing embodiment

Out of the Deep Woods and Into the Light: The Invention of Snegurochka as a Representation of Russian National Identity

The character of [Snow Maiden] has her origin in Russian folktales and is now part of an annual national tradition. The article considers her popularity as a result of different processes of inventing and reinventing national identity and the reflection on cultural heritage initiated through the Russian 'intelligentsia' in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Since her breakthrough as the main character of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera Snegurochka (1882), based on Alexander Ostrovsky’s play in verse of the same name (1873), the amalgamation of different artistic interpretations facilitated her transformation into a representation of national identity, perceived as a product of national community and therefore of the people.

Out of the Deep Woods and Into the Light: The Invention of Snegurochka as a Representation of Russian National Identity

Abstract The character of Snegurochka [Snow Maiden] has her origin in Russian folktales and is now part of an annual national tradition. The article considers her popularity as a result of different processes of inventing and reinventing national identity and the reflection on cultural heritage initiated through the Russian intelligentsia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Since her breakthrough as the main character of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera Snegurochka (1882), based on Alexander Ostrovsky’s play in verse of the same name (1873), the amalgamation of different artistic interpretations facilitated her transformation into a representation of national identity, perceived as a product of national community and therefore of the people.

Rostislav Genika: performer, teacher, composer

Rostislav Genika: performer, teacher, composer

Manifestations of aesthetics of skomorokhs in ballet images

Purpose of Research is to identify the main aspects of the manifestation of the aesthetics of skomorokhs in ballet images. Methodology. The use of analytical, historical, chronological, typological methods allowed us to identify and analyze in a historical sequence ballet performances, where there are images of skomorokhs, to offer a typology of images. Scientific novelty. For the first time, a comprehensive analysis of the main aspects of the manifestation of aesthetics of skomorokhs in ballet images was carried out, a typology of images of skomorokhs in ballets was proposed in accordance with their role. Conclusions. The culture of skomorokhs influenced the artistic-figurative system of the ballet theater, where we meet the images of skomorokhs and leitmotifs of skomorokhs in the performances of historical and folk themes. Rather conditionally, in accordance with the place and role of the hero- skomorokhs in ballet performances, it is possible to distribute the images into groups: skomorokh as a symbol of the contradiction of external fun and internal suffering ("Parsley"); skomorokh as a real actor, a peculiar attribute of life of the XIV-XVII centuries (“Ivan the Terrible”); skomorokh as an illustrative component, a symbol of Russian life ("Snow Maiden").

"A Spring’s Tale" "The Snow Maiden" by Alexander Ostrovsky in the 1870s literary process

Organic connection of perspective and poetics of "The Snow Maiden" by Alexander Ostrovsky with spiritual search of his contemporaries, the 1870s writers, is shown in the article, and the playwright's aesthetic position originality – going beyond the limits of poetic schools which were at enmity with each other, and overcoming contradiction between them in new artistic synthesis – comes to light. Fragility of human communications, disappearance of attachment to family life from daily communication is very characteristic of that time, that found refl ection in Leo Tolstoy's, and Fyodor Dostoevsky's, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin's and Alexander Ostrovsky's creative work. It becomes clear that the playwright's confl ict with Nikolay Nekrasov concerning "The Snow Maiden" was caused by distinction of aesthetic positions rather than by finance disputes. New poetic synthesis which refl ected breadth and Christian "toleration" of Alexander Ostrovsky's lyric soul sickened Nikolay Nekrasov. After aesthetic rejection, rejection of the substantial party of "Spring's Tale" as well did not take long – social actuality characteristic of Nikolay Nekrasov as a poet, was obviously softened in it.

N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Kashchey the Immortal”: From the Text of the Fairy Tale to the Text of the Opera

«Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Искусствоведение» — научно-теоретический рецензируемый журнал, обобщающий результаты исследований ученых всего мира в различных областях искусства, включая музыковедение, культурологию и художественное образование.

Traits of Mystery (miracle play), Tragedy and Commedia Dell'Arte in a Fairy-Opera-Film

This article deals with a fairy-opera-film and its specifics. The author reveals traits of mystery (miracle play) in a fairy-opera-film, basing upon a notion of mystery of Carl Orffs theory, in the way as Orff meant it. Syncretism in different kinds of art, specifics of word as an art facility (meaning of a word and a word as sound) are specified. As examples the following films are taken: Bluebeard's Castle (composer Bela Bartok, filmmaker W. Golovin,1968), Iolanta (composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, filmmaker W. Gorriker,1963) and animated musical The Snow Maiden (composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, filmmaker I. Ivanow-Vano,1952). Special attention is drawn to the opera film The Queen of Spades (composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, filmmaker R. Tihomirov,1960). The author discloses in fairy-opera-film elements of commedia dell'arte, that is improvisation and masks. For example in films The Love for three Oranges (composer Sergei Prokofiev, filmmakers W. Titov and J. Bogatyrenko,1970) and The Magic Flute (composer Wolfgang A. Mozart, filmmaker I. Bergman,1975). The author comes to the conclusion concerning the targets and tasks of a fairy-opera-film. Through watching fairy-opera-films children should live cultural and psychological history of humanity step by step in its development through music, dance culture and drama (theater). The main task of fairy-opera-film is to save an entity of a human being, to prevent a childs mutation into either a superman (or bermensch in F. Nietzsches term) or degeneration.

Иосиф Лапицкий и Михаил Бихтер – к истории творческого содружества режиссёра и дирижёра

On December 12, 1912 the Theater of Musical Drama opened up in St. Petersburg with a production of Piotr Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” Its creator, producer Iosif Lapitsky viewed the Theater of Musical Drama as a foothold for opera reform, a space for artistic experiments and innovations, touching upon all the elements of the theatrical performance. Lapitsky found for himself an ideal supporter and associate in Mikhail Bikhter, a young graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, who became the musical director of the theater. Lapitsky and Bikhter saw the main goal of their work with the artists of the theater as the achievement of meaningfulness of singing and scenic authenticity. At his job as musical director Bikhter, following Lapitsky’s advice, carried out scrupulous individual coaching not only for the soloists of the Theater of Musical Drama, but also with the choral singers. According to his contemporaries, Bikhter’s rendition of the musical repertoire as a conductor was distinguished by its high level of freedom in terms of tempo and rhythm and an abundance of unusual accents and nuances. The innovative ideas, countering the traditions of interpretations of Piotr Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin,” Modest Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “The Snow Maiden” aroused plenty of lively debates in the press and posed before the opera critics of that time the question of the permissible level of freedom for the artist-interpreter. In various ways, the “battle against the routine” declared by Lapitsky and Bikhter, their struggle against the engrained performance cliches, served as one of the catalyst elements of renewal of the operatic genre. Keywords: I.M. Lapitsky, M.A. Bikhter, opera, Theater of Musical Drama, musical interpretation, opera conducting.