Ballet Bakhchisarai Fountain staged by the Mariinsky Theater. "Bakhchisarai Fountain"

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/

FEDERALSTATEBUDGETEDUCATIONALINSTITUTION

HIGHERPROFESSIONALEDUCATION

MOSCOWSTATEUNIVERSITYCULTURESANDARTS

FACULTY:choreographic,correspondencedepartment

CourseworkJobBytheoriesAndstoriesmusicalart

Ontopic:"BalletsB.V.Asafieva"FlameParis"And"Bakhchisaraifountain"

Performed:

2nd year student gr. 06208з

Shatrova N.S.

Checked by: Aleksenko N.V.

Introduction

Chapter I. Ballet B.V. Asafiev “Flame of Paris”

1.1 Brief history of the creation of the ballet

1.2 Folk musical material in ballet

1.3 Musical characteristics of court scenes

Chapter II. Ballet "Bakhchisarai Fountain"

2.1 History of creation. Musical material of ballet

2.2 Maria - the main romantic image of the ballet

2.3 Musical characteristics of Zarema’s image

2.4 Musical characteristics of Giray’s image

Conclusion

List of sources used

Introduction

Academician Boris Vladimirovich Asafiev played a vital role in the history of Soviet ballet. A musician with a broad scientific horizon and deep thought, he influenced the development of Soviet music with his numerous musicological works and compositional works. Being an extremely prolific composer who composed in different genres: musical and theatrical (ballet, opera, music for dramatic performances, films), symphonic (program symphonies, instrumental concerts), chamber (romances, songs, works for various musical instruments, ensembles ), Asafiev focused his interests on theater music and, above all, ballet. His work in this genre began in the 1910s and continued through the 40s inclusive.

Asafiev's first work, written in the Soviet era, was a ballet on a revolutionary theme, Carmagnola. In the same 1918, he worked on the fabulously romantic ballet “Solveig” to the music of Grieg, and in 1922 - on the children’s extravaganza ballet “Forever Living Flowers”. Over the next ten years, Asafiev did not write ballets and returned to ballet creativity only at the end of 1931 (ballet “Triumph of the Republic”, or “Flames of Paris”).

Large group of ballets B.V. Asafiev’s work is characterized by the composer’s appeal to classical, predominantly Russian, literature and folk poetry. These are ballets based on Pushkin's stories: “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” (1932-1934), “Prisoner of the Caucasus” (1936-1937), “Count Nulin” (1940-1941), “The Stone Guest” (1943-1946), “The Young Lady-Peasant "(1945-1946). Based on Lermontov's stories: “Ashik-Kerib” (1939); Gogol - “The Night Before Christmas” (1937); Kuprina - “Sulamith” (1940); Balzac - “Lost Illusions” (1934-1935); Dante - Francesca da Rimini (1943-1946). Ballets based on folk tales - “The Snow Maiden” (1941), “Lada” (1943), “Spring Tale” (1946).

Asafiev strove to create ballets that were diverse in plot and genre: tragic and everyday, romantic-legendary, lyrical-psychological, fairy-tale and comedic. One gets the impression that the composer proceeded from the belief in the exceptionally wide possibilities of the ballet genre and the applicability of almost any plot in this area.

Asafiev's ballets are constructed as holistic, organically developing symphonies. Each episode of the performance is inextricably linked with the form of the whole and performs a specific function of the overall conceptual design. Therefore, it is impossible to exclude or rearrange individual numbers in the composer’s ballets without risking disrupting the harmony of the work’s form.

Asafiev is characterized by the desire to apply the principles and stylistic techniques of classical art, mainly Russian, in his works. At the same time, Asafiev was guided by the achievements of not only Russian classical ballet, but also Russian classical opera. Widely using the forms and means of the ballet genre, the composer in his best works achieves the harmony of musical and dramatic unity of the composition of ballets, introduces into them features of symphonic development, elements of cantata.

Among the extensive ballet heritage of B.V. Asafiev, two works clearly stand out - “The Flame of Paris” and “The Bakhchisarai Fountain”. They serve as examples of Asafiev’s different and in both cases interesting solutions to the problem of the ballet genre. A more detailed examination of these works makes it possible to identify the most important stylistic features of the composer’s ballet work.

ChapterI. Ballet"FlameParis"

1.1 Briefstorycreationballet

The ballet “Flames of Paris”, staged in 1932 on the stage of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. CM. Kirov, remained in the repertoire of the capital’s theaters for a long time. In 1947, Asafiev created a new edition of the ballet, in which he made some cuts to the score and rearranged some numbers. But the musical dramaturgy of the ballet as a whole remained unchanged. Its genre can be defined as folk-heroic drama.

Playwright N. Volkov, artist V. Dmitriev and the composer himself participated in the creation of the script and libretto of the ballet. The authors chose the historical and social aspect of the interpretation of the plot, which determined a number of essential features of the work as a whole. The content is based on events from the history of the French Revolution in the early 90s of the 18th century: the capture of the Tuileries, participation in the revolutionary actions of Marseille sailors, revolutionary actions of peasants against their feudal rulers. Individual plot motifs were also used, as well as images of some characters from the historical novel by F. Gras “The Marseillais” (peasant Jeanne, commander of the Marseille battalion).

While composing the ballet, Asafiev, in his words, worked “not only as a playwright-composer, but also as a musicologist, historian and theorist, and as a writer, not disdaining the methods of the modern historical novel.” The results of this method affected, in particular, the historical accuracy of a number of characters. “The Flames of Paris” features King Louis XVI, the daughter of a cooper, Barbara Paran (in the ballet, the peasant Jeanne), and the court actress Mirelle de Poitiers (in the ballet, she received the name Diana Mirel).

In accordance with the libretto, the musical dramaturgy of “The Flames of Paris” is based on the opposition of two musical spheres: the musical characteristics of the people and the aristocracy. The people are given the main place in the ballet. Three acts are devoted to his image - the first, third and fourth, and partly also the second act (its finale). The people are represented in a variety of different social groups that make up them. French peasants meet here - Jeanne's family; soldiers of revolutionary France and among them the commander of the Marseilles battalion - Philippe; actors of the court theater who act on the side of the people during events are Diana Mirel and Antoine Mistral. At the head of the camp of aristocrats, courtiers, and reactionary officers stood Louis XVI and the Marquis de Beauregard, the owner of vast estates.

The attention of the libretto authors is focused on the depiction of historical events, due to which “The Flames of Paris” has almost no individual musical characteristics at all. The personal fates of individual heroes occupy a subordinate place in it in the broader picture of the history of revolutionary France. Musical portraits of the characters seem to be replaced by their generalized characteristics as representatives of one or another socio-political force. The main opposition in ballet is the people and the aristocracy. The people are characterized in dance scenes of an effective type (the revolutionary actions of the people, their struggle) and a genre character (cheerful festive scenes at the end of the first act, the beginning of the third and in the second scene of the last act). Taken together, the composer creates a multifaceted musical characterization of the people as the collective hero of the work. Revolutionary song and dance themes play a major role in depicting the people. They sound at the most important moments of the action, and some of them run through the entire ballet and, to a certain extent, can be called leitmotifs that characterize the image of the revolutionary people. The same applies to depictions of the aristocratic world. And here the composer limits himself to a generalized musical description of the royal court, aristocracy, and officers. In depicting feudal-aristocratic France, Asafiev uses intonations and stylistic means of musical genres that became widespread in the aristocratic court life of royal France.

1.2 OndearmusicalmaterialVballet"FlameParis"

In the ballet “Flames of Paris,” Asafiev’s desire to write a work of a monumental synthetic type was clearly manifested. The choreographic action is supported by the introduction of a vocal-choral element. The idea of ​​​​creating this kind of synthetic musical-choreographic-vocal dramas became quite widespread in the 20s.

The composer included three songs of the French Revolution in his ballet: “Marseillaise”, “Carmagnola”, “Ca ira”, and used these songs in accordance with the character of each of them. Thus, “Marseillaise,” with its features of a heroic march-hymn, always appears only in choral sound in episodes of heroic-revolutionary upsurge. The dance nature of “Carmagnola” allowed the composer to use it in both song-choral and dance scenes. As for the third song - “Ca ira” - its marching rhythm made it most suitable for dramatic scenes depicting the revolutionary struggle of the insurgent people.

Revolutionary themes are introduced by the composer at the most important, turning points of the action. “Marseillaise” sounds at the end of the first act, when the peasants join the Marseillais and go with them to revolutionary Paris. “La Marseillaise” plays a dramatically important role in the finale of the second act, where its melody encourages Diana Mirel, frozen in despair near Antoine’s corpse, to complete the work begun by her dead friend.

At the end of the third act, the indignation of the people against the traitor king results in the angry, mocking “Carmagnole.” The theme of “Carmagnola” is used here by the composer as the basis for the large first section of the finale, where the music conveys the revolutionary enthusiasm of the people. The song's choral stanzas alternate with orchestral versions. In general, a form is formed that is close to a rondo, in which the refrain is the choral sound of “Carmagnola”, and its orchestral versions serve as episodes.

The theme of the song “Ca ira” is used to build the second section of the finale of the third act - the beginning of the storming of the royal palace - as well as the first scene of the fourth act, where the revolutionary people break into the palace and attack the royal stronghold. The last time revolutionary themes appear is at the end of the entire ballet. “Carmagnola” is used here as a swift, life-affirming dance (Presto), unfolding in a chain of colorful variations, and “Ca ira” passes with solemn elation (Maestoso) in a powerful orchestral sound.

The composer created colorful everyday pictures of folk life in the ballet. The dances are grouped here into suites and turned into large genre scenes. The music of these scenes is distinguished by its liveliness and energy, expressing the feelings of the joyful upsurge of the people.

In folk dance scenes, the composer strives to reproduce the stylistic features of various folk song and instrumental melodies, mostly French. In the dance suites of the ballet, the predominance of the genre-characteristic principle over the classical one is noticeable. Using folklore material, Asafiev either subject it to free processing, or limit himself to intonation or rhythmic turns characteristic of French folk music. It should be pointed out that in the dance scenes of the ballet the rondo form is dominant, which is undoubtedly closest to folk music and convenient for creating a multifaceted portrait of the people. In the construction and planning of dance genre scenes, one can notice a certain dramatic, compositional concept. They are arranged by Asafiev so that each subsequent one turns out to be larger, more ambitious than the previous one. This expansion of the composition of folk scenes and their consistent monumentalization are determined by the principle of dramatic growth, the merging of the actions of individuals and individual groups of the revolutionary people into a single heroic liberation impulse.

The dances of the first act, located at the end of the second scene, express the joyful, cheerful mood of the people united on the occasion of their first victory (the liberation of Gaspard). The finale of the film is a large dance suite of several numbers. The entire finale is framed by the farandole, the most popular French folk dance. Repeated implementation of the farandola theme affirms the people's state of elation and energy.

The farandole is initially set out as a miniature rondo, in which the first of three episodes contrasts with the energetic theme of the refrain. in the final construction of the scene, the farandole is enriched by the introduction of thematic material from other dances. in general, the dance situ of the first act forms a three-part composition; At the same time, the repetition of the farandole theme introduces ronda-like features into it.

The dance sieve of the third act has an abundance of bright themes and a great breadth of composition. It includes Auvergne, Marseille and Basque dances. The Auvergne dance, the most common of them, has the character of a peasant minuet; it is based on a courageous and simple melody. The music expresses casual fun and at times takes on humorous tones. The folk flavor of the dance is given by consistent fifths in the accompaniment, discrepancies in accents in the melody and accompaniment, which occur due to the combination of different meters (two and three beats).

In the Marseilles dance, heroic features are already appearing, especially clearly in the main theme, directed upward along the sounds of the tonic triad.

The dance suite ends with the temperamental Basque Dance, containing many different melodies. They are united by the bolero rhythm, which is repeated throughout all the episodes of the extreme movements (a complex three-part form). The main theme is built on a simple, but very prominent and courageously decisive downward movement of the melody. The leisurely sad theme of the middle section, composed in the Sicilian genre, contrasts with the melodies of the outer sections and highlights the dominant strong-willed character of the dance.

The entire third act is a monumental folk scene, where decisive, heroic dances are especially highlighted; their sequence forms a single line of increasing heroism (the dance of the Marseilles and Basques, “Carmagnola” and “Ca ira”). The integrity of the act is emphasized by the tonal frame - the tonic value of G major at the beginning and end of the act.

Dramatic scenes of ballet play an important role in depicting the revolutionary people. The music of these scenes is mostly very intense and has a pathetically excited character. Hence the numerous contrasts of rhythms and tempos (mostly fast). Frequent change of texture. At the same time, the composer in most cases refuses to use integral song and dance numbers and gives the music of dramatic scenes the character of continuous dynamic development.

Dramatic scenes appear, as a rule, at key moments of action, combining individual episodes of each picture into a single coherent whole. Such a dramatic node in the first scene of the ballet is the scene of the attack of the Marquis’s servants on Gaspard’s family. The scene of the people’s attack on the Marquis’s castle and the liberation of Gaspard in the second scene has a similar dramatic function. The music of this scene is designed in a heroic-dramatic style, close to the style of Gossec, Megul, and also Beethoven.

Particularly impressive in the ballet is the central episode of the first scene of the fourth act - the invasion of the people into the Tuileries and the battle scene with the royal guards. In terms of music and drama, this scene was done superbly by Asafiev. At the beginning of the action, the sound of the song “Ca ira” is heard as if from afar - these are the people going to attack the royal castle. Listening to the sound of the song, the crowd of courtiers freezes in confusion and anxiety. The music characterizing their state becomes confused and dramatic - the impression of the inevitability of the death of the old world is created.

But then the revolutionary people burst into the palace. The fight scene begins. There is a lot of illustrative stuff in it - weapon strikes, shots, noise effects, but in general Asafiev is by no means limited to such external illustrativeness, he strives to recreate the atmosphere of the revolutionary struggle, and here, too, he uses musical material of the heroic-pathetic Beethoven style for this purpose. Heroic pathos is especially clearly felt at the moment of the people’s victory, when fragments from Beethoven’s “victory symphony” (“Egmont”) sound invitingly and jubilantly.

The line of heroics finds its completion in the last scene of the ballet, in the center of which stands the solemn Adagio (Es-dur) - a kind of procession hymn. Its majestic, courageous and broad melody of an anthemic nature is set off by the firm and decisive tread of the accompanying bass.

In the final scene of the ballet, other lines of characterization of the people are completed: the suite of dances (counterdance, pas de deux, variations and coda) serves as a natural continuation of the genre scenes of the previous acts, and the sound of the songs “Carmagnola” and “Ca ira” concludes the development of revolutionary heroic images

1.3 Musicalcharacteristiccourtiersscenes

In Asafiev’s ballets, as mentioned above, two worlds of images turned out to be opposed to each other - the world of the revolutionary people, full of energy, enthusiasm and heroic pathos, and the world of the aristocracy. Each of these worlds is musically characterized by its own range of intonations, most of which were not composed by the composer, but borrowed from the corresponding sources of folk and professional creativity. To characterize the people, as we have already seen, revolutionary songs of that era were chosen, material from the work of composers close to the revolution (Megul, Gossec) or who reflected its heroics (Beethoven). The same is done in relation to the world of the aristocracy, where the main source of musical characteristics is the music of court life in pre-revolutionary France and the work of composers who in one way or another reflected this life (Lully, Gluck and others). Asafiev supplements the borrowed examples with his own, written in the same style.

In scenes depicting court life, Asafiev also used ancient decorous, ponderously solemn dances such as sarabandes, chaconnes and graceful, gallant dances of the 17th-18th centuries (Lully’s gavotte).

The music of the second act as a whole is distinguished by its leisurely, important movement, at times offset by light, graceful numbers of gallant dances. The musical numbers of the second act can be divided into three groups: one of them is represented by an intermission and sarabande and recreates the atmosphere of the courtly world, the second by an anthem and chaconne, which are associated with the development of dramatic action (the dramatic conspiracy scene takes place to the sounds of the anthem). Between the two indicated groups of numbers there is a third group - an interlude - a performance by artists of the court theater. The music of the interlude is noteworthy in that it outlines the characteristics of the central images of the actors - Diana Mirel and Antoine. Strictly speaking, they also do not have individual characteristics, but Asafiev skillfully highlights the main features of their images - the lyricism of Diana’s appearance, the masculinity of Antoine’s image. Diana is initially depicted by a fragile, tenderly graceful motif of Lully's popular gavotte, while Antoine is depicted by a major, even somewhat heroic variation.

The development of the action leads to the tragic death of the actor, after which the soulful, mournful Adagio of the solo viola begins to sound, the sad and expressive melody of which is reminiscent of Bach's cantilena.

Adagio should be ranked among the best act numbers. In its meaning, it represents a kind of requiem for Antoine, but at the same time it reflects Diana’s experiences, the depth of her grief. Thus, the image of Diana appears in two planes: both as an actress of the court theater (Lully’s gavotte) and as a suffering woman (Adagio).

While working on the ballet, Asafiev strove to create a compositionally harmonious musical form. In his own words, he wanted “the ballet as a whole as a musical work to take the form of a monumental symphony, realized through the means of musical theater.” However, this idea did not receive a sufficiently vivid embodiment due to the fact that the musical dramaturgy of the ballet in general turned out to be insufficiently symphonic. The composer interpreted the first act of the ballet as “an exposition of the revolutionary sentiments of France,” the second act as a symphonic andante; the third is a "dramatic scherzo", and the fourth is like the "finale of a heroic symphony".

The symphonic nature of the music of “The Flames of Paris” is manifested only in certain features: in the constant use of certain song themes that have received the meaning of leitmotifs (themes of revolutionary songs), in the tonal, intonation, genre kinship of various actors, in the large constructions of individual paintings and scenes. We can point out the unifying role of some keys: B-dur for the first act and G-dur for the third.

In musical dramaturgy, means of other genres are used: the principle of succession of parts and their contrasting comparison is taken from the symphony; from opera - the use of a choir.

Ballet music attracts with its great simplicity, melodiousness, and abundance of folk melodies, very convenient for dancing. The strength of ballet music lies in the composer's selection and use of material related to the era depicted. Asafiev noted that “The Flame of Paris” is a kind of “visual musical anthology,” since the ballet “presents in quotes and retellings everything that is most characteristic of the music ... of the third estate.”

ChapterII. Ballet"Bakhchisaraifountain"

2.1 Storycreation. Musicalmaterialballet

Among Asafiev’s best works, undoubtedly, his two Pushkin ballets should be included: “The Bakhchisarai Fountain” and “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Both of them belong to the romantic genre of “choreographic poems”. The composition of both ballets is based on comparisons of two different national spheres (cultures) - Slavic (Russian, Polish) and Eastern (Caucasus, Crimea). In both cases, the composer strives for a truthful depiction of the era and the entire setting of the action, and makes extensive use of musical genres and other means typical of the musical life of the depicted time and place of action. Asafiev composer ballet creativity

“The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” was the first Soviet ballet on the Pushkin theme. The idea of ​​creating a ballet belonged to the playwright and art critic N.D. Volkov, who outlined the script and involved Asafiev in its development. Pushkin's poem was largely developed, supplemented and turned into a dramatically effective ballet libretto. A scene appeared in the Polish castle, episodes of the Tatar raid, the capture and death of Maria, and the scene of Zarema’s execution were developed. The content of the poem formed the basis of a four-beat ballet performance, framed by a prologue and epilogue.

The dramaturgy of ballet is multifaceted. The contrasting construction of the action gives it harmony and relief. The music creates bright, expressive contrasts between Polish and Oriental scenes, genre episodes and lyrical-dramatic scenes, in which characters of different characters are compared. Already in the first act there is a comparison of two national cultures: Polish and Tatar. The lyrical image of Marie stands out against the background of lush, brilliant scenes of the holiday. In the second act, a new strong contrast arises: between everyday dance scenes and Zarema’s spiritual drama. The third act is especially rich in contrasts. It is based on the collision of three individual images: the elegiac-sad Maria, the passionate-dramatic Zarema and the soulfully noble Giray. Finally, in the fourth act, the wild dance of the Tatar riders is contrasted with the harsh drama of the execution of Zarema and the sublime lyricism of the romantic image of Girey. Thus, throughout the ballet, the method of contrasting comparisons was used as the basis for the musical and dramatic composition of the work.

The score of “The Bakhchisarai Fountain” harmoniously reflected the best features of Asafiev’s creative personality - an artist and an erudite scientist. The composer sought, in his words, “at all costs to preserve methodically... the era of Pushkin” and, more broadly, to convey in ballet music, in its general artistic structure, “that romantic that characterizes Russian advanced society on the approaches to Decembrism, and that which in turn is connected with Poland, flaming with national revolutionary ideals. All this was clearly reflected in the poetry of Pushkin, Mickiewicz, Shelley and Byron.”

In search of the typical melodic music of Pushkin’s time, Asafiev could not ignore the work of M.I. Glinka, since the spirit of the music of Pushkin’s era found its highest and typical expression in the work of the great musician and contemporary of the poet. But Asafiev used in his ballet not Glinka’s themes, but melodies of other composers of that era, marked by the same general stylistic features as Glinka’s melody - nobility, classical balance, plasticity of design.

The music of “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” (prologue and epilogue) includes Gurilev’s romance “The Fountain of the Bakhchisarai Palace”, which surprisingly well expresses the enlightened and elegiac mood of Pushkin’s poems. The second “quote” from Russian musical life of the 20-30s was J. Field’s piano nocturne, which was close in its melodic structure to Gurilev’s romance. The theme of the nocturne characterizes Maria in the ballet. Interesting. that this “quote” reminds us of Glinka. The Field nocturne chosen by Asafiev is stylistically akin to the piano works of Glinka himself and organically fits into the general Pushkin-Glinka structure of music. These quotes are in many ways typical of the lyrical thematics of the ballet as a whole. In the same intonation plan, Asafiev composed many of his own themes. Thus, a whole series of episodes appear in the ballet, the melody of which is of a romance nature and, therefore, is close to the romance genre, so widespread in the musical culture of the Pushkin-Glinka era. The features of romance are felt in the episode “Mary’s Exit” (second act) and in other numbers of the ballet dedicated to the lyrical appearance of the main character of the work.

The ballet's score also contains other musical and stylistic features reminiscent of Russian music of Pushkin's era. An example is the overture (Adagio, Allegro molto D-dur). It has no thematic connections with ballet. With its carefree, cheerful, lively character, the overture rather contrasts with the dramatic content of the action. But such a contrast is typical of ballet overtures of the 20s of the 19th century.

Asafiev widely used the waltz genre in his ballet, raised by Glinka to a high degree of artistry and poetry, and then developed in the works of Tchaikovsky and Glazunov. In “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” the waltz receives a variety of interpretations. In the waltz-duet of Mary and the young man (first act), the poetic side of the image of Mary is revealed. And in the Slave Waltz (act four) an oriental flavor appears.

The musical image of the era is also conveyed through instrumentation. In many episodes of the ballet score, Asafiev puts forward the part of the harp, an instrument widespread in the home musical life of those times. In the prologue, the melody of Gurilev's romance is played by the violin and cello (to the accompaniment of the harp). The harp performs a variation of the mari song style.

2.2 Maria-mainromanticimageballet

In “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” - a lyrical-psychological ballet, the composer’s main attention, in contrast to “The Flames of Paris”, is drawn to the heroes of the drama, to their individual musical and psychological characteristics, which consistently unfold in the richness and diversity of feelings and experiences of the characters. The main participants in the action are depicted through their typical intonations and leitmotifs.

The romantically beautiful, sublime appearance of the princess occupies a central place in the ballet. The musical characteristics of Maria are naturally dominated by elements of the Polish national color, but, in addition, there are Russian-Slavic features. The musical characterization of Maria is given a significant place in the first and third acts of the ballet. The image of Mary is purely lyrical.

The central lyrical number of the first act is “Nocturne of Mary and the Youth,” for which Asafiev used the melody of Field’s famous nocturne. In “Nocturne” the composer reveals the romantically enthusiastic feelings of lovers, and therefore it can be called the “theme of love”. Asafiev also introduces an oboe leitmotif into this scene and creates a broad symphonic development in which the original contemplative themes are transformed, turning into melodies of a passionate nature.

If in the first act several numbers were devoted to the musical characterization of Mary, then in the third act the music of almost the entire action is associated with her image. The composer's attention is focused on the drama of the heroine. Maria, having lost her homeland and loved ones, finding herself in a foreign land in the palace of Khan Girey, lives only with memories of the past. Only they distract Mary’s thoughts from the sad reality. The beginning of the third act is a scene of the heroine's memories. Part of the material from the first act is found here. This is a variation on the theme of the song character and the main leitmotif of Marie, which henceforth becomes a musical image of the tragic fate of the heroine. The scene consists of several contrasting musical episodes. The light song theme from the first act is replaced by an episode of a plaintive-elegiac nature, reminiscent of a sentimental romance. In the final section of the scene, the leitmotif of fate and short, restless phrases of the woodwinds, characterizing Maria's anxiety at the appearance of Giray, are briefly carried out.

The scene of Maria with Giray naturally follows from the previous one. It should be noted the novelty of musical means in the characterization of Mary in this scene. Maria's music is characterized by melodiousness and breadth of melodic breathing, but here Asafiev switches to spare, short melodic phrases with unstable harmonies, pauses, changes in tonality and tempo. One of the characteristic phrases runs in triplets in parallel movement of fourths against the background of a sustained chord. This phrase can be called the "Mary's fright" motif.

Elegy - memories of the ball. There is a sad and pensive melody here, reminiscent of a waltz, and two mazurkas are heard. All dances sound muffled, which creates a feeling of unreality. Gradually. Inspired, Maria accepts the past as reality. The colors become lighter (the minor mazurka passes through the major key), and the sonority increases. But the return of the main theme (the elegy is written in a complex three-part form) creates a feeling of hopelessness of Mary’s grief.

In the scene between Marie and Zarema, the composer provides a direct comparison of two opposing female images and, using contrasting material, builds a large dramatic episode with a vivid symphonic development. The heroine's clash with Zarema ends fatally. However, death comes to Mary as deliverance. Only now the major key in which the leitmotif sounded is replaced by an enharmonically equal minor key. A special impression of fragility and brokenness is created by the orchestral presentation: the theme is carried out by the solo violin against the background of the muted figuration of the violas. The theme is overshadowed by the timbres of the clarinet, sounding a tenth lower, the harp playing harmonics, as well as the quiet hum of the timpani. The orchestral coloring of this episode is undoubtedly inspired by the “melting scene” of the Snow Maiden. The theme fading in the upper register is replaced by gloomy chords of the low register, as if stopping the movement. A vivid juxtaposition of minor keys, changing registers, replacing movement with a stop - these are the means by which the composer paints the image of death. One can note the closeness of the image of Mary with the touching lyrical female characters of Rimsky-Korsakov: the Snow Maiden, Marfa, Volkhova.

Of all the leitmotifs of Marie, the composer singles out the main one, as the most characteristic of her, but appearing in various refractions: as a playful and graceful oboe strumming, as a theme of passionate feeling, sad parting with life. Passing through the entire ballet, this leitmotif gives the musical characteristics of Mari thematic integrity and unity.

2.3 MusicalcharacteristicimageZaremy

The image of Zarema, an oriental beauty, amazes with the brightness of the heroine’s emotional state. Zarema's ardent, passionate, determined nature, violently experiencing her humiliation as an abandoned woman, is contrasted with the fragile appearance of Maria. The contrast of the two female images is clearly reflected in Zarema’s music, endowed with dramatic features. Initially, Zarema’s appearance appears before the viewer. In her first dance, the extended second moves in the melody and the ostinato rhythm with the participation of percussion instruments in the accompaniment emphasize the oriental character of her image. The leisurely movement of the melody, free rhythmic structure, richness of harmonic colors and tonal comparisons give the dance music a touch of languid lyricism.

However, not all of Zarema’s part is in the Eastern spirit. Asafiev only once again makes one feel the national flavor - in the scene of Zarema with Giray. But with the onset of a dramatic situation, the composer transfers Zarema’s musical characterization into the dramatic sphere and no longer returns to oriental intonations.

The beginning of Zarema’s drama lies in her dance (Allegrretto elegiaco, d-moll), in which only a feeling of bewilderment and secret anxiety appears. The theme of the dance (second among the slave dances) is Zarema's leitmotif. It also serves as the melodic basis for other episodes of the third act that characterize Zarema’s drama, and can be called the motive of suffering. It is interesting to note the intonation similarity of this leitmotif with the main leitmotif of Mari. Both leitmotifs are used by the author to reveal the internal drama experienced by the heroines. But nevertheless, Maria’s leitmotif is distinguished by greater sophistication, while Zarema’s theme sounds simpler. Zarema’s theme is characterized by an active, strong-willed character. Asafiev gives the music of Zarema’s dance a complaint, her doubt, her anxiety.

In the scene with Giray (finale of the third act), the image of Zarema and her leitmotif take on leading importance. It frames the scene like a dramatic introduction (Adagio, d-moll) and conclusion (Allegro, d-moll), where the declamatory beginning predominates. The introduction is a long, pathetic monologue of the solo violin, and in the conclusion the same theme is heard in a wide and rich unison of strings, trumpets and horns. The same leitmotif takes on dance features in the episode. By slightly changing the theme, the composer conveys the heroine's growing despair. Zarema's leitmotif runs through the entire scene and holds its episodes together. The complex construction of the scene reflects the shades of the heroine’s state of mind and conveys its tension and drama.

Suffering caused by jealousy forces Zarema to approach her rival. Maria's date with Zarema is the most powerful dramatic episode of the ballet in terms of stage and music. A large cello solo opens this scene. It is written in the spirit of dramatic recitative, free improvisation, conveys the mystery of the situation and, with its restrained character, highlights the drama of the situation. The melodic turns of the introduction then turn into an expressive background against which Zarema’s theme emerges - her story. The basis for the musical development of the scene is the contrasting comparison of the themes of Mari and Zarema, as well as the end-to-end dynamic growth in five performances of Zarema’s theme-story. Orchestration plays a huge role here. The first conduct of the theme and story is entrusted to the cello, accompanied by restless figurations of the piano. In the second conduction, the cello melody gradually moves away from the theme pattern, turning into free declamatory phrases covering a wide range (over two octaves). In the third conduction, Zarema's theme appears in the rich sound of violins, flutes, oboes and clarinets. Further, the general tension is intensified by the introduction of pathetic accompanying chords of brass, and, finally, in the last conduction, the orchestral development reaches its climax: the theme sounds in chord presentation in all strings, wood and harp, supported by the powerful sonority of the brass group, timpani and the introduction of a bass drum at the moment of the highest voltage.

Maria's death plunges Zarema into numbness. The character of the music changes dramatically. The slow movement of the chords and their bizarre harmonic sequence create an ominous mood. This move is repeated in the fourth act. The scene of Zarema’s execution is built on it.

As we can see, the image of Zarema is also given in a broad and dramatically intense development. The composer shows Zarema as a romantic heroine, endowed with great human passions. The role of dramatic development in the depiction of Zarema is so significant that quite often Asafiev turns her numbers into large construction scenes, where danceability is permeated with elements of symphonic development.

2.4 MusicalcharacteristicimageGireya

The ballet's characterization of Giray as an eastern barbarian, leader, warrior and Giray as a romantic hero is complex and multifaceted. The composer identifies the characterization of Girey, the Tatar khan, with the wild appearance of the Tatar horde. Therefore, the entire scene of the “Invasion of the Tatars” (first act) and the music of “Girey’s March” (second act) equally give an idea of ​​the formidable power of the conquering Tatars and the unbridled passions of their leader, his cruelty. These episodes have a bright national flavor, and they belong to the best “oriental” pages of ballet music.

The “Invasion” scene is magnificent in ballet in its theatricality and imagery. It is written in a march rhythm. Each section of it is marked by a long repetition of laconic motifs based either on chromatic movement, or on the intonation of the tritone, or on the sounds of the diminished seventh chord. Melodic turns are distinguished by sharpness and severity of sound. But the rhythm gives this scene its special character. He plays a leading role here. Even strings, brass and harp are often used in a purely rhythmic sense.

The “Girey March” is very colorful, in which interesting and characteristic melodic content is combined with active and expressive rhythms. The quarter passages that open the march sound like trumpet signals in various registers and are reminiscent of the Polovtsian trumpets in Borodin’s “Prince Igor”.

The lyrical side of Giray's musical appearance is distinguished by nobility and restraint of expression, breadth and melodiousness of melodies. Such features clearly appear in the scene between Girey and Maria. Girey is characterized here by a melodious theme, appearing in the courageous, noble sound of the horn. After the first subdued sound, the theme progresses through the warm singing of the strings, in a higher register and with brighter harmonization and dynamics. Giray's enthusiasm increases. The onset of climax is marked by a passionate “breakthrough” of feelings. However, then the tension subsides, and everything ends in a restrained mood (Girey’s motif in unison presentation, at the tempo of Largo, As-major).

The leitmotif of the Tatars from the first act plays an important role in Girey’s characterization. In the fourth act of the ballet, it takes on a completely different flavor. Here he characterizes Giray, who was reborn under the influence of a feeling of deep love. The short motive loses its sharp outlines and turns into a broad and intensely developing melody. The theme sounds calm and leisurely from the English horn against the backdrop of sustained fifths of the bassoons and a fancy drum rhythm (snare drum and tambourine). With the help of such means, the oriental flavor is invariably preserved; the composer paints the image of the Tatar khan in softened lyrical tones.

The long process of development of Giray’s image ends with the affirmation of a romantically sublime beginning. Nothing can dislodge the beautiful appearance of Mary from Girey’s memory. He is indifferent to Zarema’s death and does not pay attention to the wild dance of the riders. By the way, it reproduces the entire material of the scenes “Invasion” and “Girey’s March”. In the last scene of the fourth act, Giray appears immersed in thoughts about Mary. The music here is entirely lyrical. The composer again resorts to the dramatic device of “memory” and builds Giray’s scene on the alternation of the main leitmotif of Maria and Giray’s lyrical motif.

The music of the ballet “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” is built on the principle of symphonic development. This mainly concerns the musical characteristics of the main characters. Symphony manifests itself in development - a change in leitmotifs and themes that are of great importance in one scene or another. Symphony is also manifested in the author’s desire to combine numbers into scenes, which is revealed in dramatic situations of action. Thus, the music of the third act is a chain of continuously developing scenes. In the second act of the ballet, a number of numbers follow without interruption, forming a dramatic suite in which Zarema’s anxious forebodings are expressed. In the first act, the menacing music of “Invasion” unexpectedly invades the ball scene and transitions into the tense dramatic episode of “The Flight of Mary and the Youth.” The moving melody, rapid tempo, and disturbed nature of the music convey the despair of the characters. The third act is distinguished by the greatest drama of action and music in the scenes of Maria with Zarema and Giray. In terms of musical dramaturgy, this act is reminiscent of dramatic scenes in such operas by Tchaikovsky as, for example, “Mazepa”, “The Enchantress”.

All these features indicate the fruitfulness of Asafiev’s efforts to enrich the ballet genre with the stylistic and dramatic achievements of Russian opera classics. Asafiev’s search in this direction allowed him to contribute a lot of essentially new and valuable things to the development of Soviet ballet in the early 30s.

Conclusion

Soviet ballet embodied a number of themes that deeply reveal various aspects of the intellectual culture of the people; the development of new qualities of choreography and, mainly, the deepening of the expressive capabilities of ballet music made it possible to expand the artistic and figurative boundaries of Soviet ballet. The fruitful activity of Asafiev played a major role in the enrichment and establishment of this genre. His passionate work in this area, wide knowledge of the theoretical and historical processes occurring in music, made it possible to reveal the essence of Soviet ballet in a new way. Asafiev did not just write music for ballets. Each of his opuses is the result of searches and generalizations. Asafiev’s creative method in the field of ballet can be defined as a specific scientific and artistic generalization of observations of the phenomena of social life of different times and peoples. Asafiev approached composing ballets as a practical musicologist, summarizing his knowledge not only in the field of music, but also in general culture. Therefore, with great power of impressiveness, he embodied the most seemingly non-ballet artistic images. Asafiev's ballets are distinguished by acutely conflictual dramaturgy, consistently carried out through all elements of the musical form.

Often Asafiev's ballets are built on the contrasting juxtaposition of two worlds. The main expositional conflict in the ballet “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” is based on the collision of the peaceful Polish way of life with the wild, impetuous Tatar horde, sweeping away everything in its path. If the Polish world is revealed with the help of rounded, classical, slender forms, then the invasion of the Tatars is depicted by a “wild symphony” of elemental rhythm and structure. Having decided to show two contrasting worlds in the ballet “The Flames of Paris” - the absolutist monarchy and the emerging force of the popular movement - Asafiev presented two fundamentally different plans in music. The atmosphere of the Tuileries is characterized by the intonations of court dance music (like a strict palace sarabande); music of the people - free revolutionary song intonations, through which the breath of the people is felt.

Listusedsources

1. Music of Soviet ballet. Digest of articles. - State Music Publishing House, Moscow 1962.

2. Music and choreography of modern ballet. Digest of articles. - Publishing house "Music", Leningrad branch 1974.

3. Asafiev B.V. Musical form as a process. - Publishing house "Music", Leningrad branch 1971.

4. Katonova S.V. Music in ballet. - State Musical Publishing House, Leningrad 1961.

5. Bezuglaya G.A. Analysis of ballet and dance music. Tutorial. - Publishing House of the Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg 2009.

Posted on Allbest.ru

Similar documents

Structure of the book by B.V. Asafiev "Musical form as a process." L.A. Mazel, V.Ya. Zuckerman "Analysis of musical works." The concept of homophonic and polyphonic form. The structure of tonal music. Theories of classical-romantic forms of modern times.

test, added 08/08/2015


Intonation. The evolution of European harmony from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The life of a piece of music. Timbre and intonation formation of music in Europe. Overcoming inertia with music. Oral music. Renaissance and the era of rationalistic thinking. Reger phenomenon.

course work, added 06/18/2008


Musical history of China. The history of the creation of collective creative projects and creative organizations in the PRC in the 1960-1970s of the twentieth century. The artist and the state ideology of China. The influence of collective creativity on the individuality of the composer.

article, added 03/24/2014


The personality phenomenon of Asafiev - a composer-musicologist, a biographical sketch of his life, the stages of personal and creative development. Factors in the formation of ideas and views of a given historical figure, features of the approach to comprehending the creative appearance.

course work, added 09/24/2013


Biography and work of composer Giacomo Puccini. The history of the creation of the opera "Turandot" under the influence of the impressions of a dramatic performance at the Max Reinhardt Theater. Characters and content of the opera. Musical dramaturgy and images of the main characters.

abstract, added 06/27/2014


Analysis of R. Shchedrin's opera "Dead Souls", Shchedrin's interpretation of Gogol's images. R. Shchedrin as an opera composer. Characteristics of the features of the musical embodiment of the image of Manilov and Nozdryov. Consideration of Chichikov's vocal part, its intonation.

report, added 05/22/2012


Biography of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Russian composer, conductor, teacher, musical and public figure, music journalist. Contribution to Orthodox sacred music and pedagogical activity. Main works: operas, ballets, symphonies.

presentation, added 03/15/2015


The history of the creation of the Swedish ensemble "ABBA", an overview of its performing work and an analysis of the key factors of pop success. The history of the creation of the group "Boney M" and the study of its musical creativity, assessment of the success factors of the group's performances.

course work, added 07/24/2014


Biography of the Swiss-French composer and music critic Arthur Honegger: childhood, education and youth. Group "Six" and the study of periods of the composer's work. Analysis of the "Liturgical" Symphony as a work by Honegger.

course work, added 01/23/2013


The harmonic language of modern music and its embodiment in the music of the famous Russian composer S.S. Prokofiev, his worldview and creative principles. Features of the composer's piano work, analysis of the musical language of the play "Sarcasms".

Boris Asafiev
ballet in 3 acts

Libretto- Nikolay Volkov based on the poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin
Choreography- People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of the USSR State Prize Rostislav Zakharov
Staging- People's Artist of Belarus Yuri Troyan
Composer- People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of USSR State Prizes Boris Asafiev
Conductor- stage director - Honored Artist of the Republic of Belarus Nikolai Kolyadko
Production designer- People's Artist of Russia, laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Belarus Vyacheslav Okunev
Conductor- Ivan Kostyakhin

Short description:

First action
First picture
Old park of Potocki Castle. Today there is a big holiday here - the birthday of young Maria, the prince’s daughter. Leaving the guests, Maria meets her fiancé Vaclav in the park. They excitedly tell each other about their love. Suddenly a Tatar warrior appears in the park and then quickly disappears. The guests don't notice anything. Guests enter from the castle to the sounds of a solemn polonaise. Polonaise gives way to Krakowiak and Mazurka.
Suddenly a wounded Polish soldier appears. He reports that the Tatars surrounded the castle. The prince calls men to arms. The women take refuge in the castle. The battle begins.
The castle is on fire. Miraculously surviving Maria and Vaclav are trying to escape. At this time, the leader of the Tatars, Crimean Khan Girey, quickly bursts into the park. Struck by Mary's beauty, he freezes for a moment, then rushes to her. Vaclav blocks his path, but immediately falls, struck by a dagger.

Second picture
Harem of Khan Girey in the Bakhchisarai Palace. Among the young beauties, the khan's wives, the first is the beautiful Georgian Zarema, Giray's beloved wife.
The trumpets sound. It was Giray's army that returned from the campaign. The khan's wives greet their master with excitement. Zarema is the first to rush to Giray. But he doesn't notice her. Zarema tries in vain to attract the khan's attention. He thinks only about Maria, he loves only her. In despair, Zarema loses consciousness.

Second act
Third picture
Maria's room. Here, guarded by an old servant, the beautiful captive of the khan languishes. A whole world of memories of her home and Vaclav arises in her memory. Maria's dreams are disrupted by the arrival of Giray. He begs the girl to accept his love and all the wealth he owns. But Maria does not and will never love Giray, who killed her beloved, family and friends.
Suddenly Zarema appears in Maria’s chambers. She tells Maria about her love for Giray and, clutching a dagger to her chest, begs Maria to return the khan to her. Maria sincerely and simply tells Zarema that she will never love him. Captivated by Maria’s truthfulness, Zarema calms down. Suddenly her gaze falls on Giray’s forgotten skullcap. The flame of jealousy flares up in her again. The maid calls for help.
Girey quickly runs in. He rushes to Zarema and tries to grab her hand, but she manages to deal a fatal blow to Maria. Khan is furious and ready to kill Zarema. But she herself goes to meet his blade. With a movement of his hand, the khan orders the guards to take Zarema away.

Boris Asafiev. Ballet "Bakhchisarai Fountain"

Ballet to music Boris Asafiev in four acts. Libretto by N. Volkov.

Characters

Prince Adam, Polish tycoon

Maria, his daughter

Vaclav, Maria's fiance

Girey, Crimean Khan

Zarema, Girey's beloved wife

Nurali, military leader

Castle manager, chief of the guard, Polish lords and panenki, abbot, spy, Girey's second wife, maid, eunuchs, Tatars, Poles

The action takes place in Poland and Bakhchisarai at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries.

History of creation

Since the beginning of the 1930s, Asafiev actively worked in the genre of baaleta. After the successful premiere of " Flames of Paris", first in Leningrad, and then in Moscow, he first turned to Pushkin’s plot. The idea of ​​​​creating a ballet based on Pushkin’s poem “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” (1821-1823) belonged to the playwright, art historian and theater critic N. Volkov (1894-1965), who first independently developed the script, and then attracted Asafiev to work on it. As a result, the lyrical poem turned into a dramatic libretto with a scene in a Polish castle, the scene of Zarema's execution; new characters also appeared - Maria’s fiancé Vaclav (in Pushkin, “she had not yet known love”), the military leader Nurali; Mary's father, unnamed in the poem, became Prince Adam.

Initially, Asafiev, following the example of “The Flame of Paris,” thought to use the music of composers from the era of the events described. However, during the work it became clear that this was unrealistic. Of the previously selected material, only Gurilev’s romance “The Fountain of the Bakhchisarai Palace” was useful (thus, Pushkin’s poem, written in 1824, was also used in the ballet), which sounds in the prologue and epilogue of the ballet, like a frame framing it, and one of the nocturnes of Chopin’s predecessor in this genre by J. Field, characterizing Mary.

The music was created quickly. The composer, in his words, sought “at all costs to preserve melodically... the era of Pushkin,” and in addition, to convey “the romantic that characterizes Russian advanced society on the approaches to Decembrism, and that, in turn, associated with Poland flaming with national revolutionary ideals. All this was clearly reflected in the poetry of Pushkin, Mickiewicz, Shelley and Byron... This is not a restoration of romanticism, but an attempt to hear the era through Pushkin’s poem and convey the emotions that worried the poet through their free retelling.”

“The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” became the choreographer’s debut of R. Zakharov (1907-1984). Rostislav Zakharov, who graduated from the Leningrad Choreographic School in 1926, and in 1932 as an external student from the directing department of the Leningrad Theater College in the class of S. Radlov, danced on the stage of the Kyiv Theater for seven years, and in 1934 he began working as a choreographer at the Theater. Kirov (Mariinsky) in Leningrad. “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai” became the beginning not only of Zakharov’s choreographic activity, but also of the ballet “Pushkiniana” on the domestic stage. Zakharov introduced a new method of working on a ballet performance, based on the Stanislavsky system. The ballet's choreography contrasts classical dance with colorful oriental dances full of elemental power. There are no impersonal characters in the play. Both the soloists, the corps de ballet, and mimes are involved in the action, become participants in the drama being played out, and embody living images. The dances incorporate elements of pantomime and are constructed as monologues and dialogues in which the actor speaks not with conventional gestures, which have long been accepted in ballet pantomime, but with dance movements that become carriers of feelings and thoughts.

Premiere on September 28, 1934 at the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater. Kirova (Mariinsky) was a great success. To this day, ballet remains in the repertoire.

Plot

Park in front of Prince Adam's castle. There's a ball at the castle. Dancing can be seen through the large windows overlooking the terrace. Maria runs out into the park, Vaclav hurries after her - the lovers are happy. Polish soldiers appear with a captured Tatar. The guests pouring into the park continue to have fun and dance. The chief of the guard runs in with the news of the approaching Tatars. Men take up arms. A Tatar detachment bursts in and a fight begins. Maria flees from the burning palace, guarded by Vaclav. Giray appears in front of them. He rushes to Maria and stabs Vaclav, who is blocking his path.

His wives are having fun in Giray's harem. Girey, who has returned from the campaign, enters. Zarema rushes to him, but the khan’s thoughts are occupied with the beautiful captive. Zarema’s attempts to attract the master’s attention lead nowhere.

Giray comes to Maria's room. He tells the girl about his love, but she is faithful to the memory of Vaclav. After Giray leaves, Maria takes the harp and plays the melody of her distant homeland on it. Night falls, but Maria cannot sleep. Zarema slips into her room and begs him to return Girey’s love to her. Maria assures the jealous woman that she does not love and will never love the Khan. Zarema believes her, but suddenly her gaze notices the skullcap forgotten by Giray. The flame of jealousy flares up again. The awakened maid calls for help. Girey runs in, but Zarema manages to plunge a dagger into her rival. Girey orders the guards to take Zarema away.

In the courtyard of the Bakhchisarai Palace, Girey yearns for Mary. Nurali, who has returned from a successful campaign, shows him new captives, but Girey is indifferent. On his orders, Zarema is thrown into the abyss. After the execution, he is left alone at the “fountain of tears” built in memory of Mary. Visions of the past appear before him. The singer's voice can be heard from afar:

Fountain of love, living fountain! I brought you two roses as a gift. I love your silent conversation and poetic tears. Your silver dust sprinkles me with cold dew: Oh, pour down, pour down, a spring of joy! Murmur, hum your story to me...

Music

“The Bakhchisarai Fountain” is a lyrical ballet-poem. Its composition is based on a contrasting comparison of two different cultures - Slavic and Eastern. The music is distinguished by lyricism, subtle sound recording, and drama. The ballet score uses a system of leitmotifs - musical characteristics of the characters.

We've answered the most popular questions - check, maybe we've answered yours too?

• We are a cultural institution and want to broadcast on the Kultura.RF portal. Where should we turn?
• How to propose an event to the portal’s “Poster”?
• I found an error in a publication on the portal. How to tell the editors?

I subscribed to push notifications, but the offer appears every day

We use cookies on the portal to remember your visits. If cookies are deleted, the subscription offer will pop up again. Open your browser settings and make sure that the “Delete cookies” option is not marked “Delete every time you exit the browser.”

I want to be the first to know about new materials and projects of the portal “Culture.RF”

If you have an idea for broadcasting, but do not have the technical ability to carry it out, we suggest filling out an electronic application form within the framework of the national project “Culture”: . If the event is scheduled between September 1 and November 30, 2019, the application can be submitted from June 28 to July 28, 2019 (inclusive). The selection of events that will receive support is carried out by an expert commission of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Our museum (institution) is not on the portal. How to add it?

You can add an institution to the portal using the “Unified Information Space in the Field of Culture” system: . Join it and add your places and events in accordance with. After checking by the moderator, information about the institution will appear on the Kultura.RF portal.

Bakhchisarai Fountain Libretto by N. Volkov

Ballet in four acts

Characters

Prince Adam Potocki, Polish tycoon

Maria, his daughter

Vaclav, Maria's fiance

Giray, Crimean Khan

Zarema, beloved wife of Giray

Nurali, military leader

Castle Manager

Chief of the Guard

Abbot

Tatar spy

Giray's second wife

Maid

Polish lords and panenki, eunuchs, Tatars, Poles.

Act one.

Bright moonlit night. Castle of Prince Potocki. A park decorated with ancient bronze statues. In the center of the scene is the main entrance to the castle. The windows are brightly lit, shadows of dancers flicker through them.

With the first bars of the introduction to the waltz, Vaclav runs onto the stage. He was already overtaking Maria, who was running away from him, but suddenly she disappeared. It seemed to him that her dress flashed in the alley. He ran there, but Maria was not there either.

At this moment (second phrase of the waltz) Maria appears from behind the castle - from a completely different direction. She is surprised to see Vaclav here. Stealthily approaches him from behind and playfully covers the young man’s eyes with his hands. Vaclav recognizes her immediately. They shake hands and, happy, continue the serene dance-game.

But then it seemed to Maria that someone was walking along the alley of the park. She was embarrassed: her playful and loving treatment of Vaclav could be seen by strangers. The young people quietly walk around the stage and, seeing no one, resume the dance-game. Vaclav is so carried away by Maria that in a fit of delight he kisses her.

Maria was confused. She is offended, embarrassed. Full of remorse, Vaclav asks for forgiveness. Maria believes him. Their dance-game resumes again. Chu! Someone is actually walking down the alley. "Let's run!" - the lovers say to each other and quickly disappear.

They left on time. The castle manager comes out onto the platform and calls the servants. They bring vessels of wine, goblets, vases of fruit and quickly place them on the tables.

Flashing between the trees, a Tatar spy sneaks. He runs across the stage, climbs onto the castle balcony and looks out the window... Something scared him. A moment - and he disappears among the trees.

The chief of security and two guards run out: they are looking for an enemy spy. By order of the boss, everyone disperses in different directions.

For a moment the stage is empty. But Maria runs out from behind the castle, followed by Vaclav. Continuing their game, excited, joyful, they hide in the castle.

The front doors swing open and the servants line up. Pototsky and his daughter open the procession of guests to the park.

The polonaise is over. Guests are located in the park. Krakowiak. Two young men are eager to show their prowess and fencing skills. They are joined by two experienced old swordsmen. War dance with sabers.

Two girls approach the boys and, taking their sabers in their hands, dance a variation, imitating the fencers.

The owner of the house asks his daughter to dance for the guests. Maria agrees. The young men help her take off her cape. Vaclav takes the lute and plays.

Variation of Maria. Following it is the Vaclav variation. Admired by his dance, the girls surround Vaclav and take him to the park, where, at the invitation of the owner of the house, the guests also retire.

Maria looks for Vaclav in the park, but does not find him and wants to leave. At this moment, Vaclav appears. They run up to each other.

A duet begins, full of confessions and chaste tender caresses. Suddenly the sounds of a dashing mazurka burst in. The guests scared the lovers, and they run away in embarrassment.

A mazurka is being performed. The owner of the house dances first with one lady, then with another, and finally with Maria. This causes general delight.

A general dance again... And suddenly there was confusion. The bleeding chief of the castle guard is looking for his master. "Tatars!" - he manages to say, falling dead.

Pototsky calls the guests to arms. The men draw their sabers and rush into the park, led by the prince.

The women run away.

The Tatar military leader Nurali jumps onto the stage like a wild animal. He gives the order: “Attack!” The Poles, pressed by the Tatars, appear from all sides.

Here Nurali easily defeats two Polish youths. Several Tatars and Poles roll across the stage in hand-to-hand combat. The priest runs, trying to protect the woman clinging to him with a cross, but falls under the blow of the Tatar. So the young man jumps up on the table and fights off the Tatars attacking him. A deftly thrown lasso pulls him to the floor, and the huge Tatar strangles the Pole. A strong old man grabbed a forged jug and pounded it on the heads of the Tatar warriors surrounding him, but fell from the blow of a dagger. In a heated duel with a Polish youth, Nurali easily emerges victorious.

New detachments of Tatars are rushing to the burning castle. The ranks of his defenders are thinning. Potocki appears. “Poland, come to me!” - his call is heard. The remnants of Polish soldiers are running towards him from all sides. They are surrounded and pressed by the Tatars. Nurali enters into a duel with Pototsky and kills him. The Tatars destroy every last one of the Poles. On Nurali's orders, the Tatars rush after him, leaving the scene strewn with the corpses of the castle's defenders.

The door of the burning castle opens, Vaclav with a saber in his hand and Maria with her lute make their way through the smoke and flames; Maria's face is covered with a scarf.

Vaclav sees the Tatar, leaves Maria on the steps of the castle and enters into battle with the Tatar. A moment - and the enemy falls.

The path is clear! Maria runs up to Vaclav, but they are attacked by another Tatar. Vaclav knocks this one down too... Another one... and this one is killed... Having hugged Maria, Vaclav runs towards the exit, but suddenly stops as if spellbound at the sight of Giray with his retinue. Giray also stops when he sees Maria and Vaclav clinging to each other.

Nurali makes a dash towards Vaclav, but Giray stops him and slowly walks into the middle of the stage. He raises his hand and with a majestic, slightly mocking gesture invites the young man to come to him.

Vaclav attacks Giray with a raised saber. Giray makes a short, barely noticeable movement, and Vaclav falls at Giray’s feet, pierced by his dagger. Giray calmly steps over the corpse, approaches Maria and with a sharp movement rips off the blanket from her.

Seeing the beauty, he almost screams with delight and wants to rush to her, but some force in her gaze stops him, and he unexpectedly bows before her in a deep bow. Following Giray, Nurali and the warriors slowly bow before Maria.

Act two.

Harem in the Girey Palace in Bakhchisarai. In the foreground and background of the scene, three curtains - carpets - are lowered from above.

Morning. There are two eunuchs standing - the keeper of the harem and his assistant. Girey's wives, yawning and stretching, walk between the carpets and past the eunuchs. Those, observing the order, count them and make various comments.

So, breaking the lazy languor of the harem, three frisky gossips ran. The eunuch had to shout at them. Two women started a scandal over a jug. The eunuchs took the jug from them and drove them both away. Here is one of the wives boasting about her jewelry, and the other three are jealous of her and ask her to let her try them on for a moment. Some beauty walks proudly by, considering herself Zarema’s rival. A sycophant hovers around her, showering her with compliments. Here are two women, with the air of conspirators, hiding by the carpet and mysteriously whispering about something. A eunuch creeps up to them, wants to eavesdrop, but gets scared - the conspirators run away.

Girey’s beloved wife, Zarema, comes out surrounded by servants. The eunuchs smile ingratiatingly and bow low to her.

Zarema wants to know what the coming day promises her. One of the servants predicts by her hand: “Love awaits you.” Zarema is happy. She looks with pleasure in the mirror, which is helpfully held by two slaves.

The curtains-carpets rise, and Zarema and her servants enter the harem. There is a fountain in the middle. There are wide ottomans all around and two special beds under canopies - for Girey and Zarema. There are pillows, carpets, jugs, vases of fruit everywhere. Zarema approaches the fountain, admires its streams, and then leaves, accompanied by her maids.

Quietly, sideways, clinging to the walls, Giray's old wives appear. Their faces are hidden, their clothes are dark. The eunuchs wanted to drive them away, but they regretted it. In groups, young wives gradually enter the harem (in the same order as they walked in the previous picture, between the carpets).

Zarema appears again. She is accompanied by obsequious bows, envious glances and gossip from her rivals. Zarema sits down on her bed. He sorts through the jewelry in the casket and laughs at the fun of the other wives.

One of the women gathered a circle around her and, while dancing, said something. The other one is also surrounded by her friends, begging her to dance; she has no time for that - Zarema, her rival, is here.

A group of beauties rushed onto Girey's bed and started fussing there. The eunuchs drive them away. Another group chases the butterfly, but the butterfly flies away, and again it becomes sad in the gilded cage.

The assistant caretaker of the harem brings Zarema a dish with selected fruits. Having conspired with other wives, one of them trips him. The eunuch falls, the fruit scatters, the women are delighted. They pick up fruits and start a fun game. Some throw apples at each other, some try to hit the eunuchs with them, some dance with fruits, and three even managed to hang on the harem caretaker, etc. spin it around. Having become naughty, the wives, at a sign from one of them, suddenly throw off their light dresses and, throwing them up, spin around the stage.

The eunuchs rush to restore order. They grab anyone and throw them on the floor. The caretaker of the harem had already swung his whip at one of the most frisky, but remained with his hand raised. Everyone froze when they heard the growing noise - it was Giray’s troops returning.

Wives and eunuchs rush headlong towards the huge grating, through which the street of Bakhchisarai and galloping warriors are visible. Following the other wives, Zarema jumps up from her bed: “Girey! Hurry up, hurry up, mirror, jewelry!” She is helped by maids and eunuchs. Excited Zarema takes off her luxurious robe - she is ready to meet Giray.

The carpet curtain comes down. A group of Girey’s warriors runs along the proscenium, followed by a second one. Nurali passes, and with him two bodyguards. The commanding tone of the military leader - and the bodyguards take their places. Nurali's shout - everyone falls on their faces.

Girey runs in. Following him, four soldiers carry a stretcher with the captive Mary. She is half hidden by a light blanket. The stretcher stops. Girey's gesture - and Nurali is at his feet. Giray's order - and Nurali sends the soldiers with a stretcher further, entrusting Maria to her future servant.

Giray does not take his eyes off Mary, his hands reach out to her. Maria meets his eyes, shudders and turns away. They take her away. Nurali's order - the warriors and bodyguards run away. Finally, Nurali himself leaves.

The carpet curtain rises, Girey enters the harem. Everyone is waiting for him, falling on their faces. Only Zarema cannot restrain her impulse, runs to Giray, clings to him for a moment, dances in front of him, happy, trembling. But Giray sees nothing. He looks to where Maria was taken. He does not notice how the eunuchs take off his cloak, helmet, chain mail and put on a robe and a precious skullcap, and he does not notice Zarema caressing him.

Zarema is confused and does not understand what is happening with Giray. He examines himself - maybe she is not dressed as he likes?

She stretches out her hands to him pleadingly, calling him... Finally, Girey saw her. His cold, alien gaze completely killed Zarema.

She shrank and, not understanding what happened, interrupted the dance.

Giray lowers himself onto his bed, but immediately jumps up. The maid brings Maria in. The wives saw her. They fussed and whispered.

Zarema suddenly ran into her. She pulled back. I got worried.

Giray tries to restrain his impulse, but cannot; runs up to Mary and bows before her in a respectful, deep bow.

It was as if all the wives had been blown away by the wind. Frightened, they hid in all directions and looked out, watching what was happening - they had never seen Giray like this.

And Girey, with a broad gesture, shows Maria: everything that she sees around him, he places at her feet. Maria shuddered and turned away.

Zarema staggered, ran to her bed, grabbed a mirror, looked at herself, compared herself with Maria.

Giray does not want to bother Maria. Let her maid take her to her chambers. Maria slowly leaves. Giray reaches out to her. She turns around and makes a pleading gesture to Giray, but... he is scary, his gaze is blazing... quickly, quickly leave! The maid takes Maria away.

Girey finds it difficult to come to his senses. The eunuchs make him sit down and, trying to entertain him, order their wives to dance.

The wives dance with dishes with fruits on them and present them to Giray. A girl - a child of a harem - dances a dance with bells. Young women with jugs and vases of fruit dance, trying to attract Giray's attention. But he does not see what is happening around him. Then the eunuchs bring out Zarema, who dances for Giray to the accompaniment of other wives.

Zarema puts all the power of feeling into her dance. But Girey does not look at her... Zarema’s movements take on a nervous, impetuous character, she rushes about, suffers, rushes to Girey... but he turns away with displeasure.

Gathering her last strength, Zarema tries to resume her dance. But Girey gets up, absorbed in the thought of Maria, walks past Zarema and, turning sharply away, rushes to the doors that closed behind Maria. With a huge effort of will, he manages to restrain himself and lower himself onto the bed.

At the same time, the exhausted Zarema falls exhausted onto her bed.

The second wife takes advantage of this moment; She begins her dance, with which she tries to attract Girey's attention. Emboldened, he approaches Giray and even hugs his knees.

Giray jumps up and rushes to the door. The eunuchs run after him. In despair, Zarema rushes after Girey, but other wives block her path, mock her, imitate her, depicting how Girey greeted Maria. Now Zarema is rejected - she is not afraid of them.

But then Zarema breaks out of their circle and looks around. Jump after Giray. Stop: I remembered how he loved her braids, her hands... No, no, she won’t let him go! Zarema rushes to the door through which Maria went, followed by Girey, but... she doesn’t dare!

The wives became worried. Someone sympathizes with her, someone is happy about Zarema’s grief, but everyone is alarmed.

Zarema dances, remembering Giray’s caresses, talks about her grief, asks for sympathy and help. And suddenly... Girey returns. He did not dare to enter Mary, but he saw her, and therefore he was happy and exhausted...

Frightened wives run away. Only Zarema dared to shout: “Girey!”

The Khan shuddered... He turned, looked at Zarema and immediately became calm and cold. Slowly, carefully, Zarema approaches Girey. Hugs him. Girey sternly and coldly removes Zarema’s hands. Her hands fell... And the dance of despair and grief begins.

Zarema is rushing about. Either she reminds Giray of their love, then she begs him to at least look at her, then she screams about her grief and asks him to save her... Giray does not hear. He thinks about Maria and wants to leave the harem.

Zarema rushes to him and wraps her arms around him. They stand for a long time, looking into each other's eyes. Girey slowly removes Zarema’s hands from his shoulders, turns away and leaves.

Zarema seemed to freeze with her arms dangling. Giray passed by... He stopped... Perhaps a feeling of pity delayed him for a moment... No, no! Everything is over. Giray impulsively and decisively strides towards the door. He turns around sharply and looks at Zarema... No! Leaves.

Zarema swayed. Only now did she come to her senses. He rushes after Giray... and falls unconscious.

Act three. Mary's room in the Giray Palace. In the corner, under the canopy, is a luxurious bed. Maria sits, plays the lute, remembers her native Poland.

Maria sighed heavily. I put down the lute. She got up, walked around, and looked around her luxurious prison again. How cold, how alien it is here!.. She shuddered, ran and fell on her bed.

Girey enters quietly. He is afraid to disturb Maria, but wants to explain to her. Girey respectfully bows before her and again says that everything around him, and he himself, his heart and mind, belong to her.

Maria doesn't understand him. She's scared. The blood of Vaclav and her father is on it!

Girey takes her hand. He came to calm her down and tell her of his love. Maria does not understand him and asks him to leave.

And it seemed to Giray that she called him... He rushes to her, and this impulse completely deprives Maria of strength; helpless, she ends up in the hands of Giray. No, he won't touch her! Maria is the deity of Giray!

Girey slowly kneels down, wants to touch Maria, but does not dare. By an effort of will, he forces himself to leave her. With a deep bow, he leaves as carefully as he entered.

Only now did Maria wake up. Giray!.. No! The girl is crying.

Happy days appear in the memory again, dear images of father, Vaclav, homeland come to life... Dance.

Alas, she is in captivity... She is scared. The only thing left from the past is the lute. Kneeling down, Maria hugs the lute and freezes.

The maid enters. He touches Maria on the shoulder. The captive shudders... “Don’t be afraid!” - the maid calms down, leads Maria to the bed, puts her to bed. She takes her rug and lies down by the door... She falls asleep... Silence.

Zarema sneaks, stumbles upon a sleeping maid... With an inaudible, deft cat's leap, she jumps over the maid...

He looks around... he sees Maria... He carefully approaches her, wakes her up and lifts her from the bed: “Hush!.. For God’s sake, hush!..” Zarema approaches the lying maid and, making sure that she is sleeping, turns to Maria: “I love Gireya; I beg you, I beg you on my knees, leave him!”

Maria does not understand Zarema. She hopes that Zarema will help her leave here, and asks her about it... But Zarema does not believe her. Leave Giray?! Zarema cannot understand this, Maria is lying. She tells Maria how Girey caressed her, how he loved her...

“Give me my Giray!” - she shouts.

Maria wants to calm Zarema down, but she doesn’t understand her... Hatred and anger engulf Zarema.

Zarema has a dagger in her hands, she runs up to Maria, raises her hand... Maria does not run away, she is ready to die... and this submission stops Zarema. Zarema falls down, sobbing.

And suddenly she sees Girey’s skullcap, forgotten by him here. Grabbing the skullcap, Zarema shouts to Maria: “You are lying, Giray was here with you!” Having exhausted her strength, she throws the skullcap at Maria’s feet and falls herself.

The maid woke up a long time ago and ran away for help. Girey runs in. A eunuch and a maid hurry after him.

Zarema saw Giray, raised her dagger and ran up to Maria. Girey barely manages to catch Zarema's hand. A short struggle - and Zarema, like a snake, slips out of Girey’s hands... A moment - and she hits Maria in the back with a dagger...

Maria leans on the column... slowly turns around and sees Giray frozen in horror. "For what?" - she seems to ask.

Quietly, quietly it falls... The head fell, the hand fell... it’s all over!

Giray shuddered. With a broad gesture, he seems to remove the veil from his eyes. He saw Zarema, pulled out a dagger, rushed towards her, swung... but Zarema opened her arms and exposed her chest to the attack... “To die by your hand is happiness!”

Giray realized this... retreats, thinking. No, he will come up with another, terrible execution for Zarema. The order - and Zarema is captured by the eunuch.

Girey slowly sheathes the dagger...

Act four.

Courtyard of the Bakhchisarai Palace. Giray sits on the throne in deep oblivion. Around him, advisers are talking among themselves.

Giray is motionless.

There is excitement behind the scenes: Nurali and a detachment of warriors are returning from the raid.

Nurali appears at the gate, respectfully approaches the khan and reports...

One group of selected warriors enters, having just returned from a campaign... another, a third...

Giray is motionless.

Nurali orders the introduction of a large group of beautiful female captives. The warriors show the captives to Giray, laying rich booty at his feet...

Giray is motionless.

One of Giray’s captives asks to let them go... A blow from the whip, and she is thrown back... All the captives fall...

Immovable Giray.

By order of Nurali, Giray’s bodyguards bring in Zarema...

Giray is motionless!

Zarema is brought to Girey. Khan ordered Zarema to be executed.

Maybe he changed his mind and forgave? In vain Nurali waits for at least some sign from Girey... The bodyguards take Zarema away, then lift her to a high wall... The wind flutters Zarema's clothes... From here she will be thrown down onto the stones... Zarema turns to Girey for the last time...

But Giray is motionless.

At a sign from Nurali, the bodyguards throw Zarema down... Everyone froze... They turned to Giray...

Suddenly the khan came out of his stupor. He jumped up, and immediately a frenzied Tatar dance broke out! Sweeping away everything in its path, the horde rushes, jubilant warriors gallop, led by the brave and strong Nurali! Everything for Giray! And he froze again.

The warriors stopped, raising Nurali high in their arms.

Giray woke up. He looked around and with a tired gesture dismissed everyone.

Only Nurali crawls to Giray, begs him to return to his former life, to military campaigns.

No, Girey wants to be left alone! On his orders, Nurali also leaves.

Giray alone at the Fountain of tears. Memories pass before him in a string.

Here Girey stopped, as he did then... when he first saw Maria back in Poland... So he takes her hand and, as in a harem, shows that everything around belongs to her... So he tries to caress her. Here Zarema kills her... He rushes to Zarema...

But his strength fails him... His hands fall... And Giray bows low before the Fountain of Tears, as he once bowed before Mary...