Can a historical legend be classified as a variety? Tradition: definition, concept, meaning

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The meaning of the word libretto

libretto in the crossword dictionary

Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language, Dal Vladimir

libretto

Wed inclined Italian in translation, a little book, notebook: words, content or explanation of an opera, ballet.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

libretto

uncl., cf. (Italian libretto) (theatre).

    Verbal text of a large musical vocal work, advantage operas.

    Summary(usually placed in theater program) the plot of the opera or play being performed (colloquial).

    Plot plan, script outline for ballet or films. The libretto is ready, all that remains is to develop the script.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.

libretto

uncl., cf.

    Verbal text of a theatrical musical and vocal work. L. Opera.

    Brief summary of the content of a play, opera, ballet.

    Scenario plan (special).

New explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

libretto

Wed several

    Text of a theatrical musical and vocal work (opera, operetta, cantata and oratorio).

    Script for ballet, pantomime, etc.

    Brief summary of the content of opera, ballet, etc. (usually placed in a theater program).

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

libretto

LIBRETTO (Italian libretto, lit. - little book)

    literary text operas, operettas, less often oratorios. It was originally published as a separate book (hence the name).

    Literary script for ballet and pantomime.

    The plot outline or outline of a film script.

Libretto

(Italian libretto, literally ≈ little book), verbal text of a musical-dramatic work ≈ opera, operetta, in the past and cantata, oratorio, literary script ballet performance, as well as a brief summary of the content of opera, operetta, and ballet. The name is due to the fact that opera operas have been staged since the end of the 17th century. often published for theater visitors in the form of small books. L. represents the literary and dramatic basis of the opera. Until the middle of the 18th century. A certain scheme dominated in L.'s composition, determined by the uniformity of musical and dramatic tasks. Therefore, the same successful song was often used many times by different composers. Later, literary works, as a rule, are created by the librettist in close contact with the composer, sometimes with his direct participation, which ensures a more complete unity of action, words and music. Since the 19th century. some outstanding composers Those who had literary and dramatic talent created their own operas (G. Berlioz, R. Wagner, A. Boito, M. P. Mussorgsky, in the 20th century ≈ S. S. Prokofiev, K. Orff, etc.) .

The main source of L.'s plots is folk poetry, legends, fairy tales, and professional fiction. When processed into L. literary works usually undergo significant changes, even to the point of rethinking their very concept (“ Queen of Spades"by A. S. Pushkin and P. I. Tchaikovsky). Only in isolated cases are dramatic works used in L. almost entirely (“The Stone Guest” by Dargomyzhsky after Pushkin, “Pelleas and Mélisande” by Debussy after Maeterlinck, etc.).

The types of poetry and their features are very diverse both in content and in the sense of general construction, application of poetic and prose text, the presence or absence of division of the text into numbers, etc. The history of L. is inextricably linked with the history of opera itself in all its genre and national varieties. Each historically specific type of opera has its own type L.

Wikipedia

Libretto

Libretto - literary basis large vocal composition, secular or spiritual nature, for example, opera, ballet, operetta, oratorio, cantata, musical; summary plot of the play.

The libretto is written, as a rule, in verse, mostly in rhyme. For recitatives it is possible to use prose. The subjects for the libretto are mainly literary works, altered in accordance with musical and stage requirements. Less often, the libretto is a completely original composition; as H. S. Lindenberger notes, if we consider an indicator of the originality of a libretto to be its ability to exist independently of the music written on its basis, then only Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s libretto for Richard Strauss’s opera “Der Rosenkavalier,” which has its own production destiny, passes this test. At the same time, in the history of librettism there are examples of the significant contribution of libretto authors to the creation outstanding works and the development of the genre - first of all, the activities of Lorenzo da Ponte and the role of Ranieri da Calzabigi in opera reform Christoph Willibald Gluck. In some cases, the composer himself becomes the author of the libretto - the most significant example in this regard is Richard Wagner, whose work in this area, according to the author of the first review of the history of the libretto, Patrick Smith, represents highest achievement. In the history of Russian opera, Alexander Serov, in particular, wrote his own libretto.

Notes are sometimes included in editions of the libretto in order to give the main themes of the work or its best passages. Brief retelling the libretto is called a synopsis.

The study of the libretto and, in general, the verbal element in a synthetic or syncretic verbal-musical work began to develop since the 1970s-80s. and was called librettology.

Examples of the use of the word libretto in literature.

Donizetti's operas are the fruits of the composer's unusually meticulous work on both music and libretto.

He often himself selected the literary basis for libretto, discussed in detail with the librettists the entire process of its creation.

Jacopo Peri by libretto Rinuccini laid the foundation for opera, a mixture of oratorio and masquerade, and with it the cultivation of good voices.

But, apparently, wanting to get acquainted with the young student who approached him for libretto for his opera, Andrieu himself brought the answer to 104 rue Saint-Jacques, where Berlioz then lived.

Life Guards Jaeger Regiment, theatergoer, opera translator libretto, theater reviewer.

Bach by libretto Henriza, a Leipzig official and a fairly famous poet at that time, who published his poems under the pseudonym Pikander.

Reading into libretto, penetration into the psychology of the characters, the actor’s transformation into the character, the search for verbal and then musical expression of feelings - this is the path outlined by the composer.

The performance revealed different facets of the talent of the author, who wrote and libretto, and music, and also performed in the title role.

Krasnopolsky made his own, Russian version of Gensler's libretto, he transferred the action from the Danube to the Dnieper and endowed the heroes with ancient Slavic names.

Skriba, I tried to write it myself libretto, wrote humorous poems beautifully.

Menotti is a master of the art opera house as one whole: he always writes himself libretto of his operas, often stages them as a director and directs their performances as a brilliant conductor.

Basis for libretto, created by a famous Georgian teacher and public figure P.

Due to dramatic absurdities libretto These opuses turned out to be unviable, although they contain many musical discoveries and individual bright scenes.

Realizing that the basis of opera libretto Should serve a strong life drama that can excite the audience, Puccini goes in search of a plot for a new opera.

The success of the works was due not only to excellent music, but also to the content libretto, imbued with patriotic sentiments, so consonant with the national liberation movement for the reunification of Italy that unfolded at that time.

LIBRETTO. If you love music (which is undoubtedly true, since you need

this book), then you have probably seen books called

"Opera librettos". They set out the content of many Russian, Soviet

and foreign operas.

What does libretto mean - content? No, this is an inaccurate name. Actually

de libretto (the Italian word libretto means little book) is a complete

the text of a musical and stage composition, that is, an opera, an operetta.

As a rule, librettos are composed by those who specialize in this

librettists who significantly influenced the development of the opera, such as P.

Metastasio, R. Calzabigi, and later A. Boito in Italy, E. Scribe, A.

Meillac and L. Halévy in France. In Russia it was M.I. Tchaikovsky, who

wrote a libretto for his brother P. I. Tchaikovsky, V. I. Belsky,

worked with N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. Many librettos for Soviet

composers was written by singer S. A. Tsenin.

Often the primary source of the libretto is literary or

dramatic work. Remember the most popular operas: "Eugene

Onegin", "The Queen of Spades", "La Traviata", "Rigoletto", "Carmen",

"The Snow Maiden", "Boris Godunov", "War and Peace", "Katerina Izmailova".

Russian, foreign and Soviet operas are named here at random, based on

of which are the famous works of Pushkin, Tolstoy, Leskov, Ostrovsky,

Merimee, Hugo, Dumas the son. However, these works have been greatly changed, because

that the opera genre has its own specifics. So, the text of the opera should be very

laconic: after all, a sung word sounds much longer than

spoken. In addition, the basis dramatic play-- dialogue. At the opera

there must be arias, ensembles, choirs. All this also requires processing.

Even reworkings of a dramatic play. If, however, as a primary source

a story or novel is selected, there are even more alterations: the number is reduced

characters, one stands out story line and disappear completely

other. Compare, for example, Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” and the opera

Tchaikovsky, and you can easily see this for yourself. Sometimes they change

the characters of the characters, even to some extent the idea of ​​the work. That's why

the composer is sometimes reproached for distorting the writer's intention. But such reproaches

unfounded: after all, the composer, together with the librettist, writes his own,

independent composition. As its fundamental principle we can take

any literary work, and historical event, and folk

The libretto can be independent, not based on literary

work. The librettist either composes it himself or creates it based on

on some documents, folklore sources, etc. This is how it arose,

for example, the magnificent, very original libretto of the opera N.

Rimsky-Korsakov "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia",

Porfiryevich Borodin based on the great monument of ancient Russian poetry

"Tales of Igor's Campaign" created the libretto for his opera "Prince Igor". Myself

wrote the libretto for "Boris Godunov" and "Khovanshchina" Modest Petrovich

Mussorgsky, and in our time this tradition was continued by R. K. Shchedrin, who

The history of music knows cases when a composer chooses as a libretto

a complete dramatic work. Such, for example, is "The Stone Guest"

Dargomyzhsky, written on the unchanged text of Pushkin’s little tragedy.

LIBRETTO

If you love music (which you undoubtedly do, since you needed this book), then you have probably seen books called “Opera librettos.” They outline the content of many Russian, Soviet and foreign operas. What does libretto mean - content? No, this is an inaccurate name. In fact, a libretto (the Italian word libretto means little book) is the complete text of a musical and stage composition, that is, an opera, an operetta. As a rule, librettos are composed by librettists who specialize in this field. Famous in history musical theater outstanding librettists who significantly influenced the development of opera, such as P. Metastasio, R. Calzabigi, and later A. Boito in Italy, E. Scribe, A. Meillac and L. Halévy in France. In Russia it was M. I. Tchaikovsky, who wrote the libretto for his brother P. I. Tchaikovsky, V. I. Belsky, who worked with N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov. Lots of librettos for Soviet composers was written by singer S. A. Tsenin. Often a literary or dramatic work serves as the primary source for the libretto. Remember the most popular operas: “Eugene Onegin”, “The Queen of Spades”, “La Traviata”, “Rigoletto”, “Carmen”, “Snow Maiden”, “Boris Godunov”, “War and Peace”, “Katerina Izmailova”. Russian, foreign and Soviet operas are named here at random, based on - famous works Pushkin, Tolstoy, Leskov, Ostrovsky, Merimee, Hugo, Dumas the Son. However, these works are greatly changed, because the opera genre has its own specifics. Thus, the text of the opera must be very laconic: after all, the sung word sounds much longer than the spoken word. In addition, the basis of a dramatic play is dialogue. An opera must have arias, ensembles, and choruses. All this also requires processing. Even reworkings of a dramatic play. If a story or novel is chosen as the primary source, there are even more alterations: the number of characters is reduced, one storyline is highlighted and others disappear altogether. Compare, for example, Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin” and Tchaikovsky’s opera, and you can easily see this for yourself. Sometimes the characters of the characters change, and even, to some extent, the idea of ​​the work. Therefore, the composer is sometimes reproached for distorting the writer’s intention. But such reproaches are unfounded: after all, the composer, together with the librettist, writes his own independent work. Any literary work, historical event, or folk legend. The libretto can be independent, not based on a literary work. The librettist either composes it himself or creates it based on some documents, folklore sources, etc. This is how, for example, a magnificent, very original libretto of N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia” arose. written by V. Belsky. Sometimes the composer himself becomes the author of the libretto. Thus, Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin, based on the great monument of ancient Russian poetry “The Lay of Igor’s Campaign,” created the libretto for his opera “Prince Igor.” Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky himself wrote the libretto for “Boris Godunov” and “Khovanshchina,” and in our time this tradition was continued by R. K. Shchedrin, who is not only the author of the music, but also the author of the libretto of the opera “ Dead Souls" The history of music knows cases when a composer chooses a completed dramatic work as a libretto. Such, for example, is “The Stone Guest” by Dargomyzhsky, written on the unchanged text of Pushkin’s little tragedy.


Creative portraits composers. - M.: Music. 1990 .

Synonyms:

See what "LIBRETTO" is in other dictionaries:

    - (Italian, little book, notebook). Words that make up the content or explanation of an opera or ballet. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. LIBRETTO, etc. A book explaining the content of a ballet or opera. Explanation... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

    Libretto- LIBRETTO text of a vocal work: most often this term is applied to the verbal and script element of an opera or operetta. Attributing the librettization not to il libro (book), but to il libretto or libello, i.e. “little book,” reveals... ... Dictionary of literary terms

    Libretto- a work with the text of an opera or outlining the content of a ballet. For publication from full text L. is compiling a bibliogr. entry under the name of the librettist, even if on tit. l. The publication lists the composer as the author. Eg.: Sterbing Ch.... ... Publishing dictionary-reference book

    LIBRETTO, uncl., cf. (Italian libretto) (theatre). 1. Verbal text of a large musical vocal work, mainly. operas. || A brief summary (usually placed in a theater program) of the plot of the opera or play being performed (colloquial). 2. Plot... ... Dictionary Ushakova

    Presentation, plan Dictionary of Russian synonyms. libretto noun, number of synonyms: 3 presentation (41) plan ... Synonym dictionary

    libretto- libretto. Pronounced [libretto] and [libretto]... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

    - (Italian libretto lit. little book), 1) literary text of an opera, operetta, or less often an oratorio. Originally published as a separate book (hence the name). 2) Literary script for ballet, pantomime. 3) Presentation of the content of opera, ballet. 4)… … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    LIBRETTO, uncl., cf. 1. Verbal text of a theatrical musical vocal work. L. Opera. 2. Brief summary of the content of the play, opera, ballet. 3. Scenario plan (special). Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949… … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

    Wed, uncl., Italian. in translation, a little book, notebook: words, content or explanation of an opera, ballet. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

    - (Italian libretto, lit. - little book) 1) literary text of an opera, operetta, or less often an oratorio. Usually written in verse; 2) literary script for ballet, pantomime; 3) presentation of the content of opera, ballet, drama in a theater program or a separate booklet... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

    - (from Italian libretto “little book”, diminutive from libro “book”) the literary basis of a large ... Wikipedia

Libretto

(Italian libretto, lit. - little book).
1) The verbal text is musical and dramatic. works - operas, operettas, in the past also cantatas and oratorios. Name due to the fact that opera L. from the end. 17th century often issued for visitors to the t-row in the form of small books. L. cannot be considered as independent. lit.-dramatic production; representing a literary-dramatic basis of the opera, they find their true meaning and reveal their merits only in unity with music, when staging works. Up to mid. 18th century in L.'s composition a certain scheme prevailed, due to the uniformity of musical and dramatic. tasks. Therefore, the same successful L. was often used repeatedly. composers. Later, literary works are, as a rule, created by the librettist in close contact with the composer, sometimes in his presence. participation, which ensures the individual nature of the concept and a closer unity of action, words and music (these are the L. created by R. Calzabigi for Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice”, L. Da Ponte for Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”, M. I. Tchaikovsky - to “The Queen of Spades” by Tchaikovsky, V.I. Belsky - to “Tsar Saltan”, “The Tale of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia” and “The Golden Cockerel” by Rimsky-Korsakov, etc.). Since the 19th century. some outstanding composers with literary and dramatic skills. talent, they created the literature of their operas independently, without resorting to the help of a librettist or using it partially, for example. for the preparation of poetic texts (G. Berlioz, R. Wagner, A. Boito, M. P. Mussorgsky, in the 20th century - S. S. Prokofiev, K. Orff, J. F. Malipiero, G. C. Menotti and etc.).
Basic The source of L.'s plots is art. literature - folk (myths, legends, epics, fairy tales) and professional (poems, novels, short stories, dramatic plays, etc.). L., not having any lit. prototypes are found relatively rarely (L. Meyerbeer's opera "Robert the Devil", written by E. Scribe; L. of the opera "Khovanshchina" by Mussorgsky, created by the composer himself, and some others). When processing literary works into L. b. h. undergo significant changes: sometimes only the plot is borrowed, in other cases it is used general composition, partly the text. Often, the very concept of production changes significantly. (“The Queen of Spades” by A. S. Pushkin and P. I. Tchaikovsky). Use cases are dramatic. prod. in L. completely or with insignificant. reduction and addition of the text in 19 and beginning. 20th centuries were isolated ("The Stone Guest" by Dargomyzhsky according to Pushkin, "Pelléas and Mélisande" by Debussy according to Maeterlinck, "Salome" by R. Strauss according to Wilde, etc.), in modern times. In opera they occur quite often, without any exception. phenomena.
The types of literature and their features are extremely diverse both in content and in terms of general structure and application of poetry and prose. text, the presence or absence of division of the text into numbers, etc. The history of L. is inextricably linked with the history of opera in all its genres and nationalities. varieties. Each historically specific type of opera (for example, Italian opera seria and opera buffa, French “grand” and comic opera, German Singspiel, Russian historical and fairy-tale opera, epic opera, etc.) has its own type L. One of the most important problems when creating L. - a combination of scenic logic. actions, i.e. natural. development of events and characters, with the laws of music. compositions: alternating vocals, choreographic and symphony episodes, changes in tempo and dynamics, completeness of certain operatic forms (arias, monologues, ensembles), and finally, special requirements for the text (laconicism, ease of pronunciation, simultaneous combination of various texts in ensembles, etc.). Due to the specificity of literary dramaturgy, chapters worked in this area. arr. minor poets and playwrights. However, outstanding literary figures also took part in the creation of L. figures different eras(in the 18th century - P. Metastasio and C. Goldoni, in the 19th century - E. Scribe, V. Hugo, E. Zola, in the 20th century - G. Hofmannsthal, S. Zweig, J. Cocteau, P. Claudel, etc.). High craftsmanship Some writers who worked almost exclusively also achieved it. in the genre of L. (P. J. Barbier, A. Meliac and L. Halévy in France, F. Romani and S. Cammarano in Italy, V. I. Belsky in Russia, etc.).
2) Literary script for a ballet performance.
3) Brief summary of the content of opera, operetta, ballet.
Literature: Yarustovsky B., Opera dramaturgy of P. I. Tchaikovsky, M. - L., 1947; his, Dramaturgy of Russian Opera Classics, M., 1953; by him, Essays on the dramaturgy of 20th century opera, book. 1-2, M., 1971-75; Druskin M., Questions of musical dramaturgy of opera..., M., 1952, ch. 1; Kleszunski J., O estetyce libretta operowega, Warsz., 1892; Istel E., Das Libretto, V. -ЗLpz., 1914, revised. ed. The art of writing opera-libretto, N. Y., 1922; Sonneсk O. G. Th., Catalog of librettos printed before 1800, v. 1-2, Wash., 1914, 1945; Kraussold M., Geist und Stoff der Opernichtung, Lpz., 1931; Delia Corte A., La "poesia per musica" e il libretto dopera, Turin, 1950; his, Drama per musica dal Rinuccini alio Zeno, v. 1-2, Turin, 1958; Rollandi U., Il libretto per musica attraverso i tempi, Roma, 1951; Fortner W., Lion F., Gramer H. v., Libretto der neuen Oper, "Akzente", 1957, H. 2; Schumann K., Die Emanzipation des Librettos. Literarische Tendenzen in der modernen Oper, in: Lebt die Oper?, Bonn, 1960; Weisstein U., The libretto as literatur, Norman (Okla.), 1961; Müller R., Das Opernlibretto im 19. Jahrhundert, Winterthur, 1966; Bragaglia L., Storia del libretto. Nel teatro in musica come testo e pretesto drammatico, v. 1, Roma, 1970; Smith P. J., The tenth muse. A historical study of the opera libretto, N. Y., 1970; Thiel E., Rohr G., Libretti: Verzeichnis der bis 1800 erschienenen Textbücher, Fr./M., 1970 (Kataloge der Herzog August-Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel. Neue Reihe, Bd 14). E. S. Chernaya.


Music Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet encyclopedia, Soviet composer. Ed. Yu. V. Keldysh. 1973-1982 .

Synonyms:

See what “Libretto” is in other dictionaries:

    - (Italian, little book, notebook). Words that make up the content or explanation of an opera or ballet. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. LIBRETTO, etc. A book explaining the content of a ballet or opera. Explanation... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

    Libretto- LIBRETTO text of a vocal work: most often this term is applied to the verbal and script element of an opera or operetta. Attributing the librettization not to il libro (book), but to il libretto or libello, i.e. “little book,” reveals... ... Dictionary of literary terms

    Libretto- a work with the text of an opera or outlining the content of a ballet. A bibliogr. is compiled for the publication with the full text of the book. entry under the name of the librettist, even if on tit. l. The publication lists the composer as the author. Eg.: Sterbing Ch.... ... Publishing dictionary-reference book

    LIBRETTO, uncl., cf. (Italian libretto) (theatre). 1. Verbal text of a large musical vocal work, mainly. operas. || A brief summary (usually placed in a theater program) of the plot of the opera or play being performed (colloquial). 2. Plot... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

    Presentation, plan Dictionary of Russian synonyms. libretto noun, number of synonyms: 3 presentation (41) plan ... Synonym dictionary

    libretto- libretto. Pronounced [libretto] and [libretto]... Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

    - (Italian libretto lit. little book), 1) literary text of an opera, operetta, or less often an oratorio. Originally published as a separate book (hence the name). 2) Literary script for ballet, pantomime. 3) Presentation of the content of opera, ballet. 4)… … Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    LIBRETTO, uncl., cf. 1. Verbal text of a theatrical musical vocal work. L. Opera. 2. Brief summary of the content of the play, opera, ballet. 3. Scenario plan (special). Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949… … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

    Wed, uncl., Italian. in translation, a little book, notebook: words, content or explanation of an opera, ballet. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

    - (Italian libretto, lit. - little book) 1) literary text of an opera, operetta, or less often an oratorio. Usually written in verse; 2) literary script for ballet, pantomime; 3) presentation of the content of opera, ballet, drama in a theater program or a separate booklet... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

The libretto, whipped up by Schikaneder, combined several plot sources. Initially, it was based on the popular fairy tale “Lulu” from a collection of fantasy poems Wilanda "Jinnistan, or Selected Tales about fairies and spirits." However, in the process of work, the plot was “redrawn”, greatly changing (to the point that negative characters unexpectedly turned into positive ones, and vice versa).

At first glance, “The Magic Flute” is an opera-fairy tale that glorifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, love over deceit, perseverance over cowardice, friendship over enmity. In fact the last opera The composer's work is the deepest philosophical work in which Mozart's ideal of a just state is embodied. With all the confusion plot plot the idea of ​​the opera is extremely clear: the path to happiness lies only through overcoming difficulties and trials. Happiness is not given by itself, it is acquired as a result of resilience and fidelity, devotion and patience, love and faith in good forces. It is also significant that the forces of good and evil lie not only in human characters, they are rooted in the very foundations of the universe. In the opera they are personified by magical symbolic characters - the wise wizard Sarastro (bearer of the “sun sign”) and the insidious Queen of the Night. Tamino, a man seeking the truth and coming to it through a series of trials, rushes between the solar kingdom and the kingdom of the night.

    the main theme of The Magic Flute - the way out of spiritual darkness into the light through initiation - is the key idea of ​​Freemasonry;

    wizard's name "Sarastro" is the Italianized form of the name Zoroaster, a famous ancient sage, philosopher, magician and astrologer. According to Babylonian legends, Zoroaster was one of the first masons and the builder of the famous Tower of Babel (an image especially close to the “free masons”). In Egypt, this thinker was associated with the cult of Isis and Osiris, which also has an “echo” in the opera (the action takes place in Ancient Egypt, on the banks of the Nile, surrounded by palm groves, pyramids and temples dedicated to the cult of Isis and Osiris);

    The symbolism of the number 3, which was sacred to the Masons, runs through the entire “Magic Flute” (three Ladies, three Boys, three temples, three opening chords in the overture, etc.);

    The trials that Prince Tamino undergoes during the opera are reminiscent of a Masonic initiation ceremony. One of the tests takes place inside a pyramid, which is a traditional Masonic symbol.

In The Magic Flute, Mozart realized his dream of creating grand opera in German. Unlike most of the composer's other Italian-based operas, it draws on tradition Singspiel . This is an Austro-German type of comic opera. . A special feature of the singspiel is the alternation of complete musical numbers with spoken dialogues. Most of the numbers are ensembles, very diverse in composition and combination of voices.

A typical Singspiel plot is a fairy tale. The laws of fairy tales allow for the biggest surprises that do not require detailed explanations. That's why the basic principle dramaturgy "The Magic Flute" - a comparison of short scenes with frequent changes of scene. In each such scene, the composer’s attention is concentrated on this specific situation (the separation of lovers, the vengeful plans of the Queen of the Night, the funny treachery of Monostatos, the comic adventures of Papageno) or on the depiction of character images.

Both acts of the opera end with grand finales. At the same time, a peculiar feature of “The Magic Flute” is the accumulation of events not in the first, but in the second finale, and the abundance of private endings before the onset of the general, final outcome. First, Tamino and Papageno reach the gates of Wisdom and Love, then the fate of Papageno is resolved, who finally finds his Papagena (duet “Pa-pa-pa”). What follows is the disappearance of evil forces, whose power has come to an end. And only after all this comes the final triumph.

In the music of the opera, three leading figurative spheres can easily be distinguished: Sarastro, the Queen of the Night and Papageno. Each of these heroes is associated with a certain set of genre and thematic elements.

Mozart's Sarastro embodies a very popular in the 18th century the idea of ​​an enlightened monarch . He stands at the head of a perfect state, the people love and glorify him. Sarastro is fair, however, for good purposes he resorts to violence: he punishes Monostatos for pursuing Pamina; Pamina is forcibly kept in his kingdom in order to protect her from the evil influence of the Queen of the Night.

His kingdom is depicted in bright, calm, majestic colors. Such are both Sarastro's arias, the choirs and marches of the priests, the Boys' terzetto, the duet of the men-at-arms. The basis of their music is composed of melodies in the spirit of strict polyphony, close to the Masonic songs of Mozart and his contemporaries, and solemn marches reminiscent of Handel’s oratorios or Bach’s orchestral overtures. Thus, Sarastro's sphere is a combination of songfulness with hymn and chorality. Mozart in every possible way emphasizes her nobility, spirituality, and radiance.

The evil, dark beginning in The Magic Flute does not seem too scary, it is not taken very seriously, with a certain amount of irony. This sphere is represented by the vengeful Queen of the Night and her servant Monostatos.

The consignment Queens of the Night goes back to the style of seria, although with the elements of parody inherent in comic opera. Mozart characterizes it by means of virtuoso coloratura, which is very technically complex ( shining example- “Aria of Revenge” from Act II).

Papageno's sphere - comedy, play. Its genre basis is Austrian everyday song and dance music. Through the image of Papageno, The Magic Flute is more than any other Mozart opera connected with the Austrian folk theater. This funny character- a direct descendant of the national comic hero Hanswurst, although he has a different appearance (a product of the fairy-tale element, the “bird man”, Papageno personifies the natural, natural beginning in life). Folklore elements are clearly felt in both Papageno’s arias (“I am a well-known bird catcher...”, “A girl or a little wife...”) and brightly comic duets (for example, Papageno-Monostatos, scared of each other, or Papageno-Papagena “Pa-pa-pa” ). In their music, the Haydn tradition comes to life, but poeticized.

The relationship between Tamino and Papageno in the trials is not clear; it not only demonstrates the courage of one and the cowardice of the other, but to some extent gives a humorous touch to the excessive solemnity of the situation in which the action takes place. Thus, the folk comic element acts as a kind of counterbalance to serious Masonic themes, while, thanks to the fairy tale opera genre, it coexists quite peacefully with philosophical issues.

The remaining heroes are distributed between these three spheres, and this does not always happen unambiguously. Thus, the three ladies from the retinue of the Queen of the Night only partially belong to her sphere. In their musical characteristics, the features of the Austrian singspiel and buffa occupy an important place, and only in the 10th scene, in the march of the conspirators, together with the Queen of the Night and Monostatos, they acquire features that bring them closer to the ominous element of the Queen of the Night.

The image of Tamino evolves in accordance with the change in his attitude towards Sarastro: from an enemy he becomes his follower and like-minded person - and this is reflected in his musical characteristics. If at the beginning of the opera Tamino’s music is in many ways close to the seria style, then later it approaches the sphere of Sarastro.

Pamina, as the daughter of the Queen of the Night, largely inherits the language of seria (for example, in the g-moll aria No. 17), but in a duet with Papageno (No. 7) her musical characteristics acquire folk song features.

In general, Tamino and Pamina’s arias lack virtuosic brilliance, are written in modest, singspiel forms, and are close to folk song lyrics. An example is the “aria with a portrait” (No. 3).

As for Monostatos, this is typical of comic opera an oriental villain, and his characterization is quite buffoonish. His musical speech distinguished by rapid patter.

In accordance with the genre specifics of The Magic Flute, the three indicated spheres do not come into conflict, as in Don Juan, they coexist peacefully (as happens in a fairy tale). The basis of the opera is not a dramatic clash of antagonists and not a comedic rapid “unwinding” of intrigue, but an epic unfolding; not a conflict, but a comparison, not a progressive, purposeful process of thematic changes, mutual influences, but a dramaturgy of parallel layers.

Overture(the solemn opening Adagio and the sonata Allegro, Es-dur) is externally based on French traditions. French overture - slow introduction and fugato. Adagio – powerful and solemn. Allegro on a lively, light theme (from Clementi's sonata).