Libretto and the Literary Source: the Transformation of Semantic Structure (the Example of the Violetta Image in the Opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi)

Main Article Content

Yulia A. Kolpakova
Ekaterina A. Vasileva
Irina N. Shkredova

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the lexical component of the image of “La Dame aux Camélias” and its transformation from Marguerite in the French literary source by Alexandre Dumas-son to Violetta in the Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave written for Giuseppe Verdiʼs opera La Traviata. For the first time, a comparative analysis of the linguistic aspect of the two heroines’ images is carried out. The introduction indicates the research field of librettology as a branch of modern musicology and the issues of transforming the text of a literary work when embodied in synthetic genres. In the main section, the semantic accents are arranged differently due to the selection and linguistic analysis of the floristic and animalistic symbolism of the original source and the libretto of the opera, the definition of the motifs of madness, fun, suffering, faith, remorse, organized around the main character. The authors come to the conclusion that the image of the main character is transformed from the very beginning, at the libretto level, following not only F. Piave’s will, but also, most likely, according to the main idea of the composer, who worked closely with the librettist. The article uses general scientific comparative and descriptive methods, methods of analysis and induction, as well as a systematic method. Attention is paid to semantic, morphological, grammatical aspects and to the search for stylistic techniques and visual-expressive means as well.


Keywords: La Dame aux Camélias, Alexandre Dumas-son, Giuseppe Verdi, La Traviata, Francesco Maria Piave.

Article Details

How to Cite
Kolpakova, Y. A., Vasileva, . . E. A., & Shkredova, I. N. (2021). Libretto and the Literary Source: the Transformation of Semantic Structure (the Example of the Violetta Image in the Opera La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi). Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 43(2), 118–126. Retrieved from https://musicscholar.ru/index.php/PMN/article/view/1271
Section
International Division
Author Biographies

Yulia A. Kolpakova, Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Старший преподаватель кафедры социально-гуманитарных наук и истории искусств, переводчик Управления международных и творческих связей

Yulia A. Kolpakova, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social Sciences and History of Arts, Interpreter at the Department for Creative and International Relations, Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts

Ekaterina A. Vasileva, Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Доцент кафедры оркестровых струнных инструментов

Ekaterina A. Vasileva, Associate Professor at the Department of Orchestra String Instruments, Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts

Irina N. Shkredova, Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts Krasnoyarsk, Russia

Старший преподаватель кафедры истории музыки

Irina N. Shkredova, Senior Lecturer at the Department of History of Music, Dmitri Hvorostovsky Siberian State Academy of Arts