Opera "The Nest of Gentlefolk" by V. Rebikov: in Searching a New Genre Solution

Main Article Content

Darya M. Ermakova

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of V. Rebikov’s searches in the field of the opera genre, that were realized in the musical-psychographic drama “The Nest of Gentlefolkˮ. In the process of researching, the author makes an attempt to determine the artistic significance of the composerʼs work in the domestic musical and theatrical tradition, relying on theoretical and historical musicology analytical methods. The content of I. Turgenev’s novel, which literary critics often call “lyrical proseˮ, best corresponded to Rebikov’s aspirations. However, to implement it within the framework of the authorʼs genre, the composer required structural, dramatic, spatiotemporal, textual and lexical transformations. The result of changes in the literary source leads to compact the chrono tope, minimize the background of the drama, reduce the number of characters, reject the “look from the outsideˮ and the distancing position of the author, strengthen the lyrical-everyday line and psychological nuances – all this determines the specificity of the work, designated by Rebikov as a musical-psychographic drama. However, studying compositional, dramatic and genre features allows the author of the article to come to the conclusion that the work, despite the declaration of new principles, reveals the laws of lyrical-psychological opera. The innovation of the opera is manifested in the original style of vocal writing, based on the principle of “tone speechˮ, as well as in the completion of the musical and semantic series with the help of a leitmotif system and a number of dramatic solutions.


Keywords: V. Rebikov, opera, “The Nest of Gentlefolkˮ, I. Turgenev, genre, musical-psychographic drama.

Article Details

How to Cite
Ermakova Д. М. (2024). Opera "The Nest of Gentlefolk" by V. Rebikov: in Searching a New Genre Solution. Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 55(2), 149–157. https://doi.org/10.17674/2782-3601.2024.2.149-157
Section
Musical Theater
Author Biography

Darya M. Ermakova, Rostov State Rachmaninov Conservatoire, Rostov-on-Don, Russia

Postgraduate student