The embodiment of the prose libretto in opera genre (on the example of the works by M. Mussorgsky, D. Shostakovich, S. Prokofi ev and G. Shantyr)
Authors: Maksiutenko E.O. 
Published: May 2019

Background. The correlation between music and text is one of the important issues in musicology. The attention of scholars to the opera text specifi cs in conjunction with musical action brings forward a number of questions regarding the use of prose in the libretto by composers. The innovative approach of composers testifi es to the evolution of the opera genre. It was very prominent for a new notion of “literature opera” to appear; it often means all opera works with a prose text. Its expansion actualizes the question of the interaction between words and music in this particular variety of the opera genre of the 20th century. Objectives. The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of the prose libretto and its infl uence on opera dramaturgy, methods of harmonizing the unrhymed text with the peculiarities of vocal expression. Methods. The author of the study uses the complex approach involving the theoretical, the genre and the stylistic, and the comparative research methods. Results. The embodiment of the prose works on the opera stage opened the way for composers to master the various composing techniques and fi nd the methods of a possible unrhymed text usage. At the same time, there are still some issues that require more detailed study. One of them is connected with revealing the general principles of work with the prose libretto text, which remain unchanged regardless of the type of plot, composing and dramatic solutions, and individual author’s style. A striking example in the sphere of linguistic intonation and pitch, we can refer to the fi rst music work by M. Mussorgsky, written exclusively with the use of dialogues – the opera “Zhenitba” (“Marriage”, 1868). The composer is trying to convey the peculiarities of human communication using all possible means. The vocal part is full of expressive pauses and specifi c exclamations. When choosing the prose text, the author is guided by the model of dialogue, in which a recitative is the key point. According to I. Belenkov, considering the principle of dialogue implementation on the opera stage, we can conclude that the composer tried to preserve the matching points of the rhythm and intonational elements of human speech in musical terms. The composing techniques, found by M. Musorgsky, impulsed the development in Russian opera music with the prose libretto. D. Shostakovich demonstrates his version of bringing in the original text to the opera, referring to the works of M. Gogol. In this opera named “Nos” (“The Nose”, 1927–1928), written by the same-name Gogol’s novel, the composer keeps the whole storyline, adding new scenes. Considering the peculiarities of the story, it was important for the composer to preserve the general style inherent to M. Gogol, and the “psychological” meaning of images. He achieved this through using various vocal techniques. Composer engages elements of sound images and everyday “talks”. However, in many cases, Shostakovich gives a melody to the vocal line, makes wide leaps and enriches the vocal part with chromatic movements, which add nervous tension to it. In this way, the composer develops the achievements of M. Mussorgsky, he does not adhere to the common tessitura and tries to maximize the possibilities of the recitative. The author uses contrasting comparisons in the rhythmic structures of the parts. D. Shostakovich interprets duets and ensembles in another way than M. Mussorgsky did: the stretto phrases in the parts, which are sometimes interpreted in a hyperbolized version (gradually increasing the number of participants with the growing dynamics). As some scholars point out, S. Prokofi ev’s choice was not typical: of all works by F. Dostoevsky, “The Gambler” is considered to be the least tense psychologically. Unlike with “Marriage” and “The Nose”, “The Gambler” does not retain the original text. In order to make the text as fl exible as possible, S. Prokofi ev creates new dialogues with more of short phrases and frequent repetitions of some words. Whereas M. Mussorgsky deliberately adheres to the unrhymed prose text, Prokofi ev sometimes rhymes lines or uses the alliterative poetry technique. Following the tradition, G. Chantyr refers to the genre of the novel when composing his operas “Two Captains” and “The Pickwick Club”, which have different composing solutions. In “The Two Captains”, the author is follows Prokofi ev’s scenario: he does not retain the main text of the novel by V. Kaverin. He is attentive to the rhythmic component of the text, trying to convey the peculiarity of the live conversation in the best way, which explains the usage of short, non-melodic expressions. The composer deliberately highlights syllables of word that are important in the intonational sense, emphasizing them with the help of rhythmic “stretches” at the end of a phrase. In “The Pickwick Club” opera, two story lines of the novel by Ch. Dickens are preserved. The author refers to the scenes of the dialogic type, such as a casual conversation, by transmitting intonational features of the language through music instruments. Using the original text does not violate the general development of the composition; on the contrary, it accumulates the principle of continuity, the fl ow-through development of the plot. This relates Shantyr’s opera with “The Nose” by D. Shostakovich. One of the main methods of action development is the usage of ostinato technique, which reinforces the inheritance of Prokofi ev’s tradition. Conclusions. In order to submit a prose text to the opera format, composers adhere to the two main guidelines. The fi rst one is related to being faithful to the corresponding literature work, preserving the style of the writer’s language. Therefore, from the beginning of the twentieth century, a new kind of genre was developed – “literature opera”. The main issue is the harmonization of the music and the literature foundations. The second guideline is marked by partial or complete adaptation of the text, intending to retain only the idea of the work. The aim is to subordinate the text structure to purely musical patterns, and therefore it is appropriate to use the notion of literariness, which is responsible for the correspondence of selected examples to the imaginative literature. In this case, the common method of intonation “bonds” is complemented by the use of alliteracy, which, in its free relation to the original source, makes it possible to create text that gets easily consistent with the musical design.