Director's Analysis of Evolutionary Modifications of Mykola Lysenko's Work “Drowned”
Authors: Vorobiov Serhii 
Published: March 2022

The process of evolutionary modifications of M. Lysenko's work "Drowned" based on M. Gogol's play "May Night, or Drowned" from its first premiere (1884) to the present is considered. The relevance of the chosen topic in the context of self-identification of the nation against the background of transnationalization of art is clarified. The research methodology with the choice of system-analytical, historical-typological, comparative, genre-stylistic and interpretive methods is outlined. The purpose of the research is to determine the specifics of musical and directorial versions of the work, performed at different times by theaters of Ukraine in the context of theatrical aesthetics of a certain era with the transformation of its genre and style features. The degree of complexity of the director's analysis of littleknown versions of Lysenko's work is revealed, at which the director has to investigate the composer's idea from the beginning of writing to making editorial changes, to turn to the historical circumstances reflected in it; to follow the transformation of the genre defined by the author; identify the events that contributed to the changes in the stage material, which had an impact on the director's decision of the play. It was found out that the directors-interpreters of M. Lysenko's work "Drowned" initially embodied this material as music for drama. Later, with the success of the play, the composer expanded the musical accompaniment of the numbers, and his followers completely orchestrated the work in the genre of great opera. The success of the performances is closely connected to the version for musical and dramatic theaters with dramatic monologues and dialogues of the characters, and the versions of major opera performances were mostly criticized and did not have a long life in theatrical repertoires. It is proved that in search of techniques, directors often lose the composer's idea of the work, coloristic mental features and distance their own idea when creating a play from the truly established issues of musical and literary stage original. The transformation of the material by different directors is considered, which provides an opportunity to highlight the strengths, rethink the obsolete means of expression, to transform the selected material for the modern audience in terms of integration theatrical processes. The analysis of scientific achievements on the chosen issues allows to state the fragmentary research of genre variations of M. Lysenko's work "Drowned" and stage incarnations of artistic images of characters in the context of sociopsychological and mental features of the Ukrainian ethnos. The review of evolutionary modifications of the work revealed an active attempt of authors and producers to transform the material from the dramatic — with the illustrative aspect of music (1884, Kharkiv), with the definition of the vector of musicaldramatic — with the solution of musical dramatic problems (1885, Odessa), the inclusion of mass choral and ballet scenes (1937, Odessa) and the transformation into the style of a large opera performance with interesting findings and dramatic gaps (1950, Kyiv).Current transformations of Lysenko’s work “Drowned” allow us to state that the stylistics of the genre of a great opera performance had a short stage life due to the loss of the tempo of events and is not used by musical theaters of Ukraine today. The musical-dramatic version, which is presented by many performances in Ukrainian theaters, is in great demand among the public due to the rapid dynamics of events, the colorful atmosphere of the Ukrainian village, well-resolved images of characters, so it is actively addressed by modern domestic directors. The scientific novelty of the research was revealed, which consists in determining the characteristic features of genre variations of Lysenko's work "Drowned", establishing the most promising aspects for the further development of the musical theater of Ukraine. Vectors of further research of the subject, comparative analysis of opera and music-dramatic versions with determination of character of temporitums in musical drama and director's interpretations, their rethinking according to new requirements and possibilities of a theatrical scene are predicted.