THE IMAGE OF ANNA IN THE OPERA “STOLEN HAPPINESS” BY Y. MEYTUS: INTERPRETATIVE ANALYSIS
Authors: Hohaizel Olha 
Published: March 2021

The article analyzes the musical material of the two arias of Anna – as the key characteristics of her image in the opera Y. Meytus “Stolen Happiness” (based on the experience of analysis, since the arias are in the work and repertoire of the author of the study). Consideration of the image from the point of view of performance and interpretation of the understanding of the interactions of words and music, the composer logic of emotional experiences, taking into account a complex of components such as the nature of the musical fabric and the historical aspect, is proposed. operas. Statement of the problem. The creativity of Y. Meytus as a composer, who stood at the origins of the formation of the Ukrainian composing school of the twentieth century, is still relevant and, in particular, his rarely performed opera «Stolen Happiness», which in the true opinion of Y. Malyshev, is a «significant contribution» in the development of realistic opera art. There are still an undeserved number of records of this opera, and accordingly a small number of variants of interpretations of images, semantic texts and subtexts, and this work in this sense is of practical importance from the performer’s point of view. Since Anna’s arias are in the work and repertoire of the author of the study, the relevance of this topic is also related to the direct presentation of this music on stage. The purpose of the study –to determine the specificity of the interpretation of the image of Anna from the opera “Stolen Happiness” by Y. Maytus. Analysis of publications on the topic of the study. Regarding the works of Y. Meytus, there are researches and publications by Y. Malyshev, L. Archimovich, I. Mamchur, L. Bas, where the composer’s creativity is covered. There are few sources for the opera «Stolen Happiness», and there is no comprehensive and in-depth interpretative performance analysis.Presentation of the main research material. Widely utilizing the opera-harmonic basis of the features of Western Ukrainian folklore in the opera «Stolen Happiness», Y. Meytus emphasizes the national identity and color of the characters, including the main heroine, by means of the symphonic development of the musical material creates a dramatically and intelligently developed development of the multifaceted and multifaceted. The task of vocal performance is to consciously read the “score of feelings” of the performed character, which is contained primarily in the musical texture, which much and fully conveys the dynamics of character image development. The vocal part, the melody, being a part of harmony, is the condensate, the quintessence of the harmonious thought of the composer, which demands from the performer imagination, intuition, attention, sensory perception, emotional sensitivity. Conclusions of the study. Having performed a performative analysis of the image of Anna in the opera «Stolen Happiness» by Y. Meytus. 1. Because, first and foremost, it is an aria-melodic musical drama, close in style to verisim (the melody in Y. Meytus does not lose the properties of the length and cantilenes) therefore performance requires good long vocal breathing, cantilever, legato, flexibility of voice and timbral equality with simultaneous force of sound in climaxes, long thought of phrases, fullness of each vowel, clear diction, that is, awareness of the relationship between words and music, the smoothness of the language line. Good intonation hearing and good coordination of vocal apparatus are required not only from the point of view of breathing, but also from the point of view of difficult intonational musical language. 2. Performing arias requires from the singer a deep emotional responsiveness, great mental strength and physical endurance, as well as an actor’s understanding of the image-role. This image does not tolerate excessive passion for expressiveness, unnecessary emotions and hysterics, it will penetrate the depth of the tragedy of the heroine. The nuances from pianissimo, not transient to whispering, but voiced, to the filled fortissimo, not transitional to cry. The choice of tempo, especially given their frequent change, should be consistent with the natural sound of the vocal language. 3. The texture of the music material determines the role of the voice. The party is suitable for a solid lyric, lyric-dramatic (spinto) or dramatic soprano, that is, for voice, has the flight to “cut through” the orchestra and be sounded part of its rich texture.