FEATURES OF BATTLE SCENE STAGING IN THE UKRAINIAN OPERA
Authors: Goncharov Oleksandr 
Published: September 2024

The author examines the concept of staging battle scenes in Ukrainian opera with heroicpatriotic themes. Attention is paid to the need to rethink the given topic in the conditions of the dominance of foreign repertoire over national works, the inclination of the young generation to cosmopolitanism against the background of digitalization of society and the wide spread of information technologies. Emphasis is placed on conducting active searches and experiments in the optimization of the spectacular and dramaturgical components with the integration of artistic means of expression and modern art technologies in the battle scenes of domestic opera performances. Historiographical sources from the everyday life of the Ukrainian Cossacks, their military training and military operations are analyzed and differentiated; art studies on the resolution of battle scenes in M. Lysenko's "Taras Bulba" and K. Dankevich's "Bohdan Khmelnytskyi" offer interesting approaches to the topic of the article. It was possible to find out the phenomenon of the appearance and formation of the Zaporizhya Cossacks, its conditioning by socio-economic factors. The essence of the term "Sich" has been established in its historical progress with the acquisition of the status of the center of the Zaporizhya Army and the assignment to it of the functions of a special state entity for the protection of the Orthodox world from Muslim and Catholic oppressors. The division of the Ukrainian Cossacks into two categories is outlined: sichoviks — direct participants in military operations, and zimivchakiv that provided the livelihood and fighting capacity of the former. The peculiarities of the combat training of the Cossacks in Sich, the advantages of their universal military training in the possession of various types of weapons in comparison with the armies of Eastern and Western Europe were studied. The principles of building certain military camp according to the Cossack custom have been revealed. The nature of combat techniques and tactical adjustments in the conditions of a permanent change in the situation on the battlefield is described. The scenes of the trials of the sons of Taras on Sich, the siege and storming of Dubno in the opera "Taras Bulba" by Mykola Lysenko, the battle at Yellow Waters in the opera "Bohdan Khmelnytskyi" by Kostiantyn Dankevich were modeled. Their historically reliable stylization in the context of synthesizing combat techniques, dance and choral performance with video broadcast of individual episodes of the battle is noted. The algorithm for staging battle episodes in Ukrainian opera is formulated with the need for performers to master the techniques of stage combat, coordination of interactions between them, and compliance with safety techniques in order to avoid industrial injuries. The author outlines the prospects of further investigations for the reliable display of battle scenes in opera performances in accordance with the peculiarities of the historical era, military traditions and armaments of a certain country, optimizing their solution with the use of modern art technologies.