Libretto of the G. Presgurvic’s musical «Romeo and Juliet»: author’s original source and literary translation as an interpretation of the first text
Authors: Fan Sin-Syuan 
Published: March 2020

Background. The proposed research based on the librettology as the scientific direction of musicology. At the present stage, there is an increasing interest of researchers in the texts of the libretto (among authors G. Ganzburg, 2008; U. Weisstein, 2006; I. Pivovarova, 2002; M. Aleinikov, 2011; T. Gulaya, 2006; E. Rakhmankova, 2008). Librettology is gradually acquiring the status of an independent research discourse, affecting the interdisciplinary connections of musicology, philology, and cultural studies. The objective of this study is to compare the libretto of the musical «Romeo and Juliet» by G. Presgurvic in two versions – the original in French and the literary translation into Russian – from the point of view of interpretation the senses of William Shakespeare’s tragedy. Methodological basis. The problem of literary translation as a creative process of interpretation is the focus of the dissertation research of E Bogatyryova (2007). On the material of the translations of the Pushkin s poem «The Bronze Horseman” the researcher examines the process of creating a translation interpretation; the like algorithm can serve as a methodological basis when considering the translation of the libretto of «Romeo and Juliet» by G. Presgurvic. Speaking about the process of literary translation, E. Bogatyryova proceeds from the idea about a translator as a reader, researcher / critic and writer / poet. At each stage of the translation, she discovers different types of interpretation. From this we can conclude that the translator, as an elucidator and a creator of new artistic image of the first text, is a creative person whose productive activity is associated with an individual interpretation of the original opus. In our study, the text of the libretto is analyzed from the standpoint of the semantic content of the original and the translated version of the text, considered as interpretations of the literary source – the famous tragedy of W. Shakespeare, with its “eternal story” about love and hostility at the core. The word «translation» has in our work two semantic connotations in connection with the involvement of the scientific concept of Yu. Lotman (1992). The variability of meanings introduced by interpreters becomes possible due to the addressing to the creative consciousness, which perceives and processes the initial information, generating new meanings in the process of its rethinking. Preliminary acquaintance with the libretto in two versions showed that the translation by N. Olev and S. Tsiryuk is a rethinking of the artistic content of the original text by G. Presgurvic who is not only the composer, but also the author of the libretto, the interpreter of the famous play by English dramatist. Research results. The tragedy of W. Shakespeare opens with a Prologue. This principle, connected with the poetics of theatricality and indicating the conventionality of the stage action, is preserved in the musical of G. Presgurvic. In the tragedy of W. Shakespeare, the prologue is recited from the scene by Chorus; as A. Anikst (1974, p. 195) points out, this is an allegorical character, which embodies by an actor who comments on events (the idea of ancient Greek tragedies was thus rethought). In the original French version of the musical the author of the piece delivers the opening text against the background of the orchestra preamble. In the Russian production of the musical, the introduction word is presented by an actor who embodied the image of Death (N. Tsiskaridze, a dancer). Interestingly, in the French original, G. Presgurvik tunes the public to the perception of further events, arguing that there is nothing new in this world. In the Russian version of the musical, the prologue text is similar in content and style to Russian translations of the tragedy by W. Shakespeare. This, however, is not a translation of the prologue of the famous tragedy, but its own version of the opening speech differenced also from the French original by G. Presgurvik). Through the poetry of theatricality, the Russian-language version of the musical by G. Presgurvik also shows the “image of the world” as a whole. “The whole world is a theater, and the people in it – are actors”, the famous paraphrase to the text of W. Shakespeare’s comedy «As You Like It» affirms. Due to the literary translation of N. Olev, life is interpreted here as a carnival (No. 2, “Verona”), a masquerade (No. 3, “Enmity”), and Death and Destiny, Fatum, аre its integral part. Death, both in the French original of the musical and in its Russian version, is shown as hidden director managing life events. The semantic synthesis of symbols of Death and Fatum is already declared in the prologue, where the speech is about hostility, hatred and confrontation of families as a backdrop against which the story of Romeo and Juliet unfolds. In the future, Death is a constant participant in the scenic action, merging with the meaning of Fatum – the predetermined fate of man. The image of Death, thus, both in the original French performance and in the version of the Moscow Operetta Theater, is cross-cutting. This is a visual image, solved by means of choreographic plastics, a visual symbol that embodies at the same time the fate, merciless to young lovers, and the fate of the Veronians who became hostages of the Enmity. The latter, also being a symbol, is visualized in the female guise of ballet dancers – participants of the choreographic “hand-to-hand” of the representatives of the warring families – during the performance of the duet of Lady Montecci and Lady Capuletti (No. 3, «Enmity»). In the musical the symbol of Destiny is represented in two semantic connotations: 1) as fatal predestination, fate, destined for Romeo and Juliet (akin to understanding Fate in ancient Greek tragedy); 2) the Providence of God, according to which the consequence of the death of Romeo and Juliet is the reconciliation of the warring parties – a Christian theme that appears in the musical as a semantic concept. The tragic events occurring in the musical cannot overshadow the main idea of the performance, which is the happiness that Love brings and which is possible only because of this sublime feeling. Conclusions. So, the analyzed translation of the text of the libretto was an example of the interpretation carried out in semiotic projection. The translators have created their own original version / interpretation of the «eternal plot» based on the music of G Presgurvic’s work, which received world-wide recognition thanks to author’s talent. The interpretation version of the translation, in its turn, makes one recall the opening words of the French composer, written and uttered by him in the prologue of the musical, to explain them in our own way. Nothing is new in this world, but the eternal theme makes us look for new semantic facets of the plot, concluded in a story that repeats endlessly.