The Promised Novelty of Mussorgsky's Folk Dramas
Authors: Pavlova Svetlana A. 
Published: October 2024

Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina are folk dramas, for the composition of which the composer prepared as for the main creative achievements, exploring the artistic style and honing his skills on previous and simultaneously created works. The goal was "new shores &lt;…&gt; of boundless art". M. Mussorgsky's decisive call "to new shores!" is unforgettable in the memory of descendants. However, not everyone knows the full statement of the composer, who strived to "seek these shores, seek tirelessly, without fear and embarrassment", to seek in order to "stand firmly on the promised land" [5]! Referring the reader to the biblical story, the image of the "promised land" can in no way be interpreted as having appeared for the sake of a "catchphrase", since the outlines of the "new shores" are associated with the "deification of the word" in Mussorgsky’s creative work. The composer treated verbal speech in an evangelical manner so responsibly that he considered it to be the source of truth in creativity and in life; he was able to reproduce it on stage as it was not only in external events but also in the internal spiritual dimension. Wemean the divine principle by spirituality. Mussorgsky’s operatic works continue the process of “catechism” of the opera genre started by M. Glinka [11]. In the history of the arts, the secular genre of opera, conciliar in terms of expressive means, occupies a position exceptionally close to the aims of worship. Opera owes its birth to such a situation in the cultural life of “man and humanity”, in which a strong spiritual and educational impact on the listener and viewer was sought. In our Fatherland, the formation of the genre was completed in Glinka’s works with the opera’s acquisition of a meaning-forming for Russian culture faith-centredness. The content of Glinka’s theatrical works is aimed at educating the public according to the evangelical understanding of love. It is what “catechism” of the genre consisted of. A. Dargomyzhsky, M. Mussorgsky, and P. Tchaikovsky were the continuers of Glinka’s work. The works of the 19th century geniuses of Russian opera can be assessed as belonging to the style of “spiritual realism” [14]. Today, despite the still-existing inertial obstacle of the last century to cancel the spiritual principle as the fundamental source of culture, there is a need to return the full content laid down by the authors to opera classics. It also concerns the masterpieces of Mussorgsky, whose personality is associated with the protest novelty of creative work. In relation to the means of musical expression, the composer can truly be called a revolutionary. However, the semantic content of his works belongs firstly to the evangelical character traditional for Russian culture. This “promised” component of Modest Mussorgsky's work is still waiting for its researchers and performers, on whom musical and theatrical life depends, as well as listeners, since opera is a genre that requires preparation of perception. Opera is the art of recognition, which is all the more impressive, the more the listener understands the content of the musical performance. In Mussorgsky's work, it is associated with the evangelical meaning - the "new shores &lt;...&gt; of the promised land".