The concept of timbre-role in ukrainian opera: interpretation and development prospects
Authors: Ke Chen 
Published: September 2023

In the categorical system that serves to comprehend the performing and composing processes in opera, the concept of timbre-amplitude has occupied a significant place during the first quarter of the twenty-first century. The use of the concept under study covers the historical-theoretical and performancesemantic ways of studying opera art in Ukrainian musicology. Since the use of the concept is constantly expanding, acquiring new shades of content and purpose, it is advisable to systematize and summarize certain results of its use in the research works of Ukrainian musicologists. In this regard, the terminological method of analysis, which is used to clarify the meaningful boundaries and prospective development of this concept, is of particular importance in the proposed work. Statement of the problem. The latest national musicology is distinguished by an active term creation process, the essence of which is the introduction of new concepts in order to specify and generalize artistic meanings in the musical art, to express and specify their structures and functions. Among such term-forming phenomena of the musicological science of the twenty-first century, a significant place is occupied by the concept of timbre-amplitude, which serves to define the expressive and technical nature of vocal voices functioning in the semiosphere of opera. The widespread use of the concept of timbre-amplitude in the historical, theoretical and performing spheres of opera studies actualizes the need for special observations and conclusions regarding the comprehension of the possibilities and results of its interpretation and use in Ukrainian musicology of the first quarter of the twenty-first century, the content boundaries of this definition, the methodological principles associated with it, as well as the forecasting of promising ways of its further application. Recent research and publications included in this paper as research material form a rather wide circle described around such a conceptual «centre» as timbre-amplitude. In order to achieve the goal, the article includes an analysis of such studies: Avramenko E. B. «Timbre-role as a tool for expressing the operatic voice image (on the example of a dramatic tenor)»; Milichenkova N. F. «Dramatic soprano as a timbre-amplitude in its refraction in the role of Lisa from Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades»; Mityushkin V. A. «Timbre-amplitude as a tool for psychological portrayal of the opera image (based on the comparative analysis of the parts of the Prince and Tomsky in Tchaikovsky’s opera The Queen of Spades). Р. I. Tchaikovsky’s «The Queen of Spades»)»; Oganezova-Grigorenko O. V. «Timbre-role as the basis of the musical image in vocal art»; Han Xiaoxian «Symbolism of duality in the parts of opera travesti singers»; He Jianhui. «The timbre-role of the bass-baritone – high bass in the operatic works of the eighteenth century»; Hong Chen. «The Phenomenon of the Timbre-Role of the Bass in Opera Singing of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries». These works use timbreamplitude as a central keyword, contain original approaches to the definition of the concept under study, and present ways of its scientific comprehension and functioning in the context of a specific operatic time-space. The above-mentioned substantive features of the author’s interpretation of the concept of timbre-role have determined the expediency of their introduction into this text in order to achieve the goal. Objectives, methods and novelty of the research of the study is entirely determined by its topic, aim and objectives. In order to provide a periodization of the stages of application of the concept of timbre-range in Ukrainian musicology and to motivate them, the article includes the historical method; terminological analysis, which serves to determine the content of the concept of timbre-range and the peculiarities of its functioning in well-known scientific works; etymological analysis, which is used to establish the specifics of the origin of the analyzed concept; etymological approach, which contributes to the understanding of the specifics of the origin and etymon (original meaning) of the concept under study; system-functional method, designed to differentiate the levels of musicological interpretation of the concept of timbre range and holistic rational coverage of its functions and content levels; involvement of the intonation approach is mandatory and appears as the basis from which various scientific concepts are spliced, due to the disclosure of the content of the concept of timbre-range. The scientific novelty of the proposed study is to determine the stages of development, etymology, sum of values, functions, results and prospects of the concept of timbre-amplitude, which is relevant and widely used in the context of Ukrainian operalogi. Resalts and Conclusions. The analysis of scientific sources has made it possible to summarize several characteristic properties inherent in the scientific interpretation of the concept of timbre-amplitude. Firstly, it was possible to distinguish the following stages of development of the studied concept, namely the stage of its approbation and the stage of stabilization of its semantic load. Secondly, the levels of definitional interpretation of the central concept of timbre-amplitude, which is the focus of this study, were identified. For example, Tang Zhangcheng considers timbre-range as a prerequisite for the formation of operatic character; Avramenko E. B. interprets timbre-range as a tool for expressing the operatic «voice image»; V. A. Mityushkin understands timbre-range as a tool for psychological portrayal of the operatic image; O. V. OganezovaGrigorenko defines timbre-range as the basis of the musical image in vocal art. Thirdly, from the point of view of interpreting opera voices as timbre-roles in the modern Ukrainian opera literature, bass/high bass (Tang Zhancheng, He Jianhui, Hong Chen), baritone (V. A. Mityushkin), dramatic tenor (E. B. Avramenko), and dramatic soprano (F. N. Milichenkova) have gained some experience in studying them. The prospects of the research lie in the need for further study of timbre-role in its conceptual and terminological content, comprehension of expressive and technical possibilities of opera classifications and roles. An important prospect is the task of «total» (cumulative) use of the conceptual gradations of timbre-range in the unity of meanings and functions presented in the studies perspective in this paper. The «total» interpretation of the central concept of timbre-amplitude for this study will determine the expediency and objectivity of the results of a systematic and holistic analysis of opera as drama.