The metamorphoses of musical theater in the culture of pre-revolutionary Russian province

Abstract

Article is devoted to system characteristic of the musical theater in the context of the culture of the pre-revolutionary Russian province. On the example of the opera genre top trends of historical development of provincial theater of Russia throughout XVIII - the beginnings of the 20th centuries are analyzed: the periodization of musical and theatrical process in the province, the social, cultural and historical conditionality of this process. According to the selected stages change of genre musical and scenic dominants (the early comic opera, the vaudeville, the operetta, the Russian and European classical opera) is traced. Transformation of different institutional forms of existing of opera art on the provincial stage (farmstead, city stationary theater, an enterprise, an opera partnership) in the context of socially historical development of domestic culture of the pre-revolutionary period is revealed. Important typological characteristic of a provincial opera scene is its character, “reflective” in relation to capital theater. It was shown in tour practice as the most mobile form of distribution of opera art across all Russia. In the article considerable attention is paid to such problems, methodologically important for characteristic of pre-revolutionary provincial musical theater, as territorial and geographical correlation of different Russian regions to capital cities, historically changing conditions of cultural interaction between the center and peripheries. On this basis some art features of opera culture of the prerevolutionary Russian province are analysed: the essence of the opera repertoire (national and foreign), performing forces, level and quality of opera settings, public relation to musical theater, etc. The conclusion is drawn that opera theater - an important component of musical culture of the Russian province. The opera studied the history of development which analysis significantly supplements an overall picture of evolution of domestic musical theater on the provincial stage.