JUBILEE TRIPTYCH: COMPOSER, OPERA, PERFORMER

Abstract

This article is a triptych of three anniversaries: 210 years since the birth of the outstanding composer and singer Semen Hulak- Artemovsky, 160 years since the staging of his opera Zaporozhets Beyond the Danube, the most outstanding work of the artist, and 170 years since the birth of the outstanding representative of the Ukrainian singing school Oleksandr Myshuga. The article outlines the performing repertoire of S. Hulak-Artemovsky's works, emphasises the role and significance of the first national Ukrainian opera for the formation of the Ukrainian musical and theatrical space. Attention is paid to the friendly relations between Semen Hulak-Artemovsky and Taras Shevchenko, and the poet's appreciation of the singer's performing skills is given. The relationship between the two artists is reflected in the exposition of the Petro and Semen Hulak-Aremovskyi Museum in Horodyshche, which conducts research on the maestro's performing and composing activities. In particular, the museum houses a self-portrait of Shevchenko, which he presented to the composer's wife, and an arrangement of the folk song “The Sycamore Tree Stands Over the Water” by Hulak-Artemovsky, which he dedicated to Shevchenko. When composing the opera “The Cossack Beyond the Danube” – the second “anniversary” – S. Hulak-Artemovsky was well aware of the creative tasks facing Ukrainian musical art in the context of the overall development of national culture. When composing the libretto of the opera, he consulted the prominent Ukrainian historian Mykola Kostomarov. Among the performers who addressed Gulak-Artemovsky's masterpiece was the third celebrant of this year's anniversary, Oleksandr Myshuga, who was called the “king of tenors” during his lifetime, whose name was placed alongside the names of the famous Enrico Caruso, Titta Ruffo, Fyodor Chaliapin, and Solomiya Krushelnytska. The article examines his creative achievements as a concert performer and vocal teacher, because in addition to his artistic activity, Myshuga made a significant contribution to the development of the Ukrainian singing school, teaching for several years at the Mykola Lysenko Music and Drama School, the first educational institution in Kyiv where Ukrainian artists and singers could receive professional education.