CHOREOGRAPHY AS A DRAMATIC AND EXPRESSIVE RESOURCE IN DANIEL AUBERT’S OPERA “THE DUMB GIRL OF PORTICI”

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to define the dramatic function of the choreographic component in the early examples of French historical opera of the Romantic period (on the example of D. Aubert’s “Mute of Portici”), to characterize the genre-stylistic and compositional parameters of choreographic scenes, to reveal the dialectic of the development of choreographic art as a component of the opera genre. The methodological basis of the article is a comprehensive approach to the topic using the methods of choreographic analysis (compositional, lexical) and a set of generally accepted research methods in musicology (historical, compositional and dramaturgical, genre-stylistic, intonational). On the example of an early example of the “great” historical opera by D. Aubert, the development of the French choreographic tradition in the opera genre is traced: the return to the opera stage of the established choreographic genres of the eighteenth century and giving them a different dramatic status while preserving the traditional function of entertainment. The author emphasizes the dramatic and expressive role of pantomime, as well as the “low” social status of the main character, whom the composer raised to the level of a “high” tragic character. The genre-stylistic and compositional parameters of the choreographic scenes are analyzed, their dramatic and semantic load is revealed. Attention is drawn to the composer's use of characterization through the dance genre. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of D. Aubert’s “Mute of Portici” as an early example of the “great” French historical opera, the plot and semantic load of choreographic scenes, their dramatic role are revealed, the dialectic of the development of the choreographic tradition in the French musical theater of the first third of the nineteenth century is determined. The author has determined the innovative use of choreographic resources in opera by D. Aubert as a means of expressiveness and dramatic development. An important tool was the pantomime revived by the composer, which is associated with the image of the mute Fenella and permeates the entire stage “score”. The use of sign language instead of singing in the role of the protagonist was, in relation to the “great” historical opera, the composer’s main innovation. The introduction of a mimetic “grassroots” character (as the main character) into the “great” opera, which had previously been characteristic of the comic genre, made us reconsider operatic stereotypes and the dramaturgy of the performance as such. The innovative solution of the main part was not only spectacular – it placed the accents in a different way, emphasizing the importance of pantomime as a dramatic tool. It is established that an important dramaturgical role is played by mass dance scenes, which received a double semantic load. The choice of dances for mass scenes was not accidental. Aubert used a vivid dramaturgical technique of characterization through the dance genre. This applies to the national coloring of specific dances and the use of their rhythmic intonations in solo numbers. Aubert approved the five-act composition of the opera with the arrangement of large choreographic scenes in the first and third acts, which became a model for other composers who later turned to the genre of “great” historical opera.