EASTERN THEME AND SYSTEM OF EXPRESSIVE MEANS IN THE OPERAS OF GIACOMO ROSSINI

Abstract

Orientalism in the musical art of the 19th century is examined by the author in the context of the cultural trends of the time. Attention is drawn to the development of history as a science in the first quarter of a century, which influenced literature and the opera theater. It is emphasized that the method of historicism played a significant role in the long-term development of means of expression as a system of oriental images embodying. In order to determine the means of musical characterization of oriental characters in G. Rossini’s works, the comic opera “The Italian Woman in Algiers” was analyzed. It is noted that in the scenes with Turkish characters and scenes with Italians, the composer uses the same musical means that are characteristic of his style (virtuosity, tongue twisters, dynamic contrasts, prolonged intensification of dynamics together with tempo acceleration in the final sections). On the basis of a comparative analysis of musical images, it is proven that the composer did not go beyond his own style when characterizing the Turks. However, in several numbers, an attempt to give a Turkish hue was made: for the general characterization of the Turks, the Janissary march genre was used, in which the obligatory elements of Turkish music such as the big drum and cymbals sound. It is emphasized that the vocal parts of the Turkish characters in terms of virtuoso style and intonation content coincide with the parts of the Italians. The overall analysis of the opera “The Turk in Italy” showed that Rossini’s typical stylistic vocal techniques were used to characterize both the Italian and Turkish groups of characters. The function of depicting the East, as in the previous opera, was assigned to the decorative part of the performance. In the course of the analysis of Rossini’s “Little Chinese Polka”, it was found that the modal coloring, harmonic colors, melodic line, textural means correspond to European musical stylistics. The name “Chinese Polka” is a tribute to the European fashion for the “Chinoiserie” style.