Ru
EnE. Kiseyeva
Specificity of performance art in Tan Dun’s instrumental theatre (on the example of “Ghost Opera”)
In the music of the second half of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, the process of blurring the boundaries between the genres of academic art and art practices was clearly out-lined, which gave art historians the basis to put forward a hypothesis about the completion of a “performative turn”. Its consequence was the birth of new artistic forms, in which the conditions of creative activity and perception of the artifact changed. Spectators turned out to accomplices of artistic events; the improvisation of the performers introduced unpredictability of the result; composers were convinced of the need to experience, within the framework of artistic experi-ence, a process of unification of individuals. The introduction of ritual elements contributed to the shared experience of events.
The author of the article, exploring the instrumental theater of Tan Dun in general, and in particular, the artistic concept of the “Ghost Opera” performance, discovered echoes of ancient Chinese rituals. In the work under review, the conductor performs the function of a shaman and “summons” the spirits of the heroes, whose images are conveyed through quotes: the spirit of Johann Sebastian Bach is depicted in the form of the theme of the C sharp minor Prelude from the first volume of “The Well-Tempered Clavier”, the spirit of William Shakespeare is depicted in the form of short quotes-recitations from the tragicomedy “The Storm”, the spirits of nature are represented by the melody of the Chinese folk song “Little Cabbage”. The movements of the performers between the hall and the stage and their plastic movements and recitations evoke as-sociations with the actions of ritual participants, symbolizing their presence in the mythological space-time continuum – between different worlds and times. The artistic concept, which includes elements of ritual, does not imply a division into performers and spectators. All those present are participants in the ev ents, and their shared experience promotes unity.
Key words
instrumental theatre, Tan Dun’s creative work, performance art, “Ghost Opera”, elements of ritual in a musical piece.
For citation
Kiseyeva E. Specificity of performance art in Tan Dun’s instrumental theatre (on the example of “Ghost Opera”) // South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2023. No. 4. Pp. 38-46.
