Ru
EnD. Chumachenko
“Labyrinths” and “Yellow Sound”: two images of A. Schnittke’s musical theatre of the 1970s
Alfred Schnittke’s musical theatre appears as a multifaceted phenomenon, including ballet compositions, operas, and pantomime. The focus of this work is the stage works of the 1970s, considered as a system of internal and external artistic-conceptual and stylistic intersections. Thus, the dramatic processes of the ballet “Labyrinths” and stage composition “The Yellow Sound” are equally focused on recreating the conflict between good and evil, the clash of light and darkness. The clearly expressed polarity of the two opposing principles is positioned in the article as a reflection of the most important qualities of A. Schnittke’s musical thinking and is related to the concepts of some other works by the composer. The visual embodiment of the aforementioned conflicts corresponds with the theatrical poetics of G. Mackevicius, the choreographer and director of the premiere performances “Labyrinths” and “The Yellow Sound”. The study of the complex of expressive means of the specified stage works is intended to help identify the common stylistic qualities characteristic of the individual style of A. Schnittke in the 1970s. In particular, the principle of mixing different height systems and composition techniques, being one of the defining features of the artistic method of the author of “Labyrinths” and “The Yellow Sound” during the indicated decade, finds a very vivid and consistent embodiment in these works.
The examination of the first musical and theatrical works of A. Schnittke, carried out in the aspect of mutually conjugated internal and external interactions, allows us to make a number of significant conclusions. Thus, genre differentiation is combined with multiple intersections in the field of dramaturgy and stylistics. This allows us to characterize “Labyrinths” and “The Yellow Sound” as significant representatives of the composer’s style of the 1970s.
Key words
A. Schnittke, musical-theatrical works of 1970s, ballet, pantomime, artistic conceptual idea, modern composer’s techniques.
For citation
Chumachenko D. “Labyrinths” and “Yellow Sound”: two images of A. Schnittke’s musical theatre of the 1970s. In: South-Russian Musical Anthology. 2025. No. 2. Pp. 129–134.
