The miraculous in music (based on the example of operas by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov)

Abstract

Using the example of three operas by the Russian composer N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov “Sadko” (1896), “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” (1900), “The Golden Cockerel” (1907), some features of the depiction of the miraculous phenomenon in musical works are analyzed. The miracle as an indispensable attribute of fairy-tale and epic literature is considered in the context of the interest in folklore, antiquity, ancient legends and myths initiated in the XVIII century by the philosophy of Romanticism and preserved until the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. It was expressed in an extensive research program and author's interpretation of this material. During the examination of the selected fragments, the relationship between labeling diverse phenomena as a “miracle” with a change in semantics in a cultural context, philosophical tendencies, a functional role in works of a fantastic, fabulous nature and the means of artistic expression used is revealed.