“Opera from the very beginning tended towards entertainment” or Choreographic scenes in “big” operas by F. Halevy
The opera house has been the object of scientific research for a long time. Today it still draws attention of art critics. The constant evolution of the musical and scenic genre, new authors appearance and forgotten names revival remain the research process steady and sustained. Modern scientists explore an opera of past and present, make a collage about contemporary staging and performing. However, today there are issues we need to delve into at greater depth. One of them is associated with the opera choreographic component. Objectives. The article objective is researching of dramatic function of choreographic scenes in French “grand” opera of 19th century basing on the works of F. Halevy, who is a vivid representative of French music theatre and an author of more than thirty scenical works. A number of fundamental works of foreign authors (Hallmann D., Jordan R., Prioron‑Pinelli B.) is dedicated to this composer, but they doesn’t study the problem of this article. Methods. To determine features of the choreographic tradition in France musical theatre, the author used a comparative method. Standard methods of musicology, such as the compositional-dramaturgic analysis, genre-stylistic and intonation ones, were used during working with score. Results. The research of a ballet role in the French opera showed that this choreographic tradition had a long history. A dance as an obligatory component of a theatre performance existed at an early stage of the opera genre evolution. It firmly took its place in the opera due to the activities of J.‑B. Lully and J.‑P. Rameau. In Romanticism period the tradition of including ballet scenes in the opera was not only preserved, but also developed further. The ballet became an important component of the “big” opera. Its including to a performance was demanded by Grand‑Opera theatre. To preserve the dramatic line, composers were introducing choreographic scenes into an opera plot under various pretexts. In entire, dance scenes were performing a decorative function. During evolution of the “big” historical opera genre in 19th century, dancing numbers began to be used for reconstruction of the historical and cultural atmosphere. Realistic representation of the historical period, local coloring, uniqueness of national culture became the main aim of the creators of musical performances. In the operas by F. Halevy the choreographic scenes perform various functions. The picture of a national holiday on the occasion of the emperor’s arrival is shown in the first act of the historical opera “La Juive”. There is “Waltz” among its numbers. It consists of several dances of different character. Music is close to folk patterns that maintain custom of the past. This scene carries out the important function of historical household picture. The large scale of realistic sketches of the holiday point out the importance of the action happening on the stage. Besides this, the picture is located before the dramatic final. The contrast of these two scenes strengthens psychological impact of the latter. To convey the atmosphere of the holiday, the choreographic numbers accompany the grandiose scene of the feast in the 3rd act. There are the pantomime and the ballet here. The first of them tells about the fight of Knights with Saracens and the girls liberation from captivity (the knight theme was especially popular in the Romanticism epoch). Music brightly embodies all actions of performers. The ballet that follows the pantomime is a chain of various nature dances. Contrasts of images are emphasized by the ways of musical expressiveness. The pantomime and the ballet execute the traditional decorative function in the opera and also the life features of the royal court is shown with their help. These scenes are placed right prior to the act final, so they create a great contrast, which enhances the psychological impact on a public. Composer’s creative approach to using of choreographic scenes distinguishes the “big” opera “Guido et Ginevra”. Typical for an opera a masquerade (the 1st act) and a wedding divertissement (the 2nd act) not only reproduce cultural traditions, but also are the important dramaturgic points. The dance “Pas de la Folie” (the second part of the divertissement) is singled out. Folia is known as the patroness of carnivals; she is unpredictable, as well as Fortuna. Folia who appeared in front of newly-married becomes the harbinger of an unexpected disaster. This scene performs an subtext function. In addition to the divertissement, there is the virtuoso ballet aria in the opera, which leads to a tragic culmination – the death of the bride. Such contrast between the holiday and the tragedy made a strong impression on the public. There is a set of choreographic numbers in “La Reine de Chypre”, typical for the “big” opera: two “Choeur Dance” (wedding divertissement), two “Air de Ballet”. They are introduced to recreate the historical and household atmosphere. Choreographic scenes in the historical opera “Charles VI” carry an ambiguous meaning. The ballet from the second act consists of “La Pavanne”, “La Mascarade”, “La Bourree”. The picture “La Mascarade” not only conveys the character of amusement, but it has the hidden sense: the queen’s care about the sick king and prosperity of the state is only a mask of virtue, under which the insidiousness hides. Conclusions. The analysis of a number of operas by F. Halevy shows that the composer widely uses traditional ballet forms. However, the old theatrical tradition is shown in each work by the composer in own way. The ballet, continuing to fulfill its original entertaining function, began to combine important dramaturgic tasks of the particular composition: choreographic scenes are a zone of events character transformation, they contain the hidden meaning of the events that occur, foretell their unexpected turn, increase the psychological contrast.