Mizitova А. А.

“Turandot” by F. Busoni – G. Puccini: two interpretations of C. Gozzi’s fairy tale.

Background.The image of the Chinese princess Turandot in the operatic practice of the last century is invariably associated with the name of one of the greatest “polemi-cists” of the past: an Italian playwright of the eighteenth century Carlo Gozzi, whose works were popular outside Italy. Outwardly unpretentious fiabbe are distinguished by an amazing fusion of the miraculous world with reality, parody with deep feelings, allegory with truth. The creative position of the author influenced the interpretation of tra-ditional masks of commedia dell’arte, which are endowed with spiritual impulses, moral principles, “sober” in the plot twists and turns. The multiplicity of the contentious plans of С. Gozzi’s fairy tales turned out to be in demand during the “intellectual ferment”, which marked the first decades of the twentieth century. This predetermined the simi-larity of opera interests of Giacomo Puccini and Ferruccio Busoni who were different in their creative ideals, although related by national origin composers-The objective of this study is to define the approaches to C. Gozzi’s fairy tale, made by these composers and compositional-dramaturgical specifics of their similarly named operas. The objective determines the choice of comparative method. The resultsof the research support the idea that F. Busoni who wrote the libretto himself maximally adheres to the outline of C. Gozzi’s fairy tale, squeezing the plot and refusing a large number of characters. The composer-librettist allows himself to change the “social status” of the secondary actors and add a new character – the Queen Mother from Samarkand, mourning the son who just was executed. G. Puccini’s librettists – G. Adami and R. Simoni, also introduce new heroes: the blind beggar Timur, in which Calaf recognizes unfortunate father, who lost his throne, and his slave Liu, who is in love with her master’s son. They appear at the very beginning of the opera, along with the starting point of the main intrigue, and reveal the veil over the past of the Prince. Due to this, the dramatic nerve of G. Puccini’s opera is largely determined by the development of this line, which is absent in the original source. The most brutal and tragic scene in the opera will be connected with Liu, when she stabs herself, afraid not to be able to withstand further torture and reveal the name of the Prince. F. Busoni calls his opera “The Chinese Tale according to Gozzi in Two Acts” (in four scenes with beginning-to-end numbering); G. Puccini names his work “Lyrical drama in three acts, five scenes”, which explains the introduction of additional story lines that complicate love conflicts. Developing further the achievements of the romantic musical theater, G. Puccini kept up with the music discoveries of his time, following them with undisguised interest, but he tried not to lose his “own face”. The composer uses a quotation material that colors the action with features of national authenticity. The scope of F. Busoni’s idea is much more modest. The author relies on the possibilities of the Singspiel with its composition, num-ber structure, conversational dialogues, mixture of forms and stylistics. However, he interprets it not as a dogma, but as a foundation on which he builds a dynamic musical performance. Both composers use such a traditional tool of development as contrast. In G. Puccini’s composition it acts on a large scale, since all the main characters have developed solo and ensemble acts, considered separately from the context (in terms of the key, intonation, meter and rhythm). In fact, these are quasi-acts that clarify the situation, the attitude towards what is happening, or promote the plot line. The intonational renewal corresponds to the method of the individualization of the opera character and does not go beyond the limits of author’s stylistics. F. Busoni’s musical language is motley, as the rapid change of “frames” requires a brighter “speech” of characters (whether a hero or a chorus), imparting the inner movement to the action. Dodecaphony is the unifying beginning due to which the contrast acquires a horizon-tal-vertical projection. At the same time, the composer does not ignore the means of the local characteristic of a particular situational-scenic moment or scene of action. If G. Puccini achieves the symphonicity of the operatic score by means of the development of transparent plot-dramatic lines and the clarity of conflict situations, F. Busoni does it by overcoming the isolation of the attaccaacts and other methods of connectedness. contemporaries. His work also boasts revitalization of an act by the stage action and reevaluation of the traditional solo forms of utterance which appear as phases of a holistic process. Both composers are exploring the potential of leitmotifs. The interpretation of the key char-acter – Turandot – figures among the significant differences in opera concepts (although in Puccini’s opera Liu, the antipode of the main character can also rightfully claim the role of the protagonist). The recognized maestro of the opera genre makes this figure ambiguous: it appears as a formidable avenger for the murder of her ancestor, Lou-Ling, and, having been defeated, becomes a treacherous ruler, for whom there are no barriers. F. Busoni’s Turandot is capricious and arrogant, her cruelty has no explanation, but her heart falters at the sight of Calaf. Coupled with this, a psychological dilemma emerges that influences the musical decision of all subsequent events. We conclude that, apparently, F. Busoni and G. Puccini found the motifs that in-spired them in the fairy tale of C. Gozzi. If F. Busoni “transcribed” the ideas of the playwright into another genre system, the librettists G. Adami and R. Simoni started from the selected original source and created a new version of the old plot, making a contribution to the existing tradition. Therefore, each of the operas is unique in its own way, they both demonstrate their authors’ individuality, reveal the polysemy of fairy tales, the allegory of which will never lose relevance. The way of renewing the sound image of the opera, which demonstrates unlimited possibilities for the manifestation of creative ideas, also seems important. The fact of the long overshadowing of F. Busoni’s “Turandot” by its “rival” does not imply its artistic and aesthetic imperfection, but rather reflects the “eternal” problem of lack of balance between the composer’s initiatives and audience’s priorities which is supported by modern performing practice.His work also boasts revitalization of an act by the stage action and reevaluation of the traditional solo forms of utterance which appear as phases of a holistic process. Both composers are exploring the potential of leitmotifs. The interpretation of the key char-acter – Turandot – figures among the significant differences in opera concepts (although in Puccini’s opera Liu, the antipode of the main character can also rightfully claim the role of the protagonist). The recognized maestro of the opera genre makes this figure ambiguous: it appears as a formidable avenger for the murder of her ancestor, Lou-Ling, and, having been defeated, becomes a treacherous ruler, for whom there are no barriers. F. Busoni’s Turandot is capricious and arrogant, her cruelty has no explanation, but her heart falters at the sight of Calaf. Coupled with this, a psychological dilemma emerges that influences the musical decision of all subsequent events. We conclude that, apparently, F. Busoni and G. Puccini found the motifs that in-spired them in the fairy tale of C. Gozzi. If F. Busoni “transcribed” the ideas of the playwright into another genre system, the librettists G. Adami and R. Simoni started from the selected original source and created a new version of the old plot, making a contribution to the existing tradition. Therefore, each of the operas is unique in its own way, they both demonstrate their authors’ individuality, reveal the polysemy of fairy tales, the allegory of which will never lose relevance. The way of renewing the sound image of the opera, which demonstrates unlimited possibilities for the manifestation of creative ideas, also seems important. The fact of the long overshadowing of F. Busoni’s “Turandot” by its “rival” does not imply its artistic and aesthetic imperfection, but rather reflects the “eternal” problem of lack of balance between the composer’s initiatives and audience’s priorities which is supported by modern performing practice.His work also boasts revitalization of an act by the stage action and reevaluation of the traditional solo forms of utterance which appear as phases of a holistic process. Both composers are exploring the potential of leitmotifs. The interpretation of the key char-acter – Turandot – figures among the significant differences in opera concepts (although in Puccini’s opera Liu, the antipode of the main character can also rightfully claim the role of the protagonist). The recognized maestro of the opera genre makes this figure ambiguous: it appears as a formidable avenger for the murder of her ancestor, Lou-Ling, and, having been defeated, becomes a treacherous ruler, for whom there are no barriers. F. Busoni’s Turandot is capricious and arrogant, her cruelty has no explanation, but her heart falters at the sight of Calaf. Coupled with this, a psychological dilemma emerges that influences the musical decision of all subsequent events. We conclude that, apparently, F. Busoni and G. Puccini found the motifs that in-spired them in the fairy tale of C. Gozzi. If F. Busoni “transcribed” the ideas of the playwright into another genre system, the librettists G. Adami and R. Simoni started from the selected original source and created a new version of the old plot, making a contribution to the existing tradition. Therefore, each of the operas is unique in its own way, they both demonstrate their authors’ individuality, reveal the polysemy of fairy tales, the allegory of which will never lose relevance. The way of renewing the sound image of the opera, which demonstrates unlimited possibilities for the manifestation of creative ideas, also seems important. The fact of the long overshadowing of F. Busoni’s “Turandot” by its “rival” does not imply its artistic and aesthetic imperfection, but rather reflects the “eternal” problem of lack of balance between the composer’s initiatives and audience’s priorities which is supported by modern performing practice.