Ballet «Marusya Boguslavka» made by A. Svechnikov: Between innovative search and show of the decade

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to learn about artistic features of choreographic performance «Marusya Bogusavka»; showing innovative advantages, miscalculations in compositional construction of the performance; finding out the causes of the disappearance of ballet from the national theatrical repertoire. The methodology of the work contains using of these research methods: general-historical, comparative-historical, analytical, etc. The scientific novelty of the publication is to analyze objectively the artistic value of the ballet «Marusya Boguslavka» made by A. Svechnikov. It was done for the very first time in the post-Soviet theater studies literature from the standpoint of modern times. Conclusion. When we look at reviews, that were dedicated to the premiere of the ballet play «Marusya Boguslavka» in 1951, despite the serious disadvantages, we can say that this play also had a couple of undeniable advantages. There are a few of them: the ideological content of the libretto and the drama of the plot; melodic and dance music; an innovative combination of classical folk dance in the first act and finale of the ballet, etc. According to the 1954 critical reviews, positive changes after the revision of the ballet manifested themselves only in the dance material, selected to create female images of the performance. Among the main reasons that prevented the performance of A. Svechnikov to leave the boundaries of the "decade" spectacle and to remain in the repertoire of the Ukrainian National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet named after. Taras Shevchenko, we distinguish substantial borrowings from the ballet "Bakhchisaray Fountain" by B. Asafiev in the production of R. Zakharov;  lack of clear definition of dance tasks; use of ballet dies; the advantage of divertising dance numbers over efficient ones; imperfect dramaturgy in the music of the second act of the play; weak dynamics of the plot's development.