Musical and Dramatic Syncretism in the Work of Mariia Zankovetska in the Context of the Theatre of the Coryphaei

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyse musical and dramatic syncretism in the work of Mariia Zankovetska within the framework of the aesthetic principles and performance practices of the Theatre of the Coryphaei. The research methodology is based on a combination of approaches, including historical-cultural and biographical methods, which made it possible to clarify the conditions shaping Zankovetska’s artistic development; an art-historical method, applied to examine the specific features of her acting technique; a comparative method, used to juxtapose her work with that of other actors of the Theatre of the Coryphaei; and a hermeneutic method, employed to interpret artistic images and stage embodiments. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the reinterpretation of the Theatre of the Coryphaei as a cultural milieu in which musical and dramatic syncretism functioned not as an incidental phenomenon but as a fundamental creative principle and a key mechanism of cultural formation in Ukrainian art of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Within this context, Zankovetska’s work is examined not only as a manifestation of her acting mastery but also as a distinct phenomenon of musical and dramatic syncretism, understood as the integration of speech, stage movement, and singing in the creation of dramatic images. Conclusions. Musical and dramatic syncretism in Zankovetska’s artistic legacy emerged from the synthesis of folk song traditions, church singing, and her professional acting practice, becoming a defining principle of her stage mastery. Within the Theatre of the Coryphaei, she appears as an artistic figure whose work organically combines dramatic and musical elements, enabling her to represent a holistic emotional and psychological image of the Ukrainian people on stage. Her artistic legacy constitutes one of the highest expressions of syncretism in Ukrainian theatre, where music, word, and gesture form an indivisible artistic unity. The actress demonstrated that intonation, timbre, rhythm, and pause in dramatic performance can serve as powerful means of psychological characterisation.