Analysis of musical works. Virtual museum of the great Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian The name of gayane in literary works

Creation Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (1903-1978) included in the golden fund of Soviet art. His works have won universal recognition. Like many other works of the composer, his ballets have become classic examples of modern music. A. Khachaturian’s first experience in the musical and choreographic genre became the first Armenian national ballet. In 1939, a decade of Armenian art was held in Moscow, and for this event the choreographic troupe of the Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theater. A.A. Spendiarova prepared a production of Khachaturian’s ballet “Happiness” (choreographer I.I. Arbatov), ​​which premiered on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. A ballet was created based on his material "Gayane" - a choreographic poem about the greatness of the people, about their work and love, about their happiness. The script was written by K.N. Derzhavin. “In my ballet “Gayane,” said the composer, “I tried to embody on stage the courageous images of Soviet people and their selfless struggle for their beloved Motherland through the means of dance and plastic arts.” In 1943, the author of the music “Gayane” was awarded the USSR State Prize. Three symphonic suites made by the composer and individual fragments from “Gayane” are constantly heard on concert stages around the world.

Khachaturian’s “Gayane” occupies a special place in Soviet ballet art. This is one of the most outstanding ballets in terms of music and one of the most unfortunate in terms of stage fate. The reason is the stark discrepancy between the integrity of the music and the weak scripts. The failure of the original script forced new stories to be “subtexted” to the music again and again. Thus, “in V. Vainonen’s play, the plot was based on a banal love “quadrangle”; in the play M.A. Martirosyan invented a symbolic plot about the fight against foreign invasion; performance by B.Ya. Eifman was based on the drama of lovers who are in a socially unequal position; performance by V.S. Galstyan - on the drama of love and jealousy; performance by N.A. Kasatkina and V.V. Vasileva – on the story of how young people overcome traditional family prejudices and find their own paths in life.”

The music of “Gayane” is amazing in its brightness of folk-national color, life-affirming power, melodic richness, harmonic and orchestral brilliance. She tells about the happy life of the people, depicts unique individual characters and folk scenes, talks about how dramatic complications in human life are overcome by its healthy principles and full-blooded natural course.

The ballet “Gayane” first appeared during the Great Patriotic War and sounded as an expression of Soviet patriotism. The picture of that joyful and happy life for which the Soviet people fought against the fascist invaders was recreated on the stage.

The premiere of the performance took place on December 9, 1942 in Perm (by the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov). The premiere of the new edition took place in 1957 in Moscow, at the Bolshoi Theater.

Brief summary of the ballet.

Ballet in three acts, seven scenes with a prologue (new edition). Libretto by B.V. Pletneva.

Gayane's house in the valley. A storm begins. In the mountains, among hunters, Armen, whom she has loved for a long time. Gayane runs from the garden and unexpectedly runs into Armen and Georgiy, in their arms is Aisha, who was thrown from a cliff by a hurricane. Aisha is regaining her strength. Georgy appears, he confesses his love for her and waits for an answer. Aisha is silent. Armen appears in the garden with flowers in his hands. Not finding Gayane, he asks Aisha to give her flowers. Aisha readily agrees. Georgy returns and sees Aisha smiling with flowers in her hands and Armen next to her. A painful realization dawns on George: Aisha loves his friend. Confused, he runs away.

Hunting in the mountains. Suddenly a bear appears behind Armen. Georgy grabs the gun and aims at the beast, but, blinded by jealousy, lowers the gun. The bear rushes at Armen, and they both fall into a crevice. Georgy is terrified. The hunters appear and carry Armen out; the young man is blind.

Armen's house. Helplessly looking around and moving his stick in front of him, he takes a few steps and almost falls. Gayane rushes to his aid. Armen does not want Gayane to connect her fate with a blind man. But the girl passionately assures her beloved that they will be happy, instilling in Armen the desire to live and fight for his happiness.

Evening in the mountains. Aisha is sad: she realized that she loves George. Suddenly Georgy appears. He came to see Aisha one last time before leaving his village forever. Aisha happily rushes into his arms. Suddenly the memory of his blind friend sobers up Georgiy. He has no right to love and be loved until he confesses to his crime.

Harvest Festival. Painful memories of the past seize a blind young man. In desperation, he rips off the blindfold. The sunlight blinds him for a moment. Armen's vision has returned!

The dancing begins. Next to Armep is the faithful Gayane. Georgy tells his fellow villagers the whole truth about what happened during the hunt. The inhabitants of the valley turn away with contempt from the man who betrayed his friend. Aisha stands up for George - she was the unwitting culprit of what happened. Georgy waits in silence for Armen's verdict. Armen forgives George and extends his hand of friendship. Georgiy decides to leave the valley. He must become a different person, regain the respect of his fellow villagers. Aisha is ready to follow him.

The ballet by A.I. won no less popularity. Khachaturian "Spartacus" according to the script by N.S. Volkova. The composer was awarded the Lenin Prize for his music. This idea came to him back in 1940. Even then, the composer dreamed of creating a monumental heroic performance that would show the Soviet audience the best person in all of ancient history, which is Spartak. Many years later, developing his idea, A.I. Khachaturian wrote: “Now, when many oppressed peoples of the world are launching a struggle for their liberation and national independence, the immortal image of Spartacus acquires a special charm for me. And while composing the music of my ballet, trying to mentally comprehend the atmosphere of Ancient Rome, to recreate living pictures of the distant historical past, I always felt the spiritual closeness of Spartacus to our era, our struggle against all kinds of tyranny, the struggle of oppressed peoples against the aggressor imperialists.”

Many choreographers worked on the stage realization of Spartacus. The first among them was L.V. Jacobson, who staged the ballet on the stage of the Kirov Theater in 1956. I. Moiseev introduced the new version of “Spartacus” to the audience at the Bolshoi Theater in 1958. The production in 1968 was a particular success, when on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater the ballet was staged according to his own script by Yu.N. Grigorovich. For this work, the choreographer, as well as conductor G.N. Rozhdestvensky, artist S.B. Virsaladze and performers of the main roles - V.V. Vasiliev, M.L. Lavrovsky and M.R. Liepa were awarded the Lenin Prize in 1970. This performance was filmed in 1976.

Brief summary of the ballet.

Ballet in three acts, twelve scenes, nine monologues with an epilogue. Libretto by N.S. Volkov, edited by Yu.N. Grigorovich.

The destruction of peaceful life is brought by the legions of the Roman Empire, led by the cruel and treacherous Crassus. The people he captured are doomed to slavery. Among them is Spartak.

Captive slaves are driven to the market. Force separates men and women. Spartacus and Phrygia are also separated, she becomes the slave of Crassus. Spartacus calls on the gladiators to revolt. They answer him with an oath of allegiance. Having thrown off their shackles, Spartacus and the gladiators flee Rome. Spartak is a leader. His goal is the fight for freedom. His happiness is in the love of Phrygia.

The people join the gladiators. Suddenly, Spartacus' troops surround the palace. Crassus is captured by gladiators. But Spartak does not want reprisals. He invites Crassus to decide his fate in an open duel. Crassus accepts the challenge and is defeated. With ostentatious pride he is ready to face death. But Spartak lets him go. He is confident in the victory of the gladiators and is alien to petty feelings of revenge.

Spartacus is happy with Phrygia. The news of Crassus' new campaign strikes with sudden disaster. Spartak offers to take the fight. But many of his military leaders show weakness and desert their leader. The legions are pushing back the troops of Spartacus. His friends die in an unequal battle. Spartacus faces death courageously, not submitting to his enemies until the last moment, without knowing any doubt about the fidelity of his chosen path. Phrygia mourns Spartacus. She is filled with faith in the immortality of his feat.

On April 4, 1982 in Odessa, on July 7 of the same year in Yerevan the premiere of another ballet by A.I. Khachaturian "Masquerade", based on the drama of the same name by M.Yu. Lermontov. Musical composition and editing by E.S. Oganesyan, libretto by L.A. Vilvovskaya, N.I. Ryzhenko, V.V. Smirnova-Golovanova.

Brief summary of the ballet.

Gambling house hall. Prince Zvezdich loses money. Arbenin enters, he is lucky, he wins, and gives all the winnings to the prince. They are being watched by “Mask” (Unknown), who was once ruined and disgraced by Arbenin in his youth.

Masquerade. Guests in fancy dress dance in a waltz. Arbenin is bored, he thinks about his beloved wife Nina. The prince's attention is drawn to a female domino mask talking with another mask. Zvezdich invites her to dance. The mask refuses. He takes her hand. Breaking free, she loses the bracelet and, without noticing it, runs away. The second mask picks up the bracelet and admires it. The prince approaches. The mask wants to leave. He asks her to leave him something as a keepsake. The mask throws him the found bracelet and disappears.

Arbenin is at home, waiting for Nina to return. Suddenly he notices that there is no bracelet on one hand and asks where it is. It turns out that the wife was at a masquerade, the husband suspects infidelity.

In the crowd, Zvezdich sees Nina walking towards a jewelry store. He follows her. Not finding a bracelet similar to the lost one there, Nina, excited, leaves the store and runs into the prince.

Nina comes to Baroness Shtral. Zvezdich appears and says that he saw Nina in the jewelry store. Now he is convinced that the stranger in the masquerade and Nina are one and the same person. Nina is offended by the prince's behavior and hurriedly leaves. The Baroness is in despair. She is looking for Zvezdich to confess to him that she deceived him by hiding her face under a mask and giving the prince the bracelet that Nina lost.

Ball. Zvezdich approaches Nina, bows respectfully, returns the bracelet to her and leaves the hall. Arbenin becomes convinced again that he has been deceived by his wife. Nina and Arbenin are left alone. In the depths of the hall - Unknown. He watches them and sees Arbenin serving a glass to Nina, pouring poison into it.

The Arbenins' bedroom. Nina is not feeling well. Arbenin says that she will die in a few minutes. Gathering her last strength, she tells Arbenin that she is innocent.

Mourning in the Arbenins' house. The Unknown Man appears, he says that Arbenin killed his wife and asks Baroness Shtral and Zvezdich to confirm what he said. Arbenin rushes about as if in a trap and falls, looking at those around him with unseeing eyes. He lost his mind... People walk past the coffin and disperse. Arbenin is left alone.

6. Manifestation of the traditions of song creativity of Vasily Pavlovich Solovyov-Sedoy in choreographic art (1907-1979)

His best songs won nationwide fame and spread abroad. Over four hundred examples of this genre were created by the composer.

However, even in the pre-war years, Solovyov-Sedoy performed not only in the song genre, but also in the ballet genre. In 1940, the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after. CM. Kirov showed his ballet "Taras Bulba" based on the story by N.V. Gogol directed by F.V. Lopukhov based on the script by S.S. Kaplan. The music of the ballet clearly reflected the style of the composer-songwriter: “the characteristics of the characters are given in relief melodies associated with Ukrainian and Russian folk songs.” The dance suite “Zaporozhian Sich”, dance dialogues of Ostap and Oksana, Andria and Pannochka were masterfully developed.

“Shortly before the start of the Great Patriotic War, Solovyov-Sedoy’s ballet appeared on the stage of the Opera and Ballet Theater named after. CM. Kirov,” says I.I. Dzerzhinsky. “It was still far from perfect, but its music even then radiated that special charm that is characteristic only of great talents. Many years later, the author thoroughly revised the score, and the ballet, “strengthened” and “matured,” returned to the theater stage.”

In 1941, the Bolshoi Theater turned to this work, where R.V. became the new librettist and director. Zakharov. Once again the composer returned to ballet in 1955. It was staged at the Kirov Theater by choreographer B.A. Fenster. Having revised the score again, composer and scriptwriter S.S. Kaplan changed not only individual scenes, but also the entire dramaturgy of the ballet as a whole, “as a result, a new performance arose that acquired a heroic sound, close to Gogol’s brilliant story.” In different editions of the ballet, the main roles were performed by famous masters of Soviet choreography: N.M. Dudinskaya, A.Ya. Shelest, M.T. Semenova, O.V. Lepeshinskaya, A.E. Osipenko, V.M. Chabukiani, S.G. Koren, L.A. Lashilin, K.M. Sergeev, M.M. Gabovich, A.A. Makarov.

Brief summary of the ballet.

Ballet in three acts, ten scenes.

Taras Bulba is looking forward to his sons Ostap and Andriy returning home from the Kyiv Bursa. Taras's courtyard is filled with people. Everyone wants to look at Bulba's sons. Taras, meanwhile, decides to go to Sich tomorrow with his sons. He can’t wait to see how they will comprehend the science of war.

Andriy has a memory of the beauty that captivated him - the daughter of a Polish governor.

Sech. The revelry of fun is interrupted by the arrival of peasants. They ask the Cossacks to free their native land from the gentry, who are committing reprisals against the people. The Cossacks decide to go on a campaign. Ahead are the sons of Taras - Ostap and Andriy.

Tired of fighting, the camp falls asleep. Only Andriy is awake, immersed in dreams of a beautiful lady. Suddenly he notices a female figure. This is a Tatar woman - the lady's servant. She made her way into the Cossacks’ camp to report that the lady was in the besieged city. There is famine in the city. She hasn't eaten anything for two days now. Andriy, taking a bag of bread, disappears with the Tatar woman into an underground passage. The siege of Dubno has been lifted. There is a celebration in the city. The ball is noisy. The lady has a new knight - Andriy. The thought of complete betrayal frightens him, but the lady’s seductive smile makes him drive away this thought.

Taras learns about Andriy's betrayal. Like a father struck by thunder, his rage is boundless. Seeing Andriy at the head of the enemy army from afar, he orders the Cossacks to lure him into the forest. In the heat of battle, Taras and Andriy come face to face. Taras orders his son to get off his horse and shoots him. Andriy falls dead.

Taras sits motionless. Grief bent the old Cossack. Near Dubno, he lost his eldest son, his favorite Ostap. Taras himself saw how they twisted his hands and took him completely. A terrible picture of his son’s execution passes before the old man’s gaze.

The enemies had been trying to catch Taras for a long time, but only now they overtook him on the banks of the Dniester. His enemies twisted his hands, tied him to a tree and set him on fire.

The gentry retreated from the smoke and fire. From the fire, as from the flame of popular anger, popular regiments began to emerge, and at their head was the gigantic figure of the national hero Taras Bulba.

In 1963, another meeting took place between R.V. Zakharov with the creativity of V.P. Solovyov-Sedoy. They worked on a ballet together “Russia has entered the port.” The performance was a complete failure. There is nothing left of R.V.’s talent here. Zakharov from the times of not only “The Fountain of Bakhchisarai”, but also “Cinderella” and “The Bronze Horseman”. Festival suites and folk dance divertissements alternated with pantomime scenes that cemented the simple plot, once again proving the obsolescence of the principles of drama ballet. The premiere took place at the Opera and Ballet Theater. CM. Kirov in 1964

The ballet “Gayane” is notable, first of all, for the music of Aram Khachaturian, while experts rightly call the libretto stilted. It was written by screenwriter and librettist Konstantin Derzhavin in 1940 based on Khachaturian’s previous ballet “Happiness”. In “Gayane” the composer retained all the best that was in “Happiness” and significantly supplemented and developed the score. The ballet premiered in 1942, in Perm, where the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater was evacuated. Kirov. Then Soviet theaters often turned to Khachaturian’s ballet. “Gayane” was staged in Sverdlovsk, Yerevan, Kyiv, Riga, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk. At the Kirov Theater it was resumed two more times - in 1945 and 1952. “Gayane” was first staged on the stage of the country’s main musical theater, the Bolshoi, in 1957. We bring to your attention a recording of a much later production.

So, experts consider the music to be the main advantage of “Gayane”. “While still working on the music for the ballet “Happiness,” Khachaturian turned to Armenian folklore,” we read in the book “History of Modern Russian Music.” – All this was included in “Gayane”. And although there are few actual folk melodies in the ballet, the intonational nature of Armenian music is recreated through rhythmic, mode-harmonic features, bringing the work closer to the tradition of Russian classical “music about the East.” By the way, it was for the ballet “Gayane” that Khachaturian wrote “The Saber Dance,” which is often performed as an independent work. In terms of choreography, the ballet breaks up into separate performances. “Various solo numbers and duets, dramatic scenes, generally symphonized (“Cotton Picking”, “Cotton Dance”, “Dance of Pink Girls” and others), folklore dances (“Lezginka”, “Russian Dance”, “Shchalaho”, “Uzundara” ", "Gopak") - all this makes up the voluminous and contrasting score of the ballet" ("History of Contemporary Russian Music").

Why is there a place in Armenian history for hopak, Russian dance and other dances of the peoples of the USSR? At the end of this story, guests from the fraternal republics arrive at the Armenian collective farm for the harvest festival. But before that, a completely detective story unfolds on the mountain collective farm and its surroundings. A spy parachutes into the mountains of Armenia. He will keep an eye on the geologists - they, with the help of the smart shepherd Armen, discovered deposits of rare and valuable ore not far from the collective farm. Naturally, vigilant Soviet collective farmers will expose the enemy. But in parallel with the spy story, the ballet unfolds, of course, a love story. Shepherd Armen and the daughter of the collective farm chairman Gayane love each other, but every now and then they have to repel the attacks of the jealous Giko, Gayane’s admirer.

Today “Gayane” seems to be a monument to a special era of Soviet art, when the glorification of the brotherhood of peoples took on bizarre forms. But this does not prevent you from enjoying the mighty music of Aram Khachaturian and the high skill of the Bolshoi Theater ballet dancers.

Artist N. Altman, conductor P. Feldt.

The premiere took place on December 9, 1942 at the S. M. Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater (Mariinsky Theater), Molotov (Perm).

Characters:

• Hovhannes, chairman of the collective farm
• Gayane, his daughter
• Armen, shepherd
• Nune, collective farmer
• Karen, collective farmer
• Kazakov, head of the expedition
• Unknown
• Giko, collective farmer
• Aisha, collective farmer
• Agronomist, collective farmers, geologists, border guards and the head of the border guard

The action takes place in Armenia in the 1930s of the 20th century.

Dark night. An unknown figure appears in a thick network of rain. Listening warily and looking around, he frees himself from the parachute lines. After checking the map, he makes sure that he is at the goal. The rain is subsiding. Far away in the mountains the lights of the village flicker. The stranger takes off his overalls and remains in his tunic with stripes for being wounded. Limping heavily, he goes towards the village.

1. Sunny morning. Spring work is in full swing in the collective farm gardens. Taking his time, Giko lazily goes to work. The girls of the best brigade of the collective farm are in a hurry. With them is the foreman - a young, cheerful Gayane. Giko stops her, talks about his love, wants to hug her. A young shepherd, Armen, appears on the road. Gayane joyfully runs towards him. High in the mountains, near the shepherds' camp, Armen found pieces of ore and shows them to Gayane. Giko watches them jealously.

During rest hours, collective farmers start dancing. Giko wants Gayane to dance with him and tries to hug him. Armen protects the girl from annoying advances. Giko is furious and is looking for a reason to quarrel. Grabbing a basket of seedlings, Giko furiously throws it and rushes at Armen with his fists. Gayane stands between them and demands that Giko leave.

A young collective farmer, Karen, comes running and announces the arrival of guests. A group of geologists led by the head of the expedition, Kazakov, enters the garden. An unknown person follows them. He hired out to carry the geologists' luggage and stayed with them. Collective farmers warmly welcome visitors. The restless Nune and Karen begin to dance in honor of the guests. Gayane also dances. The guests watch Armen's dance with admiration. The signal to start work sounds. Hovhannes shows visitors the gardens. Gayane is left alone. She admires the distant mountains and gardens of her native collective farm.

Geologists are returning. Armen shows them the ore. The find of the shepherd has interested geologists and they are going to explore. Armen undertakes to accompany them. An unknown person is watching them. Gayane tenderly says goodbye to Armen. Giko, seeing this, is overcome with jealousy. The unknown person sympathizes with Giko and offers friendship and help.

2. After work at Gayane’s friends gathered. Kazakov enters. Gayane and her friends show Kazakov the carpet they have woven and start a game of blind man's buff. A drunk Giko arrives. The collective farmers advise him to leave. After seeing the guests off, the collective farm chairman tries to talk to Giko, but he does not listen and annoyingly pesters Gayane. The girl angrily drives Giko away.

The geologists and Armen return from the hike. Armen's discovery is not an accident. A rare metal deposit was discovered in the mountains. Giko, who lingers in the room, witnesses the conversation. Geologists are getting ready to go. Armen tenderly gives Gayane a flower brought from the mountain slope. Giko sees this as he walks past the windows with the unknown man. Armen and Hovhannes set off along with the expedition. Kazakov asks Gayane to keep the bag with ore samples.

Night. An unknown person enters Gayane's house. He pretends to be sick and falls exhausted. Gayane helps him get up and hurries to get water. Left alone, he begins to look for materials from the geological expedition. Returning Gayane understands that she faces an enemy. Threatening, the unknown person demands that Gayane hand over the materials. During the fight, the carpet covering the niche falls. There is a bag with pieces of ore. An unknown person takes the bag, ties Gayane and sets the house on fire. Fire and smoke fill the room. Giko jumps out the window. There is horror and confusion on his face. Seeing a stick forgotten by an unknown person, Giko realizes that the criminal is his recent acquaintance. Giko carries Gayane out of the house engulfed in flames.

3. Starry night. High in the mountains there is a camp of collective farm shepherds. A squad of border guards passes by. Shepherd Ishmael entertains his beloved Aisha by playing the pipe. Aisha begins a smooth dance. The shepherds gather. Armen arrives, he brought geologists. Here, at the foot of the cliff, he found ore. Shepherds perform the folk dance “Khochari”. They are replaced by Armen. Burning torches in his hands cut through the darkness of the night.

A group of mountaineers and border guards arrives. The mountaineers carry the parachute they found. The enemy has penetrated Soviet soil! There was a glow over the valley. There is a fire in the village! Everyone rushes there.

The flames are raging. In its reflections the figure of an unknown person flashed. He tries to hide, but collective farmers are running from all sides towards the burning house. The unknown person hides the bag and gets lost in the crowd. The crowd subsided. An unknown person catches up with Giko, asks him to remain silent and gives him a wad of money for this. Giko throws money in his face and wants to apprehend the criminal. Giko is wounded but continues to fight. Gayane comes running to help. Giko falls. The enemy points his weapon at Gayane. Armen arrives in time and snatches a revolver from the enemy, who is surrounded by border guards.

4. Autumn. The collective farm reaped a bountiful harvest. Everyone comes together for the holiday. Armen hurries to Gayane. Armena stops the kids and starts a dance around him. Collective farmers carry baskets of fruit and jugs of wine. Guests invited to the holiday from the fraternal republics arrive - Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians. Finally Armen sees Gayane. Their meeting is full of joy and happiness. People flock to the square. Here are the old friends of the collective farmers - geologists and border guards. The best brigade is awarded a banner. Kazakov asks Hovhannes to let Armen go to study. Hovhannes agrees. One dance gives way to another. Nune and her friends dance, striking the ringing tambourines. The guests perform their national dances - Russian, dashing Ukrainian hopak.

Tables are set right there in the square. With their glasses raised, everyone praises free labor, the indestructible friendship of the Soviet peoples, and the beautiful Motherland.

At the end of the 1930s, Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) received an order for music for the ballet “Happiness”. The performance, with a traditional plot for that time about a happy life “under the Stalinist sun,” was being prepared for the Decade of Armenian Art in Moscow. Khachaturian recalled: “I spent the spring and summer of 1939 in Armenia, collecting material for the future ballet “Happiness.” It was here that the deepest study of the melodies of my native land and folk art began.” Six months later, in September, the ballet was staged at the Armenian Opera Theater and the ballet named after A. A. Spendiarov, and a month later was shown in Moscow. Despite the great success, shortcomings in the script and musical dramaturgy were noted.

A few years later, the composer returned to work on music, focusing on a new libretto written by Konstantin Derzhavin (1903-1956). The revised ballet, named after the main character “Gayane,” was being prepared for production at the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater named after S. M. Kirov, but the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War ruined all plans. The theater was evacuated to the city of Molotov (Perm), where the composer arrived to continue work.

“In the fall of 1941, I returned to work on the ballet,” Khachaturian recalled. - Today it may seem strange that in those days of severe trials we could talk about a ballet performance. War and ballet? The concepts are truly incompatible. But as life has shown, there was nothing strange in my plan to depict the theme of a great national upsurge, the unity of people in the face of a formidable invasion. The ballet was conceived as a patriotic performance, affirming the theme of love and loyalty to the Motherland. At the request of the theater, after finishing the score, I completed “Dance of the Kurds” - the same one that later became known as “Dance with Sabers”. I started composing it at three o'clock in the afternoon and worked without stopping until two o'clock in the morning. The next morning the orchestral voices were transcribed and a rehearsal took place, followed in the evening by a dress rehearsal for the entire ballet. “The Saber Dance” immediately made an impression on the orchestra, the ballet, and those present in the hall.”

The first performers of the successful premiere in Molotov were Natalya Dudinskaya (Gayane), Konstantin Sergeev (Armen), Boris Shavrov (Giko).

The music for the ballets “Gayane” and “Spartacus” is among Khachaturian’s best works. The music of “Gayane” is distinguished by its wide symphonic development with the use of leitmotifs, bright national color, temperament and colorfulness. It organically includes authentic Armenian melodies. Gayane's lullaby, imbued with a tender feeling, is memorable. For many decades, the “Sabre Dance”, full of fire and courageous strength, was a real hit, reminiscent of “Polovtsian Dances” from the opera “Prince Igor” by Borodin. The constant trampling rhythm, sharp harmonies, and whirlwind tempo help create a vivid image of a strong, courageous people.

Musicologist Sofya Katonova wrote: “Khachaturian’s merit was both the reproduction of the characteristic traditions and genres of ancient Armenian art, and their transmission in a specific style of folk performance. It was important for the composer, turning to a modern theme in “Gayane,” to capture not only the authentic features of the era, but also the appearance and mental makeup of his nation, borrowing its inspired creative manner of reflecting the surrounding life.”

The choreographer of the play "Gayane" Nina Anisimova (1909-1979) was a student of the famous Agrippina Vaganova, an outstanding character dancer of the Kirov Theater from 1929 to 1958. Before working on Gayane, Anisimova had experience staging only a few concert numbers.

“The theater’s appeal to this musical work,” wrote ballet scholar Marietta Frangopulo, “expressed the aspirations of Soviet choreographic art to embody heroic images and, in connection with this, an appeal to large symphonic forms. Khachaturian's vibrant music, full of drama and lyrical sounds, is replete with Armenian folk melodies, developed in the techniques of a broad symphonic development. Khachaturian created his music on the combination of these two principles. Anisimova set herself a similar task. "Gayane" is a performance of rich musical and choreographic content. Some ballet numbers - such as the duet of Nune and Karena, Nune's variation - were subsequently included in many concert programs, just like "Sabre Dance", the music of which is often performed on the radio. However, the inferiority of the ballet’s dramaturgy greatly weakened its impact on the viewer, which led to the need to rework the libretto several times and, in accordance with this, the stage appearance of the performance.”

The first changes in the plot basis occurred already in 1945, when the Kirov Theater, returning to Leningrad, finalized “Gayane”. The prologue disappeared from the play, the number of saboteurs increased to three, Giko became Gayane’s husband. New heroes appeared - Nune and Karen, their first performers were Tatyana Vecheslova and Nikolai Zubkovsky. The scenography also changed, Vadim Ryndin became the new artist. The play was reworked at the same theater in 1952.

In 1957, the ballet “Gayane” was staged at the Bolshoi Theater with a new illustrative and naturalistic script by Boris Pletnev (3 acts, 7 scenes with a prologue). Choreographer Vasily Vainonen, director Emil Kaplan, artist Vadim Ryndin, conductor Yuri Fayer. The main roles at the premiere were danced by Raisa Struchkova and Yuri Kondratov.

Until the end of the 1970s, the ballet was successfully performed on Soviet and foreign stages. Among the interesting decisions, one should note Boris Eifman’s graduation performance (1972) at the Leningrad Maly Opera and Ballet Theater (the choreographer later created new editions of the ballet in Riga and Warsaw). The choreographer, with the consent of the music author, abandoned spies and scenes of jealousy and offered the viewer a social drama. The plot told about the first years of the formation of Soviet power in Armenia. Gayane Giko's husband - the son of the kulak Matsaka - cannot betray his father. Gayane, who grew up in a poor family, sincerely loves her husband, but supports the new government headed by Armen. I remember how the “red wedge” of Komsomol members “historically” crushed Matsak. A concession to old stereotypes was the murder of his own son by a rich father. The premiere was danced by Tatiana Fesenko (Gayane), Anatoly Sidorov (Armen), Vasily Ostrovsky (Giko), German Zamuel (Matsak). The play ran for 173 performances.

In the 21st century, the ballet “Gayane” disappeared from theater stages, primarily due to an unsuccessful script. Certain scenes and numbers from Nina Anisimova’s performance continue to be performed annually in graduation performances of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. “Sabre Dance” remains a frequent guest on concert stages.

A. Degen, I. Stupnikov

Ballet in. 4 acts. Comp. A. I. Khachaturian (partially used the music of his ballet Happiness), scenes. K. N. Derzhavin. 9.12.1942, T r im. Kirov (on the stage of the Perm Theater), ballet. N. A. Anisimova, art. N. I. Altman (scenery) and T. G. Bruni (costume ... Ballet. Encyclopedia

Ballet- (French ballet, from Italian balletto, from late Latin ballo I dance) type of stage performance. lawsuit va; performance, the content of which is embodied in music. choreographic images Based on the general dramaturgical plan (scenario) B. combines music, choreography... ... Music Encyclopedia

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In the fall of 1941, A. Khachaturian began working on the score for a new ballet. The work took place in close collaboration with the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater, which was located in Perm at that time. The premiere took place on December 3, 1942 and was a great success. In 1957, a new production of the ballet was performed at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. The libretto was changed, and Khachaturian rewrote more than half of the previous music. Ballet entered the history of ballet art in our country. The music for it formed the basis of three large symphonic suites, and individual numbers of the suites, for example, “Sabre Dance,” became world famous.
The ballet “Gayane” is a work deeply folk in spirit, integral in musical language, marked by the extraordinary colorfulness of the instrumentation.

Plot:
Gayane, the daughter of the collective farm chairman Hovhannes, helps to catch and neutralize the Unknown, who secretly entered the territory of Armenia in order to steal the secrets of geologists. Her friends and her loving Gayane Armen help her in this. Armen's rival Giko pays with his life for unwittingly assisting the enemy.

Dark night. An unknown figure appears in a thick network of rain. Listening warily and looking around, he frees himself from the parachute lines. After checking the map, he makes sure that he is at his destination. The rain subsides. Far away in the mountains the lights of the village flicker. The stranger takes off his overalls and remains in a tunic with stripes for wounds. Limping heavily, he leaves towards the village. Sunny morning. Spring work is in full swing in the collective farm gardens. Slowly, lazily stretching, Giko goes to work. The girls of the best brigade of the collective farm are in a hurry. With them is the foreman - a young, cheerful Gayane. Giko stops the Girl. He tells her about his love, wants to hug her. A young shepherd, Armen, appears on the Road. Gayane joyfully runs towards him. High in the mountains, near the shepherds' camp, Armen found shiny pieces of ore. He shows them to the Girl. Giko looks jealously at Armen and Gayane. During rest hours, the collective farmers start dancing. Suitable o. He wants Gayane to dance with him and tries to hug her again. Armen protects the girl from annoying advances. Giko is furious. He is looking for a reason to quarrel. Grabbing a basket of seedlings, Giko throws it furiously. He doesn't want to work. The collective farmers reproach Giko, but he does not listen to them and attacks Armen with raised fists. Gayane comes between them. She demands that Giko leave immediately. The collective farmers are outraged by Giko's behavior. A young collective farmer, Karen, comes running. He reports that guests have arrived. A group of geologists led by the head of the expedition, Kazakov, enters the garden. An unknown person follows them. He hired himself to carry the luggage of the geologists and stayed with them. The collective farmers warmly welcome the visitors. The restless Nune and Karen begin to dance in honor of the guests. Gayane also dances. The guests also watch with admiration the dance of the shepherd Armen. The signal to start work sounds. Hovhannes shows visitors the collective farm gardens. Gayane is left alone. Everything pleases her eyes. The girl admires the distant mountains and the fragrant gardens of her native collective farm. The geologists return. Gayane advises Armen to show them the ore he brought. Armen's find interested geologists. They are ready to go on reconnaissance now. Armen shows the route on the map and undertakes to accompany the geologists. At this moment, an unknown person appears. He is closely watching Armen and the geologists. Packing for the trip is over. Gayane tenderly says goodbye to Armen. Giko, who approaches, sees this. Seized with jealousy, he threatens to follow the shepherd. An unknown hand rests on Giko's shoulder. He pretends to sympathize with Giko, and, inciting his hatred, insidiously offers friendship and help. They leave together. After work, Gayane’s friends gathered. Karen plays the tar. Girls perform an ancient Armenian dance. Kazakov enters. He stayed at Hovhannes's house. Gayane and her friends show Kazakov the flowery carpet they have woven and start a game of blind man's buff. A drunk Giko arrives. The game gets upset. The collective farmers are trying to persuade Giko, who is again pursuing Gayane, and advise him to leave. After seeing the guests off, the collective farm chairman tries to talk to Giko. But he does not listen to Hovhannes and annoyingly pesters Gayane. The angry girl drives Giko away. The geologists return from the hike with Armen. Armen's discovery is not an accident. A rare metal deposit was discovered in the mountains. Kazakov decides to examine him in detail. Giko, who lingered in the room, witnesses this conversation. The mineral prospectors are getting ready to set off. Armen tenderly gives his beloved girl a flower brought from the mountain slope. Giko sees this as he walks past the windows with the unknown man. Armen and Hovhannes go with the expedition. Kazakov asks Gayane to keep the bag with ore samples. Gayane hides it. Night has come. An unknown person enters Gayane's house. He pretends to be sick and falls exhausted. Gayane helps him get up and hurries to get water. Left alone, he jumps up and begins to look for materials from the geological expedition. Gayane, who has returned, realizes that she is facing an enemy. Threatening, the unknown person demands that she tell her where the geologists' materials are located. During the fight, the carpet covering the niche falls. There is a bag with pieces of ore. An unknown person ties up Gayane, takes a bag and, trying to hide traces of the crime, sets the house on fire. Fire and smoke fill the room. Giko jumps out the window. There is horror and confusion on his face. Seeing a stick forgotten by an unknown person, Giko realizes that the criminal is his recent acquaintance. He carries the girl out of the house engulfed in flames. Starry night. High in the mountains there is a camp of collective farm shepherds. A squad of border guards passes by. Shepherd Ishmael entertains his beloved girl Aisha by playing the pipe. Aisha begins a smooth dance. Attracted by the music, the shepherds gather. And here comes Armen. He brought geologists. Here, at the foot of the cliff, he found precious ore. Shepherds perform the folk dance “Khochari”. They are replaced by Armen. Burning torches in his hands cut through the darkness of the night. A group of mountaineers and border guards arrives. The mountaineers carry the parachute they found. The enemy has penetrated Soviet soil! There was a glow over the valley. There is a fire in the village! Everyone rushes there. The flames are raging. The figure of an unknown person flashed in the reflections of the fire. He tries to hide, but collective farmers are running from all sides towards the burning house. The unknown man hides the bag and gets lost in the crowd. The crowd subsides. At this moment, an unknown person overtakes Giko. He asks him to remain silent and gives him a wad of money for this. Giko throws money in his face and wants to apprehend the criminal. Giko is wounded but continues to fight. Gayane runs up to help. Giko falls. The enemy points his weapon at Gayane. Armen arrives in time and snatches a revolver from the enemy, who is surrounded by border guards. Autumn. The collective farm reaped a bountiful harvest. Everyone comes together for the holiday. Armen hurries to Gayane. On this wonderful day he wants to be with his beloved. Armena stops the kids and starts a dance around him. Collective farmers carry baskets of fruit and jugs of wine. Guests invited to the celebration from the fraternal republics arrive - Russians, Ukrainians, Georgians. Finally, Armen sees Gayane. Their meeting is full of joy and happiness. People flock to the square. Here are the old friends of the collective farmers - geologists and border guards. The best brigade is awarded a banner. Kazakov asks Hovhannes to let Armen go to study. Hovhannes agrees. One dance gives way to another. Nune and her friends dance, striking the ringing tambourines. Guests perform their national dances - Russian, dashing Ukrainian hopak, Lezginka, warlike mountain dance with sabers and others. Tables are set right there on the square. With their glasses raised, everyone praises free labor, the indestructible friendship of the Soviet peoples, and the beautiful Motherland.

The melodies of “Gayane” are permeated with intonations and singing of folk songs; They are characterized by the peculiarities of the modal structure of Armenian music, rhythmic patterns, orchestral timbres, as if reproducing the sound of folk instruments. Some features of Khachaturian's music originate in the performing style characteristic of folk singers and instrumentalists. In the ballet “Gayane” dance rhythms play a huge role. This is not only due to the genre of ballet; here there was a direct dependence on Armenian folk song, for which dance rhythms are extremely characteristic. That is why folk song and dance melodies sound naturally and figuratively not only in festive scenes of fun, but also in sketches of the working life of collective farmers, and in the images of characters. The compositional and musical-dramatic techniques used by Khachaturian in “Gayane” are extremely diverse. Integral, generalized musical characteristics acquire predominant importance in ballet: portrait sketches, folk and genre pictures, pictures of nature. They correspond to complete musical numbers, in the sequential presentation of which the features of a symphonic suite are often seen. The logic of development that unites independent musical images into a single whole is different. Thus, in the final picture, the larger dance cycle is united by the ongoing celebration. In some cases, the alternation of numbers is based on figurative, emotional contrasts of lyrical and cheerful, impetuous or energetic, courageous, genre and dramatic (see the first scenes of acts I and II). In the moments of the greatest tension of the action, for example, in the scene of Gayane with Giko (from Act II), when Gayane reveals his sabotage plans and tries to counteract them, in the scenes of the revelation of the conspiracy and fire (III Act), Khachaturian gives large symphonic episodes of end-to-end musical development, which corresponds to the very drama of the action. Musical and dramatic means are also clearly differentiated in the characteristics of the characters: solid portrait sketches of episodic characters are contrasted with end-to-end dramatic musical development in Gayane’s part; The varied dance rhythms that underlie the musical portraits of Gayane’s friends and relatives are contrasted by Gayane’s improvisationally free, lyrically rich melodies. Khachaturian consistently applies the principle of leitmotifs to each of the characters, which imparts musical integrity and stage specificity to the images and the entire work.