Stage-director’s analysis of music-stage works of the French composers on the plot of “Romeo and Juliet” (on material of the same name opera by Sh. Gounod and musical by G. Presgurvic).
Background. Last years the interest increases in the problem of analysis of a stage text. His characteristic feature is introduction to the theatrical conception of a stage-director that frequently results in substantial modification of authorial intention of composer. The mission of stage-director is in an opera theatre – to be a music translator into language of time (P. Konwichny). It is also necessary for a stage-director in the musical theatre to take into account the interpretation possibilities of the stage work in the unity of all of the tools of artistic synthesis. The first step on the way of creation of a stage-director conception is an analysis of a text of a work, which will serve a beginning for its further translating into the language of modern theatrical art. The objective of this study is to reveal in the author’s texts of the stage works that are analyzed, of the artistic information, which is necessary for the stage director to create the basis for the stage producers in the search an original idea that will be embodied then in the performing interpretative version of the spectacle. The method of semiotic analysis of text is used, in particular, the idea by Yu. Lotman about a translation as communicative determinant of interpretation of text. This method was worked out in linguistics (Yu. Lotman), and then was extrapolated on theatre science (T. Grigoryants) and musicology (A. Sokolskaya). Research results. For creation of a theatre performance it is necessary to invent the main idea, conduct the key points, which needs to be carried to public convincingly. First, authors and producers need to push off from the genre of the interpreted composition. The literary original source of the both analyzable works was the tragedy of W. Shakespeare. Each of the composers interpreted it in his own way. Sh. Gounod created a genius standard of lyric opera, G. Presgurvic wrote a remarkable musical. Both the authors managed to carry to recipients the problem that the English dramatist raised in unity of the social, moral, personality aspects. The article represent the analysis of music-stage opuses from the positions of the tasks arising up before a stage-director – “interpreter”. The basic task of stage-director is embodiment of dramatic conflict; this position defined analytical discourse of the research. In this connection we addressed to the conception by Yu. Lotman devoted to mechanisms of translation in a semiotic projection. If we will follow to his thought, the authors of the musical scenic works who interpreted the “eternal story” about Romeo and Juliet also are the “interpreters”. Preserving, in mainly, the plot basis of Shakespeare’s tragedy, the both composers embodied the story of Romeo and Juliet in accordance with the actual tendencies of contemporaneity. Sh. Gounod, along with the theme of the selfless love, meditates about the morally-religious problem of sinfulness of suicide. The musical peculiarities of his lyric opera are determined by the laws of the genre, in the context of which the composer implement his own vision of the eternal story. G. Presgurvic raises the ontological questions, determined by the worldview paradigm conditioned by dialectics of Love and Death, faith in God and tragic Fate. The composer presented a familiar story for everyone, but at the same time – at a highly artistic level. In the work by G. Presgurvic, except for the conflict associated with the hostility of families, a lyrical conflict is shown, due to the introduction of an additional plot motive – Tybalt’s unrequited love for cousin Juliet exceeded the feelings permissible for a blood relative. Thus, in the musical in question there is an additional conflict associated with the love triangle. The story of Romeo and Juliet also contains the semantic intentions allowing to throw in the original details in the general conception of performance to provide subtle overtones of meaning. It is clear felt in G. Presgurvic’s dramaturgic conception. Inseparability of sense and image of Death and Fate is conditioned by a tragic upshot. The visual image of Death is embodied in the musical by facilities of choreographic art. In the original French version (2001), Death kisses Romeo and in this moment, the life abandons his body. Death also accompanies Juliet in the crypt until the moment of her tragic end. In the Russian version (2004), Death is understood as inexorable Fate determining the destiny of young members of the warring clans. Thus, interpretation implies the search of innovative decisions resulting in appearance of new semantic consequences sometimes very eloquent and ponderable. Selection of singers and actors on the roles is a responsible step, providing the half of success to the theatrical piece. Performers must correspond to the certain characters, which put the requirements to external and vocal data, actor movements. Actors need to embody the score of actions in unity external and internal (spiritual and heartfelt, psychological) plans. Conclusions. Interpretation of the artistic text is possible due to the action of the translation mechanism (according to the conception of Yu. Lotman). The mechanism of translation in art means a shifting to another system of artistic and aesthetic coordinates, whether it is the author’s interpretation of the “eternal story” or the staging of a musical theatrical composition. G. Presgurvik translates the contents of Shakespeare’s tragedy into the language of time, thanks to that the story of Romeo and Juliet becomes lucid, close to the modern public, in particular, the youth. Sh. Gounod tells the story of Romeo and Juliet, addressing himself to the genre model of the lyric opera he created, simultaneously introducing into the context of the work his own moral and religious opinion about sinfulness of suicide. Thus, the composer who interprets the “eternal plot” within the framework of chosen by him a genre having his own laws, becomes an “interpreter” to the language of his time. Such an “interpreter” is not only the composer, but also the stage director of the play. For example, in the musical of G. Presgurvik, visual symbolism (the image of Death), decided by the actor-choreographic means and actualizing the deep semantic layer of the author’s text, is important. In this regard, the prime task of the stage director is to find in the texts of scenic works the images and ideas close to contemporaries (in particular, to producers, performers) and to bring them to the public within the original artistic conception of the staging. The author of this article sees the prospect of further research in the fact that the main provisions of the publication can be used for the subsequent study of the problem of the director’s theater in the aspect of translating the author’s text of the work to the language of contemporary art of the scene.