Musical interpretations of Lermontov's poem "Demon" (opera by A. G. Rubinstein and ballet by S. V. Zhukov)
In the system of intermedial relations, translation is carried out from one artistic language to another; due to the interaction of different types of art, their mutual enrichment takes place, including at the semantic level. This article analyzes two musical interpretations of the poem by M. Yu. Lermontov, carried out by composers A. G. Rubinstein (opera «The Demon», 1872) and S. V. Zhukov (ballet «Fatum», 1998).A. G. Rubinstein in his opera presents us not so much the image of a Nietzschean hero as a languishing, eager for sympathy and compassion personality, endlessly seeking spiritual renewal and renewal through love. The characters he additionally introduced into the opera are necessary for the composer to achieve timbre diversity and to give a folk character to a musical work.Contemporary composer S. V. Zhukov, relying on the same literary source, proposes a different - generalized, philosophical and aesthetic interpretation of the problem of the Demon's fate. As a result, a work is born about the tragic search for the Ideal. For resistance to Destiny, the Demon (Artist) inevitably carries his punishment.